PLEASE tell me it isn't precat related... it's white?!?!

[Anonymous]

£1000 for a 10K miler sound like a good deal.

Sorry to hear of your further troubles. White smoke is normally coolant related, is'nt it? - I remember the head gasket going on an old car and lots of white smoke.

Mines going in for a full engine flush and oil change on Tuesday - the first oil change since i had the precats removed. Whether it will cut the oil consumption or not i have no idea. Worth a try though.

Let us know if you get a diagnosis on your blown engine. Good luck.

[aaronjb]

White smoke was always clasically headgasket, yep.. but it's not the only thing that comes out white  s;) s;)

If oil is burnt in the cylinders it's usually blue - but modern synthetics (in my experience - don't ask!) burn very nearly white with just a hue of blue..

If oil ends up in the exhaust side (without going through the cylinders) - effectively just being 'boiled' it comes out white.  Unlikely the case in our cars (unless turboed) though.

[Anonymous]

I had a car that went tits up with loads of white smoke pouring out the back totally filling the road! When I stripped it down it turned out it'd melted a hole in two of the pistons!!!

Sorry for your bad luck mate.

[Anonymous]

I seem to remember loads of white smoke pouring out of one tailpipe on my old Scimitar GTE, accompanied by a very loud knock from the engine.

It turned out that the seals had failed on the vacuum servo, and the engine was trying to run on brake fluid!

[philster_d]

ISTRC watching out for blue smoke as a bad sign when buying a second hand turbo car

[Jap GT300]

well, the chap from the garage came out whilst the recovery bloke was unloading it, as he lives next to the garage. He seems to think it's too early to write the engine off, and wants to have a look at it tomorrow if he can fit it in.

can't see it working out myself.

Adam had a 10,000 mile engine for £1000, i know another chap who's got a 38,000 mile engine available for £600...

That was actually 11,364 km.  The engine has been run up, inspected and is clear from any failures.  It does come with a warranty and we can provide a fitting service although we'll need the car for 2 days.

Adam

[Anonymous]

Km?!? so that'd only be about 6500 miles? that could well have tipped the balance. After much head scratching and finance analysing i went with the other one, but if I'd known it was even lower mileage (or kilometreage!?   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  ), as well as had extensive testing, I probably would've looked into how much it'd cost to get the car down to you...    s:( s:(  

How much would the fitting be just in case things don't work out? Also, any ideas how i'd get the car to you? (it's most definately not driveable at the mo!)

[Anonymous]

Right, well, I got the car back this evening.   s:D s:D  

Was very very nervous & apprehensive to be honest, especially after the guy says "yeah, that engine you got seems ok, it ran like sh** when we first started it, but after some new plugs and 15mins it doesn't seem too bad. There's a slight rattle at the top end but that could be the timing chain"!   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

But anyway, I've taken it for a nice slow warm-up for a good few miles, then slowly opened her up a bit...  well, the performance is certainly there!   s:D s:D  

either my old engine was losing power for some time, gradually, so that I didn't really register it, or it could be that i've been driving crappy 1.2L courtesy cars for a week, but my car now feels really quite noticeably quicker!   s:D s:D  

With regards to the rattle that the guy mentioned, it's not at the top end at all, it's at about 3k revs, and I think it's a heatshield. It certainly sounds like something rattling with resonance. The engine sounds slightly 'tappety' when idling, but only slightly, and I could just be being overly sensitive...

The only real issue I've got is that it threw a CEL after a few miles, and then seemed slightly less eager over 4000rpm, from previous experience after the accident last year, and from stuff I've read here, I'm guessing it's an O2 sensor. I suppose something was gonna pop after major surgery like an engine swap, so as long as it's that i'm not too worried. I'll reset the ECU tomorrow by way of disconnecting the battery and see how it goes. If it keeps coming back on and I can't find someone on here to read the code   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:   then I guess it's a trip to MrT to pay for it to be read...

Oh, and the passenger window doesn't work!!!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:    but seeing as I appear to have come through this with an approximate total cost of about £1.3k (so far), which includes the engine, I can tolerate a couple of minor issues getting it settled down again.

[spit]

Great to have you back so soon  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  Whats happened to the old engine??

3k resonance rattle is a classic heatshield symptom (probably the one under the Cat).

Oh, and the passenger window doesn't work!!!

Just a stab in the dark, but you may have unwittingly joined the "DOH!" Club  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  We've all done it, and those that haven't are liars!  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

(See Here for info)

[Anonymous]

Just a stab in the dark, but you may have unwittingly joined the "DOH!" Club  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  We've all done it, and those that haven't are liars!  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

hahaha!!! i'd completely forgotten about that!!!! I did know, and as soon as I read your post, i remembered, i'll check tomorrow. I've had a couple of glasses of wine tonight and as much as i'd like to know, knowing my luck, i'd be sat there testing it and a copper would pull up and do me for being 'drunk in charge...'!!!!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

I'll check it tomorrow and let you know. And yeah, re: the 3k rpm rattle, that's exactly what I thought, it had a really bad one when I bought it and that was at almost the same rev point... here's hoping! *raises another glass of vino!*   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

**EDIT** Oh yeah, the old engine, currently sat on the garage's floor pending a decision I think. What would you suggest?? I'm in half a mind just to say they can have it if they can use it?!? wouldn't really be sure what to do with it myself... (of course, I'm open to offers!?!   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  )

[red_leicester]

Well I hope it's all sorted now James and it hasn't put you off 2s too much.

