civtic

Hi,

ok so i have a UK '99 Aerodeck 1.8 VTI (B18C4) engine. It's done 135,000 miles. Basically when i got it the exhaust valve was burnt so i stripped the top end off.

I replaced the valve etc new headgasket all the usual - fired her up, all ok.
good compression, 215 - 220psi throughout (before the rebuid one cyl was 0psi, the rest aroun 160psi)
she runs fine but just one problem. BLUE SMOKE!

ok blue smoke, it's not thick, it's whispy from the exhaust obviously. Valve stem seals i hear you cry, possibility as i never replaced them but why i think it's not is because of the PCV valve.

If i'm right in sayin, if you pinch the hose from the PCV valve to the intake manifold you should hear it click? well i tried that (i tried the hose with the red adaptor that goes into the PCV?) and nothing happens - even tried it with a screwdriver on the PCV to my ear and couldn't hear a thing. That hose is very oily, too. Plus if i take the oil filler cap off there's a lot of pressure, oil splurts out of it, not just a little but quite a lot.

It doesn't smoke when it's cold, it's only once it starts to heat up the smoke gets worse and obviously when you rev the engine.

Any ideas folks? the car's probably been sitting for a good few months and he did say he ran the engine on 3 cylinders for a bit!! and i haven't been a drive in it yet to see if it clears up.


One other Q: if i remove the hose going to the intake manifold should this stop the smoking if it is the PCV that's the problem?*

hott95ej2

if the pcv valve is clogged then replace it

civtic

yeah i'll try whip it off tomorrow to check it but it really is a PITA getting behind that inlet manifold.

I think although the PCV is more than likely clogged i still reckon it's the valve stem seals..

I guess what i'll do tomorrow is let it heat up and take it a drive and see if the smoke goes away under load, this, i believe, would say it's valve stem seals?..

if it doesn't go away under load would that still point to PCV? assuming rings are ok (which i'm sure they are).

If i can't be assed taking the PCV off to check would i get away with disconnecting the pipe going from the PCV to the Intake and letting it idle for a while then taking it a drive to clear up?.. or would oil come splurting out of the PCV and make a good ol' mess?

i know i'm throwing a lot of questions here, probably quite stupid questions, lol, but hey!

jaynmeli

sounds like valve seals to me. easy way to check is pull the header off and look at the exhaust ports on the head and see if there is oil buildup "residue" there. if so you will be needing some seals.

civtic

yeah i'm going to redo the clearances tomorrow anyway so the valve cover's coming off.. i couldn't see any build up when i first inspected the car (when the valve was burnt).. and it's not been running that much as i only got it running today, so it's more or less been idling for maybe an hour in total (on and off) so i'm not sure if they'll be significant build up but i will check, thanks..

keep yous posted!

ninethree-civic

when you redid the vaves did you redo the stem seals?

ALWAYS redo the stem seals they cost like waht 2 bucks each?

2X 16 + press in......

i say its worth it

also ......post pics of your car please i don't know wtf an aerodeck or a b18c4 is. sounds sick

all we have here are the b18c1 = integra GSR
and the b18c5= integra type-r

civtic

i bought valve stem seals in order to do them but the valve compressor i had was the wrong type, i hate to use a socket and hammer to get the burnt valve out and knew it was going to be difficult getting it back in with the compressor i had.. so never bothered changing the seals - and yeah it was a mission getting the valve spring back on, had to improvise using a nut on top of the retainer, lever the nut up from sliding off whilst compressing and trying to insert the 2 half shell retainers (don't know what they're called).. so i never bothered doing the rest.

I also know you can change them while the head is on? fill the cylinder with compressed air and use a special compressor tool.. so i wasn't TOO fussed about not doing them although i knew i should have, if i could have.

I'll get pics up soon, it is raining hard and it needs a wash, has some sort of pearlescent paint, looks green mostly but changes kinda blue at different angles, but it's not that 'rice' way you sometimes see, well over here in the UK anyway..

It's just an Estate version based mostly on the MB6? and the engine puts out around 169bhp and 122 lf/lbs as far as i believe.

civtic

weyy!

so i think i know what it is, pretty sure actually.

Got up this morning and i start the car, straight away there's blue smoke from start-up. I assume that oil got down through the valve stem seals overnight and hence smoke straight away?

Took it a blast around the block and the smoke cleared up. Again, this would mean valve stem seals?.. it's driveable though but i will change them asap.

Can anyone recommend a place to get that wee valve spring compressor plate that allows you to change them without taking the head off (filling the cylinder with air).. or even dimensions of such a (similar ) device!?!

Thanks guys.