Hi all

For the past couple of weeks my vrs has been puffing out the occasional cloud of blue smoke but it seems to be getting more frequent. It does it mainly when the engine has warmed up and I am changing down a gear, for example if I am approaching a roundabout in 4th and then change down to third or second to cross the roundabout from rolling start, as I accelerate again, out comes the cloud of smoke.

I have so far taken it to my local garage who could find no faults and nothing on code reader. I had them do an oil change just in case but this has not sorted the problem as it is getting more frequent.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated as always

Could be your turbo is starting to fail....... :'(

Its worth checking the gasket on the rocker / cam cover and check the coil packs for oil in the wells. The gasket is a common failure. Might not be this but worth a look.

mine was doing this and my maf failed now all is well......also could be valve stem oil seals so it is only smoking on over run......either turbo or stem seals...

I was worried someone might say what i was thinking - Turbo on it's way out :'( :'( :'( :'(

I have checked the coil packs and no oil in the stems. Is there any kind of test you can do to see what state the turbo is in or is it a case of having to get it taken off to inspect?

Rocker gasket looks ok from what i can see. Nothing obviously leaking through and looks in good order.

Either way not good as my bank balance is only just recovering after stage 2 map and coilovers :(

Edited 23 April, 201115 yr by TazD

Stage 2 will put more pressure on turbo as it will be running alot more boost than standard so if old seals were getting weak then it will just put more pressure on them and cause them to leak oil past

I was worried someone might say what i was thinking - Turbo on it's way out :'( :'( :'( :'(

Sorry but it does point to Turbo... When the seals go it will drop oil down the downpipe and on over run drop it out the back end.

Stage 2 will put more pressure on turbo as it will be running alot more boost than standard so if old seals were getting weak then it will just put more pressure on them and cause them to leak oil past

+1.

Likely that the turbo was on it's way out, but the stress of the remap is helping it get there quicker. :'(

That sounds more like a leaky valve stem to me.

Try going down a hill and coming off the throttle to build up a good vacuum - At the bottom, put your foot down and if you have blue smoke, valve stems could be the problem.

The theory is that when you have a strong vacuum in the cylinder, oil will be sucjed down past the valves into the cylinder, and will collect there until you use the throttle again, burning the oil.

Would tie in with being warm too, as the seal will expand slighty.

I thought a dodgy turbo would give out blue smoke all the time, as the oil pressure is always there.

For the time being, take the turbo intake pipe off and see if there is any play or movement on the compressor wheel, and make sure it can spin freely.

I have now started thinking about valve stem seals too. Reason being she has now started to smoke blue on tick over occasionally too. Am I right in thinking if it was turbo on it's way it would not necessarily smoke on tick over or am I just kidding myself?

I will try the down hill test and removing tip tomorrow and post result.

Thanks for the replies guys

That sounds more like a leaky valve stem to me.

Try going down a hill and coming off the throttle to build up a good vacuum - At the bottom, put your foot down and if you have blue smoke, valve stems could be the problem.

The theory is that when you have a strong vacuum in the cylinder, oil will be sucjed down past the valves into the cylinder, and will collect there until you use the throttle again, burning the oil.

Would tie in with being warm too, as the seal will expand slighty.

I thought a dodgy turbo would give out blue smoke all the time, as the oil pressure is always there.

For the time being, take the turbo intake pipe off and see if there is any play or movement on the compressor wheel, and make sure it can spin freely.

I had a mondeo TDCi before the octy and the turbo went on that, no smoke at all untill it went pop then plumes of black smoke, no blue smoke as the seal had failed on the exhaust end so oil was going into exhaust and not down the intake. the only time i've had blue smoke(also on the mondeo) was after i fitted new injectors, some oil went into cylinders while the injectors were out, so i would lean towards stem seals too, but i'm no mechanic(although i do spend a lot of time fixing mine and other peoples cars)

Yeah, it might not smoke on tickover if it was the turbo - The oil pressure is not as high as it is when it's revving.

Also, tickover has a high vacuum, making valve seals leak.