Exhaust Smoke after New Tune - Supercharged - :(
 

Now, this is a story all about how, my life got flipped-turned upside down...

Kidding. But - Looking for some opinions on the situation I find myself in.

- Car is smoking out of the exhaust, seems to 'run' fine -

Vehicle Background -
I have a 2013 BRZ with 11k miles on it. 5k of them have been supercharged with Vortech.
Up until last week, I was running the Perrin stock tune for Vortech, ~235hp @ the wheels. Super rich, of course.

5 track days thus far, 2 Supercharged. 10 or to total AutoX. No previous issues.

I added a header this year, and got setup for a protune a few hours from my house (Minneapolis). Went down to tune and made 275hp by basically just leaning out the tune to a safe level, didn't push it at all with the tune.

While tuning, i had a smaller S/C pulley that we tried, but on 91 octane, i didn't make any more power with the small additional boost (9psi vs 11psi), so we reinstalled the stock Vortech pulley.

Got it done, drove car back home 4ish hours no problems.

Went driving the next day, filled up with gas, and shortly thereafter got a misfire at idle and low throttle. Did some logging, and even pulled a DTC for misfire in Cylinder 4. (P0304 Cycl 4 Misfire Detected)

So, spoke to my tuner, and he wanted to see some more logs of it. We went out two days later (had not driven the car since) and it fired up, no misfire. Drove around to warm up the car, still drove no misfire. So, we did some interstate on ramp Full Throttle Pulls, and logged those. No issues.

Then, we stopped to flash a new map from my tuner (removed 5% fuel on WOT, it was a bit rich) and as soon as I fired up the car i noticed smoke coming from the exhaust. It was very prominent, so I drove it about a half mile, pulled over, and reloaded the original pro tune. No change. Decided to drive it straight home, about 8 miles. Smoked the whole way, but less when i was cruising, more when accelerating from a stop.

Now, i can't say for sure if I think it's oil smoke or coolant smoke, i have no obvious signs for either. However, here are two videos i took. First one is right after we noticed smoke. 2nd in later in my garage idling.

https://youtu.be/vFR-FevM3D8

https://youtu.be/KZOiUSoCmWg

Since, i've pulled the intake tube from the S/C to look at the Throttle body - no oil in there (was thinking maybe it was the S/C leaking oil). It was dry.

Looked at my Radium Catch cans - they were all normal.

So now i've started pulling plugs. (OH MY GOD). I have 1 out so far (Driverside, front - assuming that's #1) and it looks perfect:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...ps3rdwjyzo.jpg

So, I am going to attempt to pull #4 and see what it looks like. Then do a compression test as well.

Beyond that, i'm 100% out of ideas. The car has been flawless up to this point, so i'm just at a loss for what could be wrong at 11k.

Any ideas?

Thank You!

Gaskets somewhere is a possibility. Have you checked your oil to see if its got frothy foam on the dipstick?

I'm just throwing this out there based on my previous ownership of Subies. I had to replace head gaskets on my past two. One at 100k miles the other at 45k miles. Both EJs but gaskets have been troublesome for a lot of their engines.

I checked the oil level with the dipstick last night, and it appeared both normal in level and in color / viscosity. After I check out the plugs, I plan on dumping the oil and having a look at that as well.

Thanks!

Where there is smoke there is fire, and if it's coming from a fa20 soon you will be fired up about your smoked #4 rod bearing... Rip 2013s

This seems most likely.

Think so?

With the exception of my squeak (90% sure it's the belt, not sure why though yet - new one on the way) the engine sounds normal, no knocking or running rough.

I'll post a video when it uploads.

As for the 'RIP 2013's' is there something specific in the '13s not in the 14s or 15s? Like, If a guy was gonna pull the motor, you'd upgrade that part?

Video's aren't long enough, but it appears to be steam not smoke. Does it smell like oil burning? The smell is distinct if you've been around cars at all you'd know. I'd guess a head gasket just from the short videos.

To my knowledge there is no difference in the 13, 14, or 15 fa20 other than build experience. #4 rod bearings have failed on a few here on the forums. Dealers claim they're out of oil when they do.

