I just did a engine swap into my 92 civic dx. I put a b18b1 with eagle rods, arp head studs, acl race bearings, 1000cc injectors, hondata s3000, t3t4 turbonetics turbo, and 255lph walboro pump. But it still has stock pistons. So i know that when you break in a new engine it smokes because the rings have to seal. But i am going on 1000 miles and it seams like it is smoking a little more. Do you know if it will stay like that because they are just stock pistons or will it seal and go away soon?

 

Shoulda replaced the pistons while you were building it. But my question is more did you bore or hone the block? did you get new rings before putting the pistons back in?

 

the block was already honed when i got it and i put brand new stock pistons and rings in too but its still smoking

 

anyone??

 

what are your ring gaps?

 

Oil return from turbo...

 

How much boost are you running and do you have some kind of catch can setup to release positive crankcase pressure? If you have too much pressure in the crankcase, that could cause oil to seep past the seals.

 

As far as the ring gaps i did not gap them, i didn't know about that, we just put them in as is. And the oil return from the turbo, its funny you ask that because its a 36" hose, but it is such a tight fit that it is leaking at the turbo side but its not leaking on the exaust, and i am replacing it with a 48" today. I am running only 5 lbs of booost i just broke it in it has only 1700 miles on it. I havn't herd of a catch can setup how could i check that or where would it be?

 

There is a specific gap that needs to be set where the rings come together, you also have to have the gaps clocked a certain way.



Note this picture is just an example and may not be the one for your application. The slashes indicate the orientation of gap in said ring.

There's a video by evans tuning that demonstrates how to gap the rings. Look it up on youtube.

Three things are possible just from what you've stated. The rings have too large of gap and/or aren't clocked correctly, the turbo is leaking oil, or there's no pressure relief system(catch can) setup for the crankcase and oil is pushing past the rings. Could also be a combination of these things.

You should probably take it to a shop and have them look at it.

 

Are you sure that is the return line not the oil feed line

 

Does it smoke under power or more at an idle?

 

ya your right it is the oil feed line that is leaking, my bad. It smokes a little when it idles but it smokes alot when i am taking off and it is very random when it happens

 

yea thats most likely a turbo related problem, not a motor problem

 

well i would say that knowing that you didnt check the piston-wall clearance and ring gap when assembling the block that it might be part of your problems. at this point without disassembling the engine the only way you can test to see if the rings are your problem would be to do a compression or leakdown test on the engine. did you ever run the car without the turbo setup on it? if so was it smoking then? you've got quite a few miles, usually a break in period for a fresh engine is 500 miles, after that the rings should be sealed.. alot of newer rings now dont really even require much of a break in because of the way they are designed.. alot of guys build a motor and break them in on the dyno within about an hour or so.

hope this helps

 

so i was told i could check the turbo hose that feeds into the intercooler to check for turbo problems and it isnt very dirty at all. and i just bought the motor and turbo together so i have no idea if it smoked before. I'll do a compression test somwher to see if it's the pistons and rings. But if it is the pistons and rings im going to get new wiseco pistons and rings, what compression would you run 8.5-1 or9.5-1? Also i noticed it smokes way more when im at a higher altatude and when i am going down hill whats up with that? Thanks for the help

 

i just sucked teflon tape through my oil feed line for my turbo. did i just blow my turbo?

 

You should be ok, it is probably in your oil pan already.

 

i checked and the turbine is loose because the teflon tape got stuck where the oil feed line goes in and starved my turbo of oil. i guess my car smoking is the least of my problems now.

 

That sucks bro, I would take evrything off or park it until you get the turbo replaced or rebuilt.

 

yea i found i turbonetics on craigslist yesterday and got it fixed but now im a little short of cash for some new pistons but oh well i have a car again. two more questions when my car smokes, it smokes the most when i am driving down the mountain do you know why? and what compression pistons should i run?

 

If you replaced your turbo with something a little newish, and its still smoking, and smokes more when you are going down hill its because you are probably engine braking while going down the hill, which creates alot of vacumm in the intake mani, and cylinders which pulls oil past the rings into the cylinder. Definatly do a compression and leakdown test to be sure. When doing the leakdown test pay attention to where the air is escaping. If you hear it in the exhaust manifold, its the exhaust valves/seats that are bad; if you hear it from the intake mani, its the intake valves/seats that are bad; Some air will come out of the valve cover, or dipstick tube, which is normal, but you dont want a whole lot. If alot comes out of the valve cover or dipstick tube, your rings are shot. And if you dont hear/ feel it from those places, see if your coolant is bubbling, which would indicate a blown head gasket.

 

I still havn't done a compression test but i was wondering if you guys think that a bent valve would do it. It would make sence because it only smokes when i am going doWn a hill and give it gas. witch would be because i am burning off the oil when i am going up a hill but when i am going down a hill it is just spitting it out of the exaust. What do you think?

 

how did u use stock pistons on a rod designed for a floating wrist pin? i suspect this may be part of your problem (not to mention neglecting to gap your rings, or clock them from what i gather)



but in reality, chances are it is your oil drain line. hopefully for you....

 

so i just did a compression test and all of the cylinders read about 145lbs witch is perfect and the pressure stays the same it does not bleed off. and the pistons were also floating as far as i can remember but i'm not positive. so does anyone have any other ideas

 

145 seems pretty low for a fresh engine. Standard pistons and rings, over sized bore??? Is the hose that goes from your turbo to the oil pan kinked? What do your spark plugs look like? Strange build.