Let's hope it's just the passenger window switch and a heatshield, then you'll be all   s:D s:D

[Anonymous]

yup, it was the window switch!!!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:    s:oops: :oops: s:oops:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

Reset the ecu to clear the CEL, and cleaned the MAF again while I was at it, as well as givin it a damd good clean! The CEL came back on after about 15miles though unfortunately, and again it seemed a little flat above about 4000rpm...

It took a lot longer for the light to come on than I was expecting though. I'll probably reset it again tomorrow and if it comes back on again, which I'm expecting, then it'll have to wait til I can meet up with SteveJ who kindly offered to read the code for me   s:D s:D

[Anonymous]

With regards to the rattle that the guy mentioned, it's not at the top end at all, it's at about 3k revs...

Hmmm, I would understand the 'top end' bit to be a reference to the location within the engine, not the rev range.

My guess would be that he was talking about this:

The engine sounds slightly 'tappety' when idling...

[Anonymous]

i'd considered that possibility, but it's only at a very narrow point in the rev range, namely somewhere between 2300-3000rpm depending on gear/roadspeed, which makes me think It's not the actual engine itself...

but then, I'm not exaclty renowned for my mechanical prowess!!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

It's not apparent at standstill if the engine is taken to that rev level, but then, neither was the cat rattle that it had when I bought the '2, that was only present when moving/under load as well.

I'm meeting up with SteveJ tomorrow night, and some chap from Alfreton (sorry, can't remember your username!   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  ), so i'll get em to have a listen then, we're meeting at a motorway services but I'm sure there'll be enough room in the car park to get the noise going. Better hope it's a big car park though, or we'll get dizzy going in circles!!

[Anonymous]

HI

and some chap from Alfreton (sorry, can't remember your username!

That'll be me then  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[Anonymous]

ah, there you are! hello!!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[Anonymous]

well, after we all met up I'm a little more concerned about the state of my replacement engine! (thanks to Steve & Phil for putting my mind at rest!   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  )

It would appear that I have quite a serious hesitance and long flat spot, the cause of which we're a little unsure. Plug gaps have been checked, I have NGK coppers and the gaps were set to 1mm, now set to 1.1 as per spec. I've now put a full tank of shell and some redex in it, as recommended, so we'll have to see if it's dirty injectors or something, failing that Steve suggested I start looking at replacing something called coil packs, sounds expensive to me!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:    s:? :? s:?  

Oh, and the worst bit, the rattle!!! it's looking like it's not a heatshield rattle after all, none of us could figure out what it was, or where it was coming from, but it has developed into more of a rapid clicking instead of rattling, and seems to be linked to the throttle being in a certain position instead of being at a certain RPM. It seems to be when the throttle is about 3/4 inch down. There is quite a bit of play in the throttle cable, but that's all taken up in the first 1/4-1/2 inch, although don't see how that could cause it.

It sounds like it's coming from the top of the engine bay, instead of under the car, which worries me. greatly. car is going to a different garage first thing saturday morning to see what they think, and possibly to another one saturday afternoon for a 2nd opinion depending on what the 1st say.

I think it's safe to say that if this engine turns out to have 'issues' then I'm going to have to sell the car for whatever I can get for it. Even if I could get the money back for the engine, there ain't no way I can afford to pay whatever extra another engine would be + the extra fitting.   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  

The ONLY[/b] thread of hope i'm hanging onto at the moment is that when I go round a fairly sharp left hand bend/turn, with the throttle at that position, it sounds exactly like a heatshield rattle momentarily...

any thoughts people?   s:( s:(

[spit]

I'm pretty much out of ideas I'm afraid. The throttle cable linkage to the Throttle body is adjustable to take up the slack, and it should be tightly locked down on the mounting plate and not jiggling about.

The only loud clicking I've had at the top end before was more of a clanking where the camshaft bearings had been temporarily starved of oil (a few of us have had this, but it soon rectifies and doesn't seem to incur lasting damage).

Belt tensioner is another hot favourite that can rattle but I know nothing more about it than that  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  
 
Whilst heatshields are still in your mind, check the manifold ones (front and rear). The side mounting bolts hold the two together and the shield holes can corrode to effectively make the rear shield loose. Its hard to spot sometimes.

Unless anyone else has any nuggets, I guess we'll have to wait until the weekend to see what the mechanics say. But please get back to us rather than selling up immediately. There's always a way through these things.

