SMOKE!

[b333ry]

hey everyone, back to the MR2 scene

Picked myself up a mk1 '85, in need of tlc as to be expected, 88k on the clock (will post a pic soon)

have knowledge on the 3sge but never worked on or touched a 4age -

bacically she has idle issues which i expect is the unit under the throttlebody - will investigate further

BUT the real issue is a mad smoke issue, she overheated on me the other night for 2 mins, stopped cooled down and refilled, last night i was driving and she all of a sudden it smoked really bad (light blue and lots of it) so obviously oil and it was pouring out, but this morning went to have another look and no smoke on startup or a mile round trip to see - initially i thought HG or valve stems so was expecting a plume of smoke on startup what with oil potentially pooling up in the cylinder/s overnight but nothing in fact no issues at all -

to sum up - no milk in oil, slight oil slick in coolant but this was present prior (flushing this weekend and refil with toyo red).

i will compression test tonight but any other ideas or things to check whilst im under the hood?

[monkeymax]

As posted in the 4AGZE blowing noise thread, these are the compression test values you're looking for:

(make sure engine is cold and throttle wide open - those were the earlier steps)

Probably not worth speculating on smoke cause till you've done the compression test but it could be worn piston rings... Has the engine been sat for a while? Probably just needs a good drive (warm up and good revs! ).

[b333ry]

many thanks monkeymax - thats great, i shall see what the results are when i get home tonight

she was a garage queen for a while so yea sat for well over a year, i did give it a good spirited drive, nothing mad though.

it was after that is when it went i'm not happy

[monkeymax]

Don't be too upset! If the bodywork is all good, the engine is pretty easy to take care of.

[b333ry]

sorry i meant the car wasn't happy - not me i still love it

[tottacrolla]

I know that the 4age bigport in Corollas had a problem with oil draining back to the sump from the head and sometimes when cornered hard they would blow a cloud of smoke from the exhaust. I don't know about MR2's doing the same though. Might be worth a search.

[tottacrolla]

I know that the 4age bigport in Corollas had a problem with oil draining back to the sump from the head and sometimes when cornered hard they would blow a cloud of smoke from the exhaust. I don't know about MR2's doing the same though. Might be worth a search.

[jimi]

Never heard of or seen that on a MK1 and I've cornered mine pretty hard
Is it definitely oil ? could it be overfuelling, I've seen something similar caused a by a vacuum leak on the hard line running round the inlet plenum to the MAP sensor.

[b333ry]

so after a hard days graft on it deffo headgasket blown and for some time too, closer inspection oil level has dropped a good 1/4 in a week and the cream in the cooling system was crazy - all flushed and coolant put back in for now, the rad is rusted on the inside so flushed that too, closer inspection and assumptions i dont think it ever had coolant just water well at least for a good while

so i come down to what to do, monies tight as having to purchase another car as a stop gap for now, question are the head bolts stretch type ie reusable? if so could i just get away with gasket until next year? or slap some kseal in it - silly question and i know what the 'proper' solution should be but as a temp 3-4 month solution

oh and the oil smoke, turns out previous owner/s werent very careful with filling with oil the spark plug channel was 2'' deep with old oil, i think oil seeped past 2 of the plugs (once hot) and caused the smoke - its a theory anyways maybe worth checking on others for anyone else

[Lauren]

You must replace the head bolts they are one use only.

[Ben]

oh and the oil smoke, turns out previous owner/s werent very careful with filling with oil the spark plug channel was 2'' deep with old oil, i think oil seeped past 2 of the plugs (once hot) and caused the smoke - its a theory anyways maybe worth checking on others for anyone else

This could well be the camcover gasket

[PW@Woodsport]

Also it may be a more serious repair than you've bargained for, take the head off and inspect the block around number 4 cylinder, they are notorious for deep pitting here and can render an engine as scrap, no amount of replacement gaskets will fix it. On every 4a-ge I've inspected after a HG failure, a good 70% of them have suffered block corrosion which means a full rebuild/block skim and in some cases unuseable.

Kseal? Not if my life depended on it, it may well temporarily block a HG breach, but it will also block your radiator, minor coolant passages, heater matrix and thermostat, I think it's a total bodge.

[SuperRedMR2]

You must replace the head bolts they are one use only.

The head bolts are not stretch bolts but recommended to replace.

[b333ry]

thanks for all your replies everyone and your knowledge too Paul,

i think im damned in anyways, so i plan on removing the head just to assess block if anything and go from there, if totalled and not worth the money/time i will part the car due to needing welding and painting

i will update with my findings