Daft Question

[daddyjohal]

this will probably sound daft but, i know the appearance of little clouds of blue smoke usually mean impending turbo failure (or engine failure) but does the engine have to be in gear for you to see the smoke or can it be in neutral. ie. can i just get my wife to rev the knackers out of the engine while i stand behind (and pray she doesn't slip it into reverse) and look for the smoke?

[miketheman2k]

I wouldn't worry, I can't get mine into reverse even when I'm not revving the nuts off it [img]images/graemlins/spineyes.gif[/img]

btw, I think it can be in netural to see if oil is in the cylinders giving you the lush blue smoke.

Mike

[runrowsam]

If you really stick your toe down you may see some smoke, but it's much easier if you follow your car while someone else burns around in it. The first signs of blue smoke will only be visible under high loading, ie. with your toe on the floorboards and the engine working hard, especially in a high gear, since it prolongs the time at a certain rev range.

Good luck,

Rock on
Sam [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

[daddyjohal]

cheers guys.

[SimonS4MTM]

Smoke doesn't always mean turbo failure though!

[runrowsam]

Smoke doesn't always mean turbo failure

True, it coule mean your piston rings are nackered, or a few other nasties, but normally I would expect it to be the turbos on a car like this.

Rock on
Sam [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

[Dippy]

When you're in idle, the wastegates are open so all the exhaust bypasses the turbines. If enough gets through to turn them I couldn't say. However it depends in what (if any) oil leak you have.

I'd expect that for worn turbines, the leak would be most apparent for fast spin so it'd have to be a road test.

Blue smoke 'only' means that you're getting oil into the exhaust. The turbos are only one source. It could also be an engine gasket starting to fail. The biggest question is when do you see the blue smoke. If it's only at start-up then it's more likely to be a small leak. If it's continuous then it's something to be really worried about [img]images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Also, worn turbos tend to make more noise...