smokey?

[Amedias]

Hi guys, just abit of background on my surf 2.4 ssrx K plate. . .

got it in august and had 3 months of lovely motoring with no problems, then it spectacularly overheated and cracked the head - typical i hear you cry! - so it went back to the dealer who had given me a 12 month warranty and after 10 weeks it was back on the road again, ive been driving it around and it seems ok apart form one time when it started to overheat again on the way back from work, i stopped, waited, opened up the bonnet and found the expansion tank full - hmmm - flipped the rad cap and re-filled, been fine ever since so hope it was just an air lock or something.

BUT everytime i start from cold (ie in the morning) it it seems to chuck out a fair quantity of white smoke, but after 5-10mins it stops completely and is fine all day unless i leave it sitting long enough to get proper cold again (like about 8hrs).
Also sometimes when i start from cold it almost sounds like its firing unevenly, like one cylinder is out of time or something (i dont know enough to describe it properly) but again after about 5 mins this goes away and it sounds normal again.

I dont know what to think really, does it sound like i have a problem? im really wary of this vehicle now cos i've had problems with it and i no lnoger use it to commute becuase to be honest i dont trust it even after it has had a new head and radiator.

please help! i would appreciate any thoughts you may have. . .

Matt

[dirtydog]

hi mate, when starting from cold - wait for the glow plugs to go out and wait for a loud click from behind the dash before starting then dont touch the accelerator until the oil is up to pressure. Mine does the same and my mechanic thinks its overfueling maybe...?
I dont get smoke for 5mins - just a little while and not sure its def white either.

[Amedias]

thanks for the reply mate, i do wait for the glow plugs though, thats why im a little worried, what colour is your smoke?

matt

[poppy986]

Hi Matt sorry to hear that you have had the head gremlin visit
you,10 weeks to fix it? what a time to be with out a car.
The smoke you get are you sure it's not normal condensation
out of the exhaust,more so now that it's very cold?
Have you spoken to the garage about this or do they hide when
they see you comming.TE HE

Hope you get it sorted
Chris

[dirtydog]

thanks for the reply mate, i do wait for the glow plugs though, thats why im a little worried, what colour is your smoke?

matt

wait for the plugs to go out then keep waiting....... waiting......... waiting - (Shh - be quiet) and you will hear a 'click/clunk', if the the ignition beeps before you hear it start again. Start after the click and it shoul be smoother.

Think mine might be condensation.

[Pete]

Are you losing any coolant?
With the engine warm, look in the expansion bottle and make sure there are no bubbles (of any size)
5-10 mins of white smoke is not normal. Get to the cause of it now while it's under warranty. My head was replaced under warranty, then about 15 months later I had to pay for an engine rebuild. When I start up in the morning I dont see any smoke of any colour in the mirrors, not even when it's frosty. Follow dirtydogs info on starting. 10 weeks off the road to do the head is way out of order. Have you got warranty on the new head?
Pete

[djcazyp]

Black smoke is burning fuel, blue and it's burning oil and white is water.
Could just be the exhaust condensation burning off. Turbo engine so exhaust manifold gets nice and hot (as does everything else thanks to a lack of an intercooler...think of all those heads that would have been saved...) and collects water. Even brand new cars will 'steam' until up to temperature from a cold start BUT you're still under warrenty so get the compression checked to ensure head etc is ok. Then drive it til' it breaks!

[Bahamaboy]

Never noticed it till you mentioned it here and am now wondering what the 'click/clunk' sound is after the glow plug light goes out??

[dirtydog]

no idea what it is, but the guy who sold me the car (from here) had read the same thing as me re: starting (above), i followed his directions and checked on here and it works...

any of you clever people enlighten us please?

[Amedias]

thanks for all the replies guys, im not quite as worried now because it seems that i may just be condensation, it has been !!!!!! cold down here in devon!
and waiting a little bit longer for the clunk after the beep seems to cure the uneven start as well so now im feeling a bit better

BUT!

my fuel gauge is now stuck!! it doesnt drop to zero when i turn the ignition off - any ideas?
I love this car to bits but its had so many minor niggles that im tempted to sell and get something else. . .

matt

[paul T]

my fuel gauge is now stuck!! it doesnt drop to zero when i turn the ignition off - any ideas?
I love this car to bits but its had so many minor niggles that im tempted to sell and get something else. . .

matt[/QUOTE]

your fuel gauge shouldnt drop to zero anyway when ignition off unless there is no fuel in it it should stay where it is so if you have half a tank left when you switch off then it will stay there unless its like mine then it goes back up to full when i switch on it goes back to where it should be only does that with half a tank or above if i have a quater lefet then it stays put most jap cars stay where thy are at when you switch off i have had about 6 differnt makes and models of jap cars and they were all the same

[Amedias]

thanks for the reply paul, but until last week my gauge DID drop to zero when i turned it off, thats how i noticed, and it doesnt seem to drop as i use fuel, done nearly 80miles now and it hasn't moved a bit!

does anyone else's drop to zero when switched off or do all of yours stay put?

grrrrrr

matt

[Bahamaboy]

My Fule guage stays at whatever level the amount of fule is in the tank it does not drop when shut down

[dirtydog]

the gauge should read with or without the ignition on. if your on a full tank it will take a while before dropping slowly....

talking of which i did a 59.5 litre fill on Sunday cant have been much left!

[Amedias]

hmmm, interesting, so did i have dodgy gauge before hand? cos i definaetley used to drop to zero when shut down.

its a K plate 93 ssrx

thanks for the help though guys, really appreciate it, everytime i have a problem i get a response and at the moment the surf community spirit and love of these cars is the only thing keeping it on my driveway!

matt