Running rich, white smoke & H2O collecting in exhaust tip

[ASheng89]

Hi guys. First off, I have a stock KA24DE in a '91 240sx. A few weeks ago my car was idling badly, so badly that it would stall out sometimes, and running rich (or so I assumed, after smelling gas and seeing that my plugs were fouled up nice and black) so I searched around and decided cleaning out my IACV would remedy the problem. After cleaning w/ carb cleaner and using some Seafoam in the brake booster line (1/3 pt.) & fuel tank (1/3 pt.), the car ran great, and then I found out I had to take the car to get smogged. It failed NOx at 15 mph but the tech also found that my timing was too advanced (23b), so I decided I would retard the timing to 18b. After failing again, I decided I should clean out the EGR. I undid the plug on the intake manifold that leads to the EGR and cleaned it out with a brush. Afterwards I Seafoamed the car again, this time with 1/3 pt. in the brake booster and 1/3 pt. in the crank case. After admiring the beautiful cloud of white smoke coming from my exhaust, which I deemed normal because of the Seafoam, I realized that the smoke had thinned out a bit but was not stopping. In addition, my erratic idling came back including the random stalling, and things were smelling pretty gasoline-y again. Soon I also realized that water was collecting in my exhaust tips; enough that it didn't look like just little beads of condensation, but mini-puddles in the corners of the exhaust tips (like maybe a teaspoon?). Checked my plugs, and they were black again. I suspected a blown head gasket and also checked compression, the results of which are as follows:

Cyl 1: ~180 psi
Cyl 2: ~180 psi
Cyl 3: 175 psi
Cyl 4: ~180 psi

To me, these numbers look good. I do not know how good of an indicator a compression test is for a blown head gasket, but I always thought bad compression + white smoke = blown head gasket. I am not sure if my coolant level is dropping, but I will be sure to check that the next time I run the engine for a while.

I've been searching for anyone with similar problems, but I can't seem to find any that fit my description exactly. However, I have found some threads involving parts of the problems I am experiencing, so I have a few ideas in mind. I don't want to post them up yet, for fear of biasing anyone's ideas. If anyone has any ideas, please help! If more information is needed I can readily provide it.

Thanks so much,
-Andrew

[jesse_s13]

Try this man...You can pick one up at your local napa auto parts.

[ultramagnus]

So let me 1st start with you have a BONE stock KA correct ?

1. Get you timing fixed to O.E, this will greatly help your idle issue.

2. Using too much seafoam will jack shit up. it's good once every oh 70k miles or so.

3. check your sensors and for loose vac hoses.

4. I would def replace the CAT,02 and do tune up b4 smogging the car again.

[mxexux]

Feeding sea foam into the engine intake has a possibility of ruining the CAT. Also you should change the plugs since you said that they are obviously fouled. How long did you run the engine after running sea foam through it? Did your car fail smog only for high NOx? High NOx is cause by bad EGR or running lean. You should post up the smog results for a better idea of whats going on.

[ultramagnus]

could also be a faulty injector (s), check to see if the injector is ticking, simple way of doing this is to put a long screw driver by the body of the injector and listen w/ ur ear on the handle listen for the pulsation if it's constant then it's fine, wiggle side to side to see if your idle changes.

[ASheng89]

Here are the results from my first and second smog tests:

Test 1:



Test 2:


Seems like everything got better in Test 2 except for NO at 15 mph, which actually got worse...

I may give that combustion leak tester a shot today. I'll also check my injectors.

Thanks! Keep the ideas comin!

[ASheng89]

By the way, the O2 sensor is fairly new; I replaced it about a week and a half before getting the first smog test done. But if it exploded from the Seafoam I was using I can definitely replace it again. Any ideas about the white smoke and water in my exhaust? If the compression test gives normal results, does that rule out a blown head gasket?

[herbieS13]

no it rules out bad piston rings, what does the smoke smell like? and what does the smoke look like besides color?

