[quote="Ringo"][quote="A L 3 X"]
the water didn't smell either[/quote]

At least now you know nothings pissin on your car aswell innit! [/quote]


lol.....think i found my problem though

Started it up today and had a real good whiff....smelt like fuel and added to the fact the plugs a bit sooted i think the car may be overfuelling slightly....any ideas how to go about sorting this?

Jeez mate, I wish you'd hurry up and get a girlfriend!!!

jeez mate, i wish you'd help me out wi this....theres obviously sumthin wrong cos it aint condensation

The exhaust is going to smell of fuel on start up because the choke will be on untill the engine gets up to temp. The condensation won't clear untill the whole exhaust system has heated up and even then there will be a certain amount of water vapour so unless its still smoking and smelling of fuel after the car has had a good long run and is nice and hot then don't worry about it. That's unless its plumes of black smoke coming out the exhaust.

Alex, would I be right in saying your car doesn't get run all that often?

its only getting run about once a day by my mum at the moment so thats probably why, my dad would take it like 3 times a day before....so its probably gonna carry on like this as i wont be able to afford the petrol to run it that much lol

so what about the sooted plugs then cos they're only like a few months old

Don't know anything about the plugs personally, but as with the fuel smell on start-up, I'd agree with everything Eire323f said. especially if the car isn't gettin any decent runs, you'll be left with water/fuel vapours in the exhaust system, which you'd be able to smell on start-up. I remember trying to start up my old V6 after it had been sat for a couple of weeks and (when it actually started) it stank!

Get your mother to take it out for a proper drive to clear and shit out of it's system and see if that helps at all?

Very good thread this one.

Just one question is there a reason why newer cars don;t smoke as much or with some not at all?
This is on start up and after running for a while on a cold morning.

Just something that has bugged me for a while and always forget to ask.

On the sooted plugs it could be just the short trips on choke all the time, doesn't mean it's overfueling or they could be the wrong temp plugs.
Have a read
http://www.club323f.com/ba/guides/plugs/plugs.php

[quote="scott5050"][quote="Anothersucker4a323f"][quote="ziggy323f"]valve stem oil seals - where are these located???[/quote]

on the valve stems

Cylinder head off job if I'm correct, if not I will soon be put in place no doubt [/quote]

You're not correct. Go to your place!

You can use compressed air or nylon rope down the spark plug hole to hold the valve up while you change the stem seals.

Much easier doing it with the head off but not as much hassle as removing the head.[/quote]

So is this job possible for someone with not much experiance?
What tools/ parts do I need? Im guessing the car needs jacking up to do this?

I've got a question if you don't mind. My car's burns oil on start up, as blue smoke comes out. However, when the engine gets warm, it stops. If I start it again, with a warm engine, no smoke. The only theory I have is that one of my piston rings is leaking oil onto the cylinder, so when it gets warm it expands, sealing it and stopping the oil leaking onto the cylinder. Good theory or bad?

Cheers guys,

Raul

Having exact same problem mate
If you read my post in the Ba section in the service section titled Got a Problem you'll see the similarity.

I'm still sticking to my guns Debz, and I think its the same story for shiftyraul here - worn valve seals.

I've never done this but a friend of mine suggested putting something like Engine Stop Leak in the oil? The name suggests it should help but I've never used the stuff

[quote="shiftyraul"]I've got a question if you don't mind. My car's burns oil on start up, as blue smoke comes out. However, when the engine gets warm, it stops. If I start it again, with a warm engine, no smoke. The only theory I have is that one of my piston rings is leaking oil onto the cylinder, so when it gets warm it expands, sealing it and stopping the oil leaking onto the cylinder. Good theory or bad?

Cheers guys,

Raul[/quote]
Sounds like a worn valve stem oil seal, it seeps down the valve stem into the bores/inlet ports when the engine cools down and then burns when you start it up from cool. It burns off, then stops smoking. It'll get worse eventually, but it could take a while to become a real worry.

Hi guys this looks like my first port of call my car smokes on start up (oil) and then after about a minute its gone ive rebuilt the head full strip rebuild,skim seals etc but its still doing it any ideas dont really know much about the model but its a 323 LXI 1.5 with cambelt/chain??

It should be noted that the valve stem oil seals are different for the inlet and exhaust valves, even though they look the same. Could it be possible you've fitted them, or even just a few of them the wrong way?

Valve stem seals deffo. My wifes old 626 did it every morning. When you start it up, it just burns off the drop of oil that has dripped down.

Well my new car is deffo smoking. Just went for the mot and all the techies had to leave the garage for the emissions test
Apart from that it only failed 0n a bulb and 1 tyre.
So easy peasy then. Swap a tyre, change a bulb then swap the engine. Mornings work. I've done 200 miles since I got it and the dipstick is down to half already. I think the oil on a few plugs and on the plug leads is a bit of a giveaway.

I spotted the different sizes ive just had a look at the pcv and it ratles and i also remember there was a lot of oil in the inlet side when i striped it down??

[quote="silver-machine"]Well my new car is deffo smoking. Just went for the mot and all the techies had to leave the garage for the emissions test
Apart from that it only failed 0n a bulb and 1 tyre.
So easy peasy then. Swap a tyre, change a bulb then swap the engine. Mornings work. I've done 200 miles since I got it and the dipstick is down to half already. I think the oil on a few plugs and on the plug leads is a bit of a giveaway.[/quote]

You're laughing then! I have to put in a few litre of oil every week when I had this problem!

Sooted spark plugs, especially within a few months of changing are normally due to an incorrect mixture of fuel/air, one of them being too rich. Have you got an obscenely huge induction kit or aftermarket fuel pressure regulator turned up too high ie a fse boost valve turned up way too high?

I agree with the majority here though it does sound like the all to common stem seals.

[quote="steven"]Sooted spark plugs, especially within a few months of changing are normally due to an incorrect mixture of fuel/air, one of them being too rich. Have you got an obscenely huge induction kit or aftermarket fuel pressure regulator turned up too high ie a fse boost valve turned up way too high?

I agree with the majority here though it does sound like the all to common stem seals.[/quote]

Cheers Steven.. Saved me a question! Originally here because of white smoke (cheers op for the heads up) but your answer about the sooted sparks makes sense for me, as my intake hose was split in half for months.. meaning incorrect mixture of air/fuel.. So black plugs? Cause I've took the front three out and they were VERY black.. Can't get to the back three tho

How about white smoke, that smells of fuel.. After 20-30 min run and warm engine/exhaust?

If you can smell fuel, then I'd say you're running a little rich, you really need to change all the plugs though, I'm sure there should be a guide for removing the inntake manifold to allow access to the rear bank

Cheers.. I considere plugs due to front ones being über black!! I'll try and get rear bank done too

You don't need to remove the manifold to change the rear ones. as long as you've got a long tool.

That's the problem.. I don't. Well it's long enough but the handle at top stops it from turning

Just get a longer spark plug tool - a billion times easier than removing the intake manifold for the first time

Agree with Hughie.

I removed an intake manifold the other day and it was a pain in the a**e.. and even that was with the knowledge that I wouldn't have to worry about re-fitting it again.

I wouldn't go near the intake manifold.. I know when to leave the job for the professionals! I'm on the hunt for a longer spark plug tool!