I've had 0 issues with mine and it was bought before they officially went on sale, can't get a much earlier build date than that.

Here's the video of the engine at idle - https://youtu.be/aSPA5xddYpg

The idle one did look more like steam, i agree. At this point i've committed to pulling the plugs (can't get new ones until tuesday, arg) but then if any look bad, i'll do a compression test too.

it REALLY smelled like oil in the first, outdoor video. But the more I look into it, I feel like it could be head gasket too. So idk. Time will tell i guess as i dig into it. Thanks for the feedback.

Also - fun fact, dealership headgasket labor time is 17.1 hours. Holy Hell, that's like 2G.

Yeah head gaskets are no joke. Luckily my last impreza had the lifetime warranty so all I had to pay was a 100 deductable

Warranties tend to evaporate when you are Supercharged and tuned lol.

I know the service manager at our local Subaru dealership, and he's like "i'd never get away with it"

LoL

Is that time quoted to replace both gaskets? Or just one side?

Both. One side was 14.5 hrs

Is the super charger water or oil cooled?

I saw you checked the oil for coolant contamination but have you checked coolant for oil? Pop the radiator cap and look for foam?

I have not done that yet - I will give it a look tonight.

The Supercharger is self-contained unit, with it's own oil. The dipstick reads normal there.

Thanks!

Gotcha. Does it use horrifically expensive, "TRACTOR FLUID," like my friend's Vortech supercharged BMW?

You know it does. Little red bottles of awesome.
http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/page.php?id=30162

If i do pull the engine in all this, i might look at running it off of engine oil going forward. I know that's an option with these blowers.

I was helping my friend tinker on his car and we checked the supercharger reservoir to discover it almost bone dry. Haven't been able to track down a leak so we think the blower is drinking the oil. When he told me how much a bottle cost I couldn't stop laughing.

... in that really nervous, "that seems like it must be a joke but I'm not sure," kind of way.


Good luck with the troubleshooting!

Did you do the paper towel test? In the old days mechanics would put a paper towel over the exhaust of a smoking car to catch some of whatever was coming out. If it's steam, it will condense in the paper towel and leave it wet. If it's fuel or oil, it will leave soot.

You said you checked the oil for discoloration, but modern oils have such good detergent packages in them that it's not always easy to tell by looking that you have coolant contamination. In old oils, the moisture would emulsify in the oil and make it look milky. In new oils, the detergents bond with the moisture rather than leaving it in suspension, so that it doesn't necessarily change color dramatically. If you're worried about contamination, the only reliable way to know is to pull an oil sample (hot) and send it off for analysis at a company like Blackstone. That costs $25, and they'll send you the sample collection kit for free.

If coolant is leaking into the combustion chamber (which would be necessary for it to come out the tail pipe), you also may get combustion gases leaking the other direction into the coolant. There is a $50 test kit you can buy to test your cooling system for the presence of exhaust gases. Some mechanics have them and will often do the test for free.

Seems like the first thing you need to verify is what exactly is coming out of your tailpipe. That will help you figure out where to look.

Well i did some digging last night and have an update - I'll type it up here over lunch.

Update - It's Oil! Cylinder 1.

I removed both plugs on 2 & 4, and they were dry and normal. That seems odd to me because I was getting a misfire on cyl 4. DTC.

Anyways, i decided to move over to the passenger side and pull 1 and 3, but to do that I needed to remove the overpipe and header. I've been doing this from the bottom instead of the top, which i think is easier - less stuff to remove.

Anyways, i get the header down and i see this:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...pslwgfkoaa.jpg

which pretty much ends the oil / coolant debate.

I took a look at the engine side and saw this:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...psvbmvscta.jpg

and then looking a little further at the valve:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...psix1x6ohf.jpg

It's definitely wet oil. after doing that I ran out of time and didn't get 1 & 3 plugs out, but i will tonight and i'll do a compression test as well.

But, either way the engine is coming out soon, and i'll either get a new short block and replace mine, or if it's a head issue i'll just fix whatever is broken.

That sucks!