[mxexux]

Results are definitely pointing at the EGR. Check the whole system. Could be a bad diaphragm/spring, vacuum leak at the EGR, bad solenoid, etc. You said you cleaned out the EGR tube and that is a good start; in fact, that could have solved the problem. I don't think you have smogged it since then have you?

[JKL1031]

im having the same problem. white smoke when revved from a periodic idle, and gas smell. can i unplug injectors one by one and try to eliminate a leaky injector?

[s13silvia123]

did you change your motor oil before the emissions test. changing your oil helps out alot and lowers your NOX levels as well.

[JKL1031]

im not the OP. I just have an issue with smoke. It may be the valve seals. it builds up at idle and when i rev, it burns off. I may just raise my idle to constantly burn it away. I get less with the AC on, which raises the idle. but ive heard of people with the same issue have flooding injectors, and I do have a strong smell of gas.

[s13_maJiK]

Couple things to check that are simple.

1. Pull injector wires one by one to see if idle drops. If not, take a look at the o-rings on that injector
*tip before pulling the injectors out. Start the car, pull the fuel pump fuse and run the car until it dies, you don't need to do this but it will keep excess fuel from coming out upon injector removal. Proceed then to remove gas cap which will relieve vacuum on the fuel system, it will be easier to remove the injectors.
2. Spray carb cleaner on fuel rail donut o-rings. If the car stumbles a vacuum leak is present there.
3. Spray carb cleaner around the intake gasket. If the car stumbles a vacuum leak is present there.
4. Another way to check for leaking injectors pull the rail off with everything connected. Turn the key on, engine off. See if fuel is leaking from one of the injectors.


I personally was dealing with the same issue you all are dealing with. These were a few things I did to find out my problem. Keep it simple. Don't think to hard into it because most repairs tend to be little things.
-One last thing, it's going to be a good idea to change your oil after the problem is fixed because since you were dumping so much fuel most likely (fuel) it made its way into your oil and contaminated it.

[JKL1031]

my oil smells like gas, the level went down if anything, so I know im burning the oil. Im driving back home this wknd about 130 miles. should i change the oil before I do the drive? Im not sure if its mixing in or what.

[s13_maJiK]

Originally Posted by JKL1031

my oil smells like gas, the level went down if anything, so I know im burning the oil. Im driving back home this wknd about 130 miles. should i change the oil before I do the drive? Im not sure if its mixing in or what.

I wouldn't change your oil just yet because it will most likely get contaminated again.

[jptalaga]

my car had a gasoline smell to it as well, you should try some heavy duty injector cleaner like lucas or gumout. it fixed my problem. and i also passed my emissions test when i got my car inspected.

[rcdad123]

yup. check the egr. connect the vacuum port of the egr to a constant vacuum source from the intake manifold. if the engine dies, the egr is working. if it does not die, the egr might be bad or the egr port on the intake might be clogged. if the egr works fine, lower the ignition timing to the lowest allowed, usually 2-4 degrees lower than spec. also use 91 octane gas. higher octane reduces combustion temps. i`ve gone as far as using race fuel to lower nox on my cars. my last customer, i used a gallon of e85 mixed with 3 gallons of 91 reg. gas. good luck

[Laujpha]

recently fail smog with my 93 240sx for gross polluted. My s13 have alot of white smoke coming from the exhaust tail pipe. i decided to change head gasket, valve seal, fuel filter, o2 sensor, new spark plug, air fliter, clean my egr, intake gasket, header gasket, valve cover gasket, new water pump, new termostat, new tps,clean my iacv, ect.. pretty much the whole head gasket set kit.. with that being said...i still have white smoke and car smell like its burnig to much gas...did compression test and all cylinder have 155 psi...any suggestions and help i would really appreciate it.

[andisan]

I always point to the little black box next to the header, I had the dealership put a new one in there after it failed the first time, but I should of just cleaned the old one :/ I just didn't want to deal with it failing smog :/