Smoking Till Warm

[toby1]

Can anyone help this is my first post,I have just bought a 52 is200 se which was a friends car that had been wrote off due to light damage on n/s wing. I have always liked the look of a Lexus so have repaired it and am about to treated her to a full respray and wheel refurb so all should look like brand new. The problem comes because it has to have a VIC done before I get the V5, I have not concerns with repairs but I have been told that they can fail it due to emissions, go I am going to have to sort that out before as well now. Friend told me its only the lambda sensor but a engineer at work told me probably a piston ring please tell me my dream of getting this beauty back on the road is turning into a nightmare. So could anyone tell me if they know of of had a similar problem there is no oil/water mixed, engine sounds good and very quite Help

[north]

if it was just the sensor your EML would be on ( get the ECU readout to see what fault code pops-up) f it isn't on then I have to be the barer of bad news and suspect a piston ring to or a leaking head gasket ( depending on the exhaust fumes colour... if it is white that is coolant fluid burning, if it is black that usually is oil)

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Are you sure you've actually got a problem? I mean how much smoke are we talking? no lights on suggests it's not the sensor.

Mine produces quite a lot of white smoke when it's cold or when it's been raining a lot. It passed the MOT emissions test no problem, tester said it was mostly condensation evaporating. On hot days I have very little smoke and cold days a lot!

[dmacdou1]

Mines is the same, smokey at cold start up then nothing when warmed up. Blue/white smoke so i'm guessing oil being burnt. Ive tried changing the PCV valve but no change. Maybe valve stem seals. Is this really an issue i need to worry about though?

[fjcfarrar]

A broken piston ring usually makes a characteristic noise and soon degenerates into the sound of an anvil being hit with all the hammers of hell.

Black smoke is a sign that it is not fully burning fuel. Thinnish white smoke is usually actually steam and if there all the time suggests water is getting into the combustion-chamber(s) ie. Head Gasket. Thick fluffy white/blue smoke is usually incompletely burnt excess oil in the combustion-chambers. Blue smoke or haze is oil fumes getting past everything and reaching the exhaust.

If the car has been standing for a while, the rings could be bit sticky - take the plugs out & squirt a good blast of WD40 down each hole, LEAVE OVERNIGHT for it to soak through. When it starts it will smoke a lot until the excess burns off.

Leaking valve-stems show up best if you find a long hill, take your foot off altogether half-way down, then accelerate near the bottom. If the stems are leaking, a small (or a big one if severe) cloud of smoke will then come out of the exhaust.

Also note that if it has been standing some time, the petrol in the tank absorbs water/moisture & make it steam/"smoke" more. This will disappear if you use most of it up & then refill.

Again, if it has been standing a while and you only start and run it until warm from time to time, it will not boil off all the moisture in the sound-absorbing material in the silencers. This will clear in regular use.

If after all that it still smokes (that is smoke, not steam) slightly only when cold and runs well; it is probably an indication the engine is just a bit worn and no big worry unless you have to keep topping up the oil.

[toby1]

i had MOT yesterday and passed on emissions got my VIC check on the 7th sept, oh sorry but the EML is on

[sjrainsford]

It passed the MOT with the EML on?

I'd defo get the fault codes read, it could be something that is contributing to the smoking issue, or something that may point you in the right general direction.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

The EML being on isn't a fail, not yet anyway. I work with a lad who had a 99 impreza and because of all the engine mods he's done his light is permently on. Passes the MOT every time :)

[sjrainsford]

That's good to know, thanks Chris.