PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Ya, it's the Grizz.
Victor would post but his computer is in the shop cleaning out the pop.

Idling in park the exhaust spews blue smoke. Oil? It's a new engine!!!
What's up with that.
As soon as it goes into drive the blue smoke goes away. The oil level is fine and it does not drop.

I cleared the SES light using John's scan tool. The code was ECM failure code 325.......but the engine is running just fine.

I think it still has an exhaust leak coming from the front exhaust crossover.

.....but it's a lot of blue smoke when sitting in park running after just a few minutes.

Did you have the valve guides redone in the new engine? Oil burning during high vacuum conditions usually means valve guides.

Drive down a hill with your foot off the gas. Open the throttle halfway at the bottom and watch the rearview mirror. If blue smoke is produced, it's the valve guides.

It might be a long shot but could it be sucking up trannie fluid through the modulator valve?

The guides were replaced with the engine rebuild.

I like the modulator idea. It is the original modulator with 175,000 miles so a new one wouldn't hurt.

Just check the vacuum line going to it and see if it has transmission fluid in it. If it is dry, don't spend the money. Or take the line off and plug the end, and see if the smoking stops. By the way, an old style glass fuse makes a great vacuum line plug.

Also make sure you don't have a problem with excessive crankcase pressure, caused by something wrong in the PCV system. This could also lead to excessive oil burning.

You don't say much about the engine, why it was rebuilt and who did it. Any sort of screw up with the piston rings, etc would also be suspect.

The engine was totally rebuilt by a professional rebuilding company.
I might suspect the PCV system. It sits inside the SC. I did install a new one a couple of months ago.

I drove the car and it drives fine with no blue smoke and plenty of power.
The shifts are very harsh and it really clunks into gear from neutral.

Sounds like the vacuum modulator.

That car shouldn't be driven until it's repaired. Every shift and clunk is slowly tearing what's left of that trans apart.

How carefully was the motor broken in?

That car shouldn't be driven until it's repaired. Every shift and clunk is slowly tearing what's left of that trans apart.

How carefully was the motor broken in?

It really isn't that bad.
The motor was carefully broken in. I was in the car the whole first 500 miles.

I checked the vacuum lines and they appeared to be oil free.

My recommendation to him was to leave it parked until he has saved up enough for the trani rebuild.
He has a free bus ride to school.
It's up to him.

I am not financing any further repair work.

Paul, see if it still smokes out the exhaust when you pull the oil cap at idle.

Victor just told me the PCV was making a loud noise like rattling the other day..............but it's brand new..

He'll try pulling the cap to see if it's pressurizing.

teleplayer wrote:It might be a long shot but could it be sucking up trannie fluid through the modulator valve?

I was thinking this too...
Check it out, repair/replace as necessary.

I ordered the modulator.

In the meantime..............

I couldn't help tear it apart while Victor was at work today.

The front exhaust manifold must have burst from the plugged Cat.

I'm listening to ya now Bill and have cut off the heat shields.

Split so bad you can see daylight through both sides.
The previously repaired section was also cracked and another split.
The front heat shield rivet had broken and the shield was rattling loose as well.

It's in to a welding shop for repairs but won't get it back till Thursday.

The code was 325 and I believe that was the Knock sensor picking up the noise.

I don't know how this all relates to smoking exhaust or grinding noise on hard acceleration, or the
SES knock sensor light, but I'm fixing what I know is broke.

Here you can see the old repair and now the new cracks.



The crossover is cracked on both sides.



You can actually see light shining right thru from one crack to the other.

Told ya so.


(when you had 'em off for the motor swap you nimrod).

Crossover is cracked just like mine was. I gaurantee every Series 1 L67 will have similar cracks eventually. Glad you found it. Make sure the shop knows they are stainless.

Told ya so.


(when you had 'em off for the motor swap you nimrod).

Crossover is cracked just like mine was. I gaurantee every Series 1 L67 will have similar cracks eventually. Glad you found it. Make sure the shop knows they are stainless.

But it wasn't cracked this bad the last time.
The new cracks were from the plugged cat and the over pressurizing and overheating that ensued.

The manifold has been repaired now ($40) but still have to wait for the gasket & donut ($40) to come in tomorrow...............and the $300 that Victor owes me now!

Paul, it's very easy to get those manifolds smoking red hot just from WOT runs. Especially extended WOT runs. Pop the hood at night after one, and they're red. Do that too often.......

Yes, I realize that Bill, and so does Victor but the heat that built up when the cat plugged was incredible. We thought the cooling system was at fault.
It got so hot at one point he had to shut it down cause it was overheating the passenger compartment.

With the restriction gone now, it is running 180 F all the time, but the damage from overheating the manifolds had already been done.

......broken motor mount......what next?

It should be back on the road by the weekend.

I wonder if the valve seals melted from the heating and that is what is causing the oil burning when the car is in idle pointing uphill.

Paul, don't fear the valve seals. They're brutally tough in hotter climates.

Let's get an update on the 'uphill' battle after the repairs are done. Keep in mind the overheating may have flexed the fiberglass valve covers. Try re-torquing them when the manifolds go back on. It might just prevent another issue.........

(I'm thinking about that odd duck of a problem still)

OK, I also had to replace a few of the wire looms cause they melted.

The vacuum line to the BCS was leaking, so I replaced it.


Will update tomorrow.