1. Home
  2. SAAB Cars Forum
  3. Low Mileage '83 Turbo Smokey Exhaust at Start

Low Mileage '83 Turbo Smokey Exhaust at Start

Hi all -- My 135 K '83 900 Turbo has been running beautifully. I run mobil 10-30 W synthetic oil. But as the weather has turned cool, I seem to have developed a strange problem. I don't appear to be burning oil, but when I start the car, I get a little smoke from the exhaust, which increases for the first mile or two, and then seems to go away.

I lost a alternator waterpump belt a few weeks back, and the engine did badly overheat. I changed the oil and oil filter. What should I look for? Could it be a valve problem? A turbo problem?

Thanks,

Jim

n0spam (at) verizon.net

Reply to
Strom
Loading thread data ...

Most likely causes: turbo seal or valve stem seals.

My money's on the turbo seal.

Reply to
Grunff

In article , snipped-for-privacy@ixxa.com spouted forth into alt.autos.saab...

You sure that it isn't just condensation vapour? I know my T16, and both of my old Skodas (and Skodas are notorious for headgaskets) did it in winter, and were mechanically fine.

Reply to
MeatballTurbo

Sounds perfectly reasonable - when the OP said smoke, I assumed he meant oil burning smoke, rather than fluffy white steam. If the latter, then Meatball's probably right.

Reply to
Grunff

in article snipped-for-privacy@eunomia.uk.clara.net, Grunff at snipped-for-privacy@ixxa.com wrote on 22/11/2003 21:29:

I don't think there's much for Jim to worry about. His "smoke" seemed to be directly related to the change in weather. A couple of obvious signs of bigger problems would be a white goo in the oil dipsitck or water tide-marks around the turbo gaskets. Either way, nothing a gasket change wouldn't resolve, so long as it's done before lasting damage can be done. Losing considerable amounts of coolant is the most obvious sign of something wrong.

Good to have you back Grunff - you've been very quiet recently, or taken a much needed break.

Paul

1989 900 Turbo S
formatting link
Reply to
Paul Halliday

Thanks Paul. I had a week's downtime on the isdn lines, after which I had a lot of catching up to do.

One of the hazards of living out in the sticks. I really love BT

- I'd like to know how long it would've taken if I wasn't paying extra for 'TotalCare'...

Reply to
Grunff

Thanks for the help guys. I did in fact see a little white goo on the dipstick yesterday. Would that likely mean a head gasket?

Thanks again,

Jim

Reply to
Strom

A little white goo can easily be caused by condensation. A lot of white goo == blown head gasket.

Reply to
Grunff

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.