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Thread: Civic Ls swap.. smoking HELP!

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    Oh yeaaaaa j0nbunklah0m's Avatar
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    Default Civic Ls swap.. smoking HELP!

    Hey, my friend has a Ls swapped civic that he just bought. The car has been sitting for a couple of weeks or so.. and now that we start driving it at around 3k rpm or when gas'ing it a bunch of white smoke comes out of the muffler.. what could this be?

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    I would do a compression test. White smoke when first started is normal. If white smoke continues you have an internal coolant leak, i.e., cracked head/blown head gasket or Piston rings. Black smoke is caused by a rich fuel condition. Blue smoke is caused by oil consumption.

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    Oh yeaaaaa j0nbunklah0m's Avatar
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    where could i get a compression tst done at

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    anything else it could be?

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    SuPeRsTaR CuStOmS dkjohnson04's Avatar
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    most local shops can do a compression test for about 25 or 30 $$ if i not mistaken. if you are in norcross look call up Voung's garage ...... @ 770-374-9449 he is a great guy to work with and can do a compression or leakdown test at his place. hope this helps ya.. good luck!!

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    Oh yeaaaaa j0nbunklah0m's Avatar
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    ^^ yea the problem is that i cant drive the car right now due to no tag/ emissions so forth. but i might just drive anyways if its not too far. thanks for the info

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    you can get the compression test at shop if you liVe up north go to Voung's Garage, but if you stay down south or willing to come down then i can do it.
    Last edited by mitch lab; 03-14-2008 at 09:26 AM.

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    C.r.E.a.M MistaCee's Avatar
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    Well if that doesn't go well and he wants to get rid of it lemme kno

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    Oh yeaaaaa j0nbunklah0m's Avatar
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    bump... it only smokes at high rpms still.... any suggestions?!? sumone told me to flush the radiator fluid n refill? :\

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    95 teggy for parts DaRussian's Avatar
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    YOUR HEAD GASKET is gone! change the head gasket, or if u want to check - add water to the radiator and if its gonna start pushing it out that means u got a blown head gasket.!
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    Originally Posted by MMBmomoney
    i changed the vtec solenoid and nothing changed. in another post i saw "vtec fluid" where is that located and how do i check it?
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    Oh yeaaaaa j0nbunklah0m's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DaRussian
    YOUR HEAD GASKET is gone! change the head gasket, or if u want to check - add water to the radiator and if its gonna start pushing it out that means u got a blown head gasket.!

    well i jus flushed and refilled the radiator fluid this morning and i left the cap off and at idle water was slowly being pushed out of the cap.. i have a 2 peice header and im missing the gasket to connect the two so its almost like open headers lol but could this be causing any damage ( im gettin some new ones tommorow)

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    95 teggy for parts DaRussian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by j0nbunklah0m
    well i jus flushed and refilled the radiator fluid this morning and i left the cap off and at idle water was slowly being pushed out of the cap.. i have a 2 peice header and im missing the gasket to connect the two so its almost like open headers lol but could this be causing any damage ( im gettin some new ones tommorow)
    no it cant mess it up, is there water coming out where the headers connect?
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    Originally Posted by MMBmomoney
    i changed the vtec solenoid and nothing changed. in another post i saw "vtec fluid" where is that located and how do i check it?
    .

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    Quote Originally Posted by DaRussian
    no it cant mess it up, is there water coming out where the headers connect?
    nope jus some flames n some smoke

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    now wait a second, ONLY at higher rpms? a leaking head gasket usually is obvious at lower rpms.
    does the car lose coolant/water when you run it around, but is not obviously leaking?
    a leaking headgasket can be a big repair, and shouldnt be hastily diagnosed.

    does the car still have a catalytic converter? (if not this probably wont be relevant)
    my 525 sat in the shop for a few weeks after i put a motor in it, i drove it today, and its putting out a little steam from the tailpipe, cleared up by the time i got home.

    if the cooling system has some coolant in it, not just straight water, run the car until you can duplicate the smoke/steam and, here is the weird part, get a light wiff of it. if it has no smell, dont worry about it, drive the car through some heat cycles and see if it goes away. if it smells sweet / like coolant, then yeah, you are introducing coolant to the combustion chamber.

    if the head gasket is leaking, the coolant is going to pump out pretty quickly, not slowly, if you want to do it that way, you need a pressure tester to look for compression pulses in the system.
    lots of times i have seen perfectly healthy cars pump coolant out slowly with the cap off / car running.

