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Hello everyone,
Longtime video watcher, first time poster.
Recently bought a 2000 Mazda 626 wagon with 180,000 miles on the clock. The car is a GLX model, chassis code GW with a 2 liter FS-DE engine. Car was sold new in New Zealand, so is smaller than the US model, but seems to have a similar engine if Wikipedia is correct. Transmission is manual. This car is a not a turbo model.
It was smoking before, but only for about 10 seconds on cold start-up. It also had a rocker cover gasket leak where the top of the engine was covered in oily sludge.
As the car was running plain water in the radiator I decided to drain and flush the radiator and fill it Prestone All-Makes All Models longlife coolant. On one of a series of drains and flushes to get all the rust out, it obviously developed an air bubble and as I was idling the car the temperature gauge got up to 3/4 for a minute or so before I shut it off, when it normally sits at the halfway mark.
The car has now started smoking really badly with loads of blue gray smoke coming out of the tail-pipe.
At the same time as flushing the coolant I also added to the crank case (ie. into the engine oil) Rislone High Mileage Compression Repair with Ring Seal and Forte Seal Conditioner and I wonder if these additives made things worse?
Have now changed the oil and filter, but the smoke still persists. Have also done a check for combustion gases in the coolant with a TEE-KAY test kit, but that did not indicate a problem, so likely not a blown head gasket.
I guess it must be the piston rings or valve stem seals, so a junkyard engine might be the way to go on a car this old. But just thought I would ask here before I did anything, any suggestions?
Here are the links to the additives I used:
Rislone:
http://rislone.co.nz/catalog/view/481-high-mileage-compression-repair-with-ring-seal-44447Forte Seal conditioner:
http://www.forteuk.co.uk/product-detail/24/Seal-ConditionerAlso just in case you don’t have them in the US, this is a TEE-KAY combustion leak detector kit – assume you must have similar kits:
http://www.warrenandbrown.com.au/precisiontools/product-details/tk-head-check/54
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Blue smoke indicates valve stem seals but with all those additives I suggest draining all that oil out and replacing it with some thicker grade oil and run that through it for a while as additives tend to remove too much from moving parts and dry out seals especially on a motor that has done high miles.
I have already drained the oil and replaced the filter. I put in 10W-40 synthetic. Before it was running 5W-30.
10W-40 might not be thick enough so might try some smoke stop additive which thickens the oil.
I would run a compression test before I did anything. I don’t believe in additives that “fix” compression because you cannot add material back the the rings or valves once they are worn out. Run a compression test before you spend money on a junkyard motor, at least you will be sure. What is your goal for this car? A reliable daily driver? Putting band aid “fixes” is just a waste of time and money IMO without diagnosing and fixing the underlying problem. Remember, there is no mechanic in a bottle.
Big mistake. You do not use synthetic oil in smoking engine. It’s like plugging a leaking hole with dollar bills.
So you had GREY smoke that’ll go away in 10 or so seconds and after whatever you did – basically, removed crud that was plugging holes – now you have GREY and BLUE smoke? And a lot of it?
I am afraid, you have crack somewhere that you just opened. Thing is, metal expands as it warms up and pin holes and cracks close during expansion. That explains short tern original smoke. Now that you cleaned everything, it really opened and here ya go.
626s are good cars….Thanks will try a compression test.
This is a just an old car I bought for a few hundred dollars that I want to practice auto repair on actually. I’d like to have it running well eventually, but have no timetable on when that might be.
[quote=”ukrkoz” post=134999]Big mistake. You do not use synthetic oil in smoking engine. It’s like plugging a leaking hole with dollar bills.
So you had GREY smoke that’ll go away in 10 or so seconds and after whatever you did – basically, removed crud that was plugging holes – now you have GREY and BLUE smoke? And a lot of it?
I am afraid, you have crack somewhere that you just opened. Thing is, metal expands as it warms up and pin holes and cracks close during expansion. That explains short tern original smoke. Now that you cleaned everything, it really opened and here ya go.
626s are good cars….[/quote]It was already smoking badly before, probably from one of the additives I used. I thought a drain and fill with fresh oil might help and I had some synthetic oil lying around already in an open bottle, so that was what I put in. Didn’t want to spend money buying a new jug of dino oil.
[quote=”Robotnik123″ post=135028]Thanks will try a compression test.
This is a just an old car I bought for a few hundred dollars that I want to practice auto repair on actually. I’d like to have it running well eventually, but have no timetable on when that might be.[/quote] Ah I see. Compression test and then since it is a car to learn mechanics on, all the more reason to start pulling the engine apart to go find out whats wrong B). “Mechanic in a bottle” won’t teach you anything, you gotta get your hands dirty.
[quote=”Robotnik123″ post=135028]Thanks will try a compression test.
This is a just an old car I bought for a few hundred dollars that I want to practice auto repair on actually. I’d like to have it running well eventually, but have no timetable on when that might be.[/quote]
You really need to ask yourself if you want to spend money on a 15 yo worn out 2 liter car with 180,000 miles on it. It has probably had a few owners along the way that used the drive it till it breaks maintenance program.
A car like that is fine if you just want experience pulling the mechanicals apart and re-assembling them but other than that you don’t want to be throwing money at a car like that unless it is a collectable and that one is far from it. You will find if you pull down the engine it will require a complete re-build with plenty of new parts etc. Then there is the gear box – also likely worn out and then suspension and steering components and on it goes. You could easily spend thousands even if you did most of the work yourself and then you probably will not get your money back when you try and sell it.
Basically it is just a waste of money and time fixing up a car like that.
In the Mazda family I would be looking at a decent MX5 that could use a little work to bring it back up to scratch and is something you could also modify and improve (but not a clapped out high mileage one that basically needs everything replaced or rebuilt).
[quote=”cam0888″ post=135119][quote=”Robotnik123″ post=135028]Thanks will try a compression test.
This is a just an old car I bought for a few hundred dollars that I want to practice auto repair on actually. I’d like to have it running well eventually, but have no timetable on when that might be.[/quote]
You really need to ask yourself if you want to spend money on a 15 yo worn out 2 liter car with 180,000 miles on it. It has probably had a few owners along the way that used the drive it till it breaks maintenance program.
A car like that is fine if you just want experience pulling the mechanicals apart and re-assembling them but other than that you don’t want to be throwing money at a car like that unless it is a collectable and that one is far from it. You will find if you pull down the engine it will require a complete re-build with plenty of new parts etc. Then there is the gear box – also likely worn out and then suspension and steering components and on it goes. You could easily spend thousands even if you did most of the work yourself and then you probably will not get your money back when you try and sell it.
Basically it is just a waste of money and time fixing up a car like that.
In the Mazda family I would be looking at a decent MX5 that could use a little work to bring it back up to scratch and is something you could also modify and improve (but not a clapped out high mileage one that basically needs everything replaced or rebuilt).[/quote]
Yes, you’re right. It may not be economically viable to repair this vehicle. I think I might find a used motor and swap it over myself, which is something I have done with other cars years ago, but as you say the car is pretty worn out anyway. I may just junk it, will see.
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