[quote="Murdo"]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![/quote]


I have what you need

[quote="DaveMc"][quote="Murdo"]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![/quote]


I have what you need [/quote]

What ? A normal spark plug socket with a couple of extensions ?

That's my choice everytime and has done me for years.

Might pop through and see you Dave.. Got a couple niggling issues I reckon you could be the man for the job!

[quote="Tillerthou"]i always thought smoke was caused by worn out exhaust bearings.............

you can fix it by fitting cross drilled brakelines and high octane headlight fluid...................[/quote]

LMFAO.

well, here goes, possible answer within the replies but im terrible at reading between the lines, and also a lot of paranoia too.....
somtimes i get a fair amount of blueish smoke on start up the day after a long journey..... but after ive reversed out the drive and then pull away, no smoke...i would guess at valve stem oil seals?
however lately, if im going down a long hill and the engine is under no load then when i pull away from the roundabout at the bottom, god help anyone behind as im giving off a lot of blueish smoke, again, only for about half a mile, then its fine again...
so today i went down the offending hill, but dropped down to third to keep the engine under a bit of load, only a small whisp of smoke.
im hoping that the problem is valve seals....or could this be the pre cursor for piston rings.....?
im also going through a fair amount of oil

I would say that's likely a combination of valve stem oil seals and oil control rings (one of the piston rings basically).

Solution: Don't look in your mirrors, top up your oil regularly it's too much hassle to replace them, not worth it. Keep going till it gets too bad to deal with, then stick another engine in

ha ha ha, cheers Hughie, that's exactly the plan of action I was thinking of...
have sourced a spare engine already. just a case of finding funds as im not sure how much a new 1.5 z5 engine goes for.

Best way to go about it, just ask AndyM I had to open both doors to let some air through my workshop when he started up Meanie the other week couldn't frigging see!

Depends where you find them to be honest, they vary. I'm a tight b*****d so I'd probably pay about £50 for one

ha ha ha, mines not quite that bad just yet, but im finding that if I don't just let the engine run and coast down a hill im only giving off a tiny bit of smoke......the man with a garage full of spares(Dale) possibly has one , but condition unknown as yet....further investigations I think

If it gets too bad Paul you could try one of those 'miracle' additives to eek a bit more life out of the old engine before you have to replace

I've read good things about that Forte oil fortifier (or something along those lines)

It helped the father in laws petrol mondeo a lot, and those have a serious rep for smoky engines

Worth a try maybe:)

Cheers Andy , ive tried the wynn's stop leak before to mixed results.....but ill have a look about for that one, its not a major problem at the moment, just a little cause for concern

[quote="Neil F"]Black sooty smoke usually means rich running, too much fuel in the air/fuel mixture.[/quote]

Ok some tips went it hase black smoke and bad mileage :

1. Aftermarket FPR... Remove it or turn it a bit down
2. Bad quality open airfilter. Most of the cheap cones or domes are restricting or too open and distort the ecu's calculations

And most of all:
3. Bad 02 sensor(s)! Get it checked out, or do your own LED test !

@ V6 users: most errors come from the rear sensor. Code is 24 (2 long, 4 short) or 25 (2 long, 5 short)