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    Quote Originally Posted by 2rotor
    now wait a second, ONLY at higher rpms? a leaking head gasket usually is obvious at lower rpms.
    does the car lose coolant/water when you run it around, but is not obviously leaking?
    a leaking headgasket can be a big repair, and shouldnt be hastily diagnosed.

    does the car still have a catalytic converter? (if not this probably wont be relevant)
    my 525 sat in the shop for a few weeks after i put a motor in it, i drove it today, and its putting out a little steam from the tailpipe, cleared up by the time i got home.

    if the cooling system has some coolant in it, not just straight water, run the car until you can duplicate the smoke/steam and, here is the weird part, get a light wiff of it. if it has no smell, dont worry about it, drive the car through some heat cycles and see if it goes away. if it smells sweet / like coolant, then yeah, you are introducing coolant to the combustion chamber.

    if the head gasket is leaking, the coolant is going to pump out pretty quickly, not slowly, if you want to do it that way, you need a pressure tester to look for compression pulses in the system.
    lots of times i have seen perfectly healthy cars pump coolant out slowly with the cap off / car running.
    car has no cat... but basically ur saying i should get a compression test?

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by j0nbunklah0m
    nope jus some flames n some smoke
    if the header is not sealing so much you see flames an smoke, THAT is the problem.

    You are running open cylinder, not open header lol.

    the smoke you are seeing is prob unburnt fuel and exhaust gases.

    FIX THE HEADER.

    if the car isnt overheating its not a headdgasket


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    Quote Originally Posted by Batlground
    if the header is not sealing so much you see flames an smoke, THAT is the problem.

    You are running open cylinder, not open header lol.

    the smoke you are seeing is prob unburnt fuel and exhaust gases.

    FIX THE HEADER.

    if the car isnt overheating its not a headdgasket
    edit:: the flames come from where the 2 peice headers connect. where a gasket is supose to be
    smoke still comes through the muffler too though....

    but yea im getting some new headers installed tommorow.. thanks to i.a!


    n if the smoke doesnt clear up after i get the headers on.. .should i get a compression test done?

  18. #18

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    yes


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    just bring your car over to my house and give me the title and you wont have anymore problems haha hit me up tomorrow ill be working on the DA

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    95 teggy for parts DaRussian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Batlground

    if the car isnt overheating its not a headdgasket
    Yes i forgot to mention that!
    VQ Power ------- SHIFT_W.O.T <br>
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    Originally Posted by MMBmomoney
    i changed the vtec solenoid and nothing changed. in another post i saw "vtec fluid" where is that located and how do i check it?
    .

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    Quote Originally Posted by 2rotor
    now wait a second, ONLY at higher rpms? a leaking head gasket usually is obvious at lower rpms.
    does the car lose coolant/water when you run it around, but is not obviously leaking?
    a leaking headgasket can be a big repair, and shouldnt be hastily diagnosed.

    does the car still have a catalytic converter? (if not this probably wont be relevant)
    my 525 sat in the shop for a few weeks after i put a motor in it, i drove it today, and its putting out a little steam from the tailpipe, cleared up by the time i got home.

    if the cooling system has some coolant in it, not just straight water, run the car until you can duplicate the smoke/steam and, here is the weird part, get a light wiff of it. if it has no smell, dont worry about it, drive the car through some heat cycles and see if it goes away. if it smells sweet / like coolant, then yeah, you are introducing coolant to the combustion chamber.

    if the head gasket is leaking, the coolant is going to pump out pretty quickly, not slowly, if you want to do it that way, you need a pressure tester to look for compression pulses in the system.
    lots of times i have seen perfectly healthy cars pump coolant out slowly with the cap off / car running.
    no, i meant a coolant system pressure tester, compression test would be a good idea, even if the car doesnt have a headgasket problem, it will give some idea of the condition of the engine.

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    Oh yeaaaaa j0nbunklah0m's Avatar
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    ok well i jus got the headers in and changed the spark plugs n the car is still smoking.. the smoke is white coming from the muffler

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    95 teggy for parts DaRussian's Avatar
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    add water to the radiator and if its gonna start pushing it out that means u got a blown head gasket, it might not be completely blown because it only does it at high rmps but it could have a leak in it.

    White smoke means - steam, and when water gets inside the cylinder that means its gonna throw out white somoke.
    VQ Power ------- SHIFT_W.O.T <br>
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    92 eg Hatch b20vtec -- 1/4 mile -- 13.6

    Originally Posted by MMBmomoney
    i changed the vtec solenoid and nothing changed. in another post i saw "vtec fluid" where is that located and how do i check it?
    .

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    Oh yeaaaaa j0nbunklah0m's Avatar
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    well after i was running it for a while today (after i got the headers done) there was alot of black liquid (sprinkled) on my bumper.. guessing its oil? n i jus did the spark plugs about an hour ago n they were clogged to hell..

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    still looking for answers to the problem.. so far i have taht it could b the headgasket n piston rings?.. if anyone knows of something else it could be plz let me know. im going to get both the others checked out today or tommrow

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    so i jus got the car checked out by a mechanic and supposdly the problem is the piston rings... how much $ should labor and parts run to get them changed..

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