Update #2 - This is the plug from Cyl 1. Hmmmmmmm. So, now i'm pulling the engine to figure more out. Will keep things updated as i go.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...psww1eyppc.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...pshmnv0dca.jpg

Crazy
What's the hours on the motor pull?

As far as how long it's taken?

I suppose i really only have about 3 or 4 into it SO FAR. But that is by no means in any hurry. Definitely going slow on it. If I had to start from scratch and do it on a stock engine, it'd be maybe 4 hours total. I also had to remove my Vortech unit and a bunch of stuff related to that on mine. There really are very few connections that need to be removed.

I'm estimating that i'll have 6 or 7 hours into it before the engine is on the stand.

Just rereading the thread
So this was a 11k miles and a vortech supercharger after around 5 of those
and then this happen after how many miles?

Car has 11,3xx miles on it

Added Vortech at around 7000 miles - ran all summer, track days, etc on perrin e-tune that came with the kit. Then put it away for the winter.

Took it out for spring in March, and at about 10,500 i added the header

at 11k i had it pro-tuned, which took me from 234 to 275whp by leaning our the tune.

A few days later at about 11250, started getting the misfire, and shortly thereafter it started smoking.

And, here we are.

Did you get a good deal on the car, or were you just planning on pulling the motor for a rebuild anyway?

I bought the car brand new in 2013.

Decided to S/C it last year, and then just started having issues with it this year. Depending on the issue, i'll either get a new stock shortblock, or repair whatever the damage is.

I don't have a ton of time to do a built engine, as I have 1 month until GRIDLIFE.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I was hoping to bump into you at BIR this summer. Good luck with this, hopefully it is not too expensive!

Pat

Oh, you'll still see me at BIR - this will be fixed by then. Hell, i'm still shooting for GRIDLIFE may 29th in Michigan!

Quick Update - Motor is out and starting to tear off the accessories.

Did a leakdown test on Cyl 1 and found that the air was coming out the pcv / crank case hoses :( so full teardown and will likely be a burnt piston or scored wall :(

Taking inventory and unhooking the easy stuff
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...ps7oas0prp.jpg


S/C Off
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...pseulwnnag.jpg

And out!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...psgjvf10zn.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...pst4zyx1qo.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...ps2ltxlsip.jpg

Removed most of the accessories
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...psqlrx8lgl.jpg

Almost ready to dig in!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...pst8wl8vx0.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...ps7um8safo.jpg

Top of that spark plug has vanished. Hope you find the cause

mine popped the same way.. innovate stage2.. huge clouds of smoke at WOT.. idled fine and drove fine but it burned through 1 quart of oil on a 45min drive.. I did a leakdown which seemed to pass, but I also had tons of oil in the PCV catch can and oil all over the intercooler/manifold..

forgot to mention I was running the delicious tune.

http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps067e9dec.jpg
http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps71f8baaf.jpg
http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/a...psfef2b7da.jpg

So what was the fix for you?

Really sucks about your situation man, but huge kudos to your excellent posts to keep the rest of us informed.

still not fixed. bought a built motor and added 335 kit to it. I did not have time to tear down my old motor yet.

oh that bad >< leaning the mixture makes power but add heat on the piston


ok as my Experience on fa20 shit . that the DI loss same injection volume . so if we lean the total mixture to 12.2 . there are one of the injectors leaner then the others like 12.8 or so that's insurance the heat in the cylinder . as ur cyl1 likes overheat

Where'd you get your motor? What was the cost. I have a race in less than a month, and pending what I find today as I get into it i might just buy another also.

Update - Got to the pistons. not terrible. But it looks like I will need new pistons. Wall is a little scored, but not badly.

Timing Cover off -
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...psfcmtpomq.jpg

Cams!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...pshzhwr7ub.jpg

Just tip it liiiiitttle bit
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...ps2bfncufs.jpg

Valves!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...pswgkdenur.jpg

Piston 1
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...pssyrhpnca.jpg

Scoring

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...pse46iodoq.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...psnddot0n1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...psfyl03cll.jpg

Will start talking to some local shops about rebuilding it for me. I was find tearing it down, but i don't want to replace pistons and rebuild it myself. OR, i still might buy a used one and put this off as a project.