I'm getting a pretty good cloud on start up, then I get some puffs on shifts and under heavier load. Once it heats up it's fine, maybe my oil seals are being funky or the turbo is funked... any thoughts? Compression is great.

 

A little is normal. For my car it turned out to be water seals.

 

It's definetely an oil cloud smell and color. It's strange though, I mean it doesn't smoke at all once it heats up, I don't have any cats in it and I have been parking it on a bit of an incline. It just seems odd that it doesn't smoke at all once it's warmed up.

 

Similar to valve guides on high mileage piston engine. When the guides are worn some oil will leak in the combustion chamber but once the engine is warm the guides swell from heat and the oil cannot get by, I would imagine a similar situation w/ your engine as well, maybe the oil passes into the housing(s)but once the heat expands the o-rings and metal/alum pieces it seals up whereever the oil was seeping.

 

Hey phinsup,



I am no expert but those are the exact symptoms of what led my car needing a rebuild. It would smoke a little on startup and then never again when warm. then it went to smoking on startup and a little during shifts. Then it went to smoking on startup and shifting and then when pulling away at a light I would leave the folks behind me in a cloud of smoke. Oil seals were bad and needed to be replaced.



It happened again when the car overheated and burned out another oil seal. the exact same symptoms that you report.

 

Yea I guess I could see that happening, I just assumed, like in most cases I have witnessed when the oil seals went, they went good.

 

Maybe, like gazellis stated, you are receiving the early warning signals of an imminent rebuild; as if you needed more **** to worry about

 

My RX-7 unlike others never floods but it does exactly what you say every now and then.



Rather than my engine flooding there is excess fuel in the motor that keeps it from idling correctly on a cold start.



If I let it sit and it continues to idle like that, it will begin to smoke just like yours because it is trying to burn up that excess fuel. I could go for 1 quick ride through my neighborhood and go half throttle in just 1 gear and it'll clear it right up.



Basically, it's excess fuel. Burn it up and you're in good shape. It's better than flooding and the car not even starting.

 

Yea actually of all the RX-7's I've owned this is the only one that doesn't flood on me, I've only had it flood once and that was when my battery died. It does seem to be using some oil though.

 

wow, lionheart, make that pic smaller before i remove it