ANOTHER problem - car smoking at high rpms
 

Great,

as if a bad trans and a leaking differential isnt enough, my engine started acting up.

Here's the issue, engine still feels like it has all power, doesnt idle abnormally rough ( although not smooth, always been a little rough ) .

At higher speeds / RPMs, the car blows smoke out the exhaust.

It only does it in 3rd gear from 7-9K rpms. Dont know how long its been going on, it was discovered when my buddy in his MS3 and I were goofing around on the interstate on the way to buffalo wild wings, he called and said my car was smoking.

Then today, on a secluded country road I got on it and looked in my rear view mirror to see a little cloud of blue smoke floating off.

Another observation is it smells like burning rubber afterwards, almost like a belt.

I dont know what the hell is going on, my car that has been so good to me is falling apart all at once! If someone could give me some insight on what this issue may be that would be appreciated.

You say burnt rubber? Is it possible it's an oil seal that is allowing oil to slightly blow by at higher RPMs?

Isn't it that blue smoke = oil? I know on turbo cars, when you're blowing some blue smoke out the back, you have an oil leak in the turbo.

yea, I couldnt tell if it was blue or white, its really hard when you're driving, and my friends cant seem to give me a straight answer..........

Ill see if I can get a clearer answer on Sunday, Ill have one of my friends follow me and tell me. Its just hard becuase it only happens in 3rd at high rpms, and there's not too many places where I comfortable going 90mph around here :(

Sounds like seal issue to me.

Blue = oil
White = water

Both can't be good. I would get a compression test on that thing ASAP. At least you're still under the engine warranty.

+1 def sounds like seal issue
I know all about that crap....

as they car gets older it will wear out.

You should be fine, butt do get a compression check.

better check compression sounds like a seal....

Also if your diff is leaking maybe some oil is getting on ur exhaust and burning(if the smoke is blue) off but IDK y that would only happen in 3rd...

Your turbo's are going bad. ;)

maybe its fluid burning, becuase it only does it at the top of 3rd, thats after 3 gears of WOT. The exhaust temps are skyrocketing by that point.

Ill have someone follow me to see if its coming out my pipes or from under the car, thanks for the advice guys.

Looks like it might be time to put the cat back on and bring it to the dealership :(

My VFAD is off my intake from my air duct, will that void the warranty or pose a problem? Just asking so I dont void the warranty?

Also, does the extended 100K engine warranty cover EVERYTHING or will I still have to pay out of pocket?

No problem with VFAD

I think it may be fluid burning off...better check that asap....actually if you look at ur pipes running behind/around ur diff prob (if it's burning) be able to see some residue of burnt oil/lube...

Engine warranty is for internals only but I belive nothing isout of pocket...(of course unless soething that's not internal is bad and they put it on) but I'm not 100% on that

There's ALOT of fluid on my muffler, A-L-O-T.

To put it in perspective my diff is leaving behind 6-12 inch wide puddles overnight. Within seconds of coming to a stop, it starts pissing on the pavement. ive been topping it off once a week for the past month and its usually about 1-1.5 pints low within the week. Meaning that itll go empty within 10-14 days.

My car is so fucked (excuse the language mods) right now. Im selling everything I own to come up with the money to fix it. I can get a used trans + diff for $900 with a warranty and my job can install it, I sell cars at a local dealership.

I just hope my engine is okay.

This is kind of a reality check for me, I always have TOO MUCH fun in this car, redlining it everywhere. Now I'm suffering the repercutions of that. However, I made the personal and financial decision to stick with this car and pay it off, and I intend to keep to it.

^yeah I think that with that much lube on the muffer and piping it's going to be burning off because at WOT in ANY gear it's gonna be getting hot and u have a midpipe right? So there is not cat there to "soak up" some of the heat...It sounds like it's just lube burning off

Hope so, it's hard telling.

If my seal was leaking oil though, wouldnt I be feeling other symptoms like idling issues and power loss?

Either way, Im gonna get the car nice and hot and have someone follow me. If its the smoke comes out the pipes then my engine is toast, and if it just comes out from underneath, then its fluid burning off the muffler.

Time will tell.

Where is the differential leaking? It doesn't sound like you need a new differential, but a seal has gone bad.

Its leaking where the driveshaft meets the diff. I myself also believe the diff is just fine but needs a seal. However I can get a new diff for $200 + installation so it kinda depends how much itll cost to replace the seal. If its something I can do myself Ill just replace the seal and call it a day. But if I need a dealership, might as well just buy a new one.

^if old not hurt to inspect the inside of the diff if you have been running low on oil you don't want to have your ring and pinion all torn up......

As to ur othe ?. I wold think that if an oil seal in the motor is bad u would be having symptoms of low compression

yea I agree, idk Ill prob have it tested. The only thing is a compression test costs 100+ dollars of money I dont have right now :(

Goodluck man good luck!

three seal cost $30 and 2 hours of your time, but you want to change the whole diff that you don't know how many miles and condition onto you car which cost $260 ( diff, seals & fluid ) and 5-6 hours of your time.

you might also check the rev light switch.. it is the brass looking thing with the wire out of it at the front of the tranny. it is very close to the exhaust. they do fail and leak..

beers :beer:

when I redline my car in any gear I get blue smoke out my exhasut, I am almost positive its from my failing Supercat

^I have noticed that any 8's I've seen running catless or a Supercat seem to smoke but since it burns oil it's ok but just something i noticed

Fixed!
 

I was having the same issue:

2005 RX8 with a dual silenced mid pipe.

I started to notice that blue smoke started to come out of my exhaust and especially at higher RPM. It was really bad three days ago and I thought I had an oil leak, that was leaking into the exhaust system?

Why?

Because (after the blue smoke started happening) after that, if I left the car cooling off, the longer it sat the worst the blue smoke was