Best o' luck
Ste

[Anonymous]

Well, I've just got back from a different garage, apparently the noise is coming from my little end, whatever that is. He said I may get away with replacing the bearings if I do it very soon, but he couldn't guarantee it.   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  

He said that it's a little beyond something that they'd fix themselves so couldn't really give me a quote, but recommended a garage nearby that apparently do a lot of engine work and are apparently very good at it. They were shut by the time I got there though, I'll have to try and get some time off work on monday. I'll be asking them what they think first without mentioning what the other garage have said, see what they think. the guy I saw today said that it should keep running for a while if I keep it well stocked with oil and take it very steady, but he said if I want to try and repair the engine then I should do it quickly. Although yesterday and today the noise has definately got a bit worse. Although occasionally it still sounds VERY much like a heatshield, and too 'external' to be coming from the inside of the engine, but hey, I'm no mechanic.

At this moment in time, without getting a loan out, I could throw another £700-ish at it (on a credit card), but in all honesty I doubt that it'd be enough to fix it, what do you think?

I'm seriously considering trying to part-ex it at a 'car supermarket' and playing dumb "I think it's a heatshield rattle mate, it's had a few of em while I've had it"...

(oh, and with regards to the guy that sold me the engine, not only did I leave my phone in a taxi last night, but I also can't find the email that had his number & address on.   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  )

[Anonymous]

well, i found the details for the place I got the engine off. (and I also got my phone back thanks to a very honest taxi driver!)

however, even if they offer me my money back on the engine, I still can't really afford to add another few hundred to it to get a properly tested/guaranteed engine as well as the labour costs to swap them. so, what do I do? do I apply for a loan in order to sort it, or do I do the "resistor across the o2 sensor" trick to clear the CEL and then try and shift it in part-ex for something? (although i'm a tad worried that they'd see the performance issue as well as the rattle and run a mile)

anyone have a rough idea as to how much it'd cost to sort out a 'little end' failure?!?

[markiii]

a couple of questions

what oil are you running? what filter or induction kit? and if you had to pick left or right which side is teh rattle coming from

[SteveJ]

a couple of questions

what oil are you running? what filter or induction kit? and if you had to pick left or right which side is the rattle coming from

Oil is 10W40 dont know the brand (did suggest he might like to try somethng a bit thicker). There has been no oil usage or loss since the engine was instaled.

Stock intake.

The rattle sounds to be top end of the engine bay, and in the center of the car (but my dodgy hearing wasnt helping with locating it  s:( s:(  ) It sounds a very metallic rattle and only occurs on medium load throttle. When there is no load or full load the noise doesnt occur.

Given the way the engine bogged when opening the throttle, my first reaction was vac leak, but we couldnt find anything obvious and we werent throwing a 'too weak' CEL - only the all too common P0141

Now that the plugs have been checked, I am leaning back towards a loose inlet manifold, but we couldnt get at it to check  s:( s:(

Any other ideas?

[Anonymous]

well...

* A new pair of shorts for a scorcher of a weekend - £15
* Food for a relaxing sunday evening BBQ with mates - £20
* Finding out a friend knows a lot more about engines than you realised - priceless!!

we got talking, as you do, and he said 'that sounds strange, it doesn't seem to add up, come on, start her up, let me listen'. Within about 30 seconds he said that there's no way it's the little end, "sounds just like a hydraulic lifter" he says. After some more explanation in laymans terms as to what that is, he says it sounds exactly like at least one of my lifters, or cam followers, has gone 'spongy' or soft, and is knocking, hence the clicking/rattling sound. He said that this would also affect performance, hence the hesitation and flatness that I've been having.

He couldn't say how much it'd be to get sorted cos he doesn't know how much parts are for the '2, but it turns out that he knows the garage I picked out of the hat yesterday and says he wouldn't touch them with someone elses bargepole!   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:   trust me to pick em, bloody typical!!!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:   On a brighter note though, he did say that the garage this dodgy chap recommended to me are very very good, and that his work regularly deal with them, so thats where I'm off to tomorrow in my lunch hour (as originally planned anyway)

does this sound reasonable? Anyone got any ideas how much I ought to be expecting to have to pay? If it is that, then am I best of trying to demand the cost of the work, from the breakers where I got the engine from? and lastly, are cam followers something that's likely to still be intact on my old engine, that could just be transferred across?

as always, thanks for the advice, very very much appreciated!!   s:) s:)

[markiii]

hhmm teh tappets on teh 2 are notorious;y noisy so could just be that

[aaronjb]

hhmm the tappets on the 2 are notorious;y noisy so could just be that

True.. they're noisy because they're not hydraulic.. In fact, ours are shimless solid lifters - so they're notoriously noisy because it's impossible to adjust them for zero lash (which is, in effect, what a hydraulic tappet does).

A popular conversion for the 3S-GTE (which uses shim under- or over-bucket, depending on year) is, in fact, to convert to 1Z shimless solid lifters.

It is possible that the clearances on one are off - but if so, why? That would indicate lifter or cam wear, which would indicate oil starvation to the top end at some point IMHO...