i always see a big puff of smoke recently after ive been idling, its a distinct blue color. then i did a valve adjustment today, and after maybe 20 minutes of driving it my car died on me and i couldnt start it back up. after holding up traffic, it started up barely and chugged home spewing out blue smoke. got any ideas?

 

I believe you are burn oil my friend, could be valve stem seals, or piston rings.

 

i had a similar problem...at an idle my car wouldnt smoke but as i would go, i put up a smoke screen an all the cars behind me disappeared. then one day i was on my way home goin up a hill an she just fell on her face, power loss blue smoke an died out, took a minute to start an as i got going started to misfire. long story short my valve seals an guides were shot causing oil to burn, an after so much oil being ran thro my exhaust it coated my o2 sensor causing that to fail, an that sends info to my ecu telling it to up the air/fuel ratio, making my 4cyl run thro gas like a v8. so what i would recommend for you is to do a compression check along with a cyl. leak down....i ended up getting a new head rebuilding a d15b2 wasnt worth it to me.

 

new engine for 200 bucks FTW!!!! i just did my swap. took me to days to have it swapped, and tunned everything just right. now it runs like a dream.

 

Okay I tested it some more and it only smokes when I accelerate from 1k-1.5k. Nothing at other RPM's, does that help at all? I'm hoping it's not my rings, my head is about to be changed anyways so I wouldn't mind swapping that out

 

lolz...
tight tight.

 

I did find a d16y7 with rod knock for $50, to buy or not to buy? Is it a reasonable fix, or would I have to take everything apart?

 

I think you'll end up spending more fixing that one than buying another used one for $200-$300

 

i see. i also found a y7 with a hole through the block for $30, hopefully the head is good. did i mention yet, it only starts smoking after the car is warmed up?

 

bump, same question. well not on my car but on my neighbors, his does the same. any good tech on this?

 

looks like compression test is the only way to tell, my broke *** cant even afford a tester till the paycheck comes in

 

you can rent a compression tester from autozone and just get your deposit back when your done. My car is doing the same thing.. I swapped heads with a known good head and it is still smoking signifigantly. Compression tested good but when I took pistons out it was obvious the oil rings had gone bad. I bought the car as a non-runner and I think the previous owner had gotten it hot and lost ring tension in the oil rings but still made good compression. So rings are hopefully my problem. I am changing them out this week and I will let you know my results when complete.

 

People at autozone were being gay, they said they didn't have one, until I said I'd buy it. Then they told me they had 2 different kinds

But hey, $25 isn't too bad. I got 180, 180, 150, 180. Then added some oil to #3 and got 200 in that one. Looks like it's rings for me too. I'm just going to buy another engine, this one's been beaten on most of it's life

 

so it is the rings most likely. darn, this sucks, ok so when i change the rings should i still hone the cylinder walls? or will it b ok without it

 

Leakdown test would be the next test. Compression is a good starting point for major damage.
I had an engine that was warped BAD and compression was great. Cylinder walls were wavy instead of straight so rings generated compression about 1/2 the time... just enough to kick out good numbers.

 

i dont wanna sound like a total noob to this, but how can i preform the leakdown test myself, i don't know too much about them.

 

I'm just gonna drive it till it blows, then swap in whatever I can find. 92 hp barely gets me up hills

 

Did you do a compression test yet? It may be valve seals...

 

no i haven't, i should though. i don't have the tester. but i might buy one. well if it is the head then imma just say screw it, build my zc bottom i have laying around with a vtec head and run that. you said the tester is about $25 at a auto store?

 

Got mine for $25 at Advanced auto

 

hmm ok, ill pick one up. always good to have one around. good luck with your motor

 

always hone cylinder walls with new rings
or they wont seat right and it will smoke

 

ok, i got another question. how do you measure the bore size of the piston? i want to rebuild my zc but im not sure how to measure the size

 

I'm having the same problem, did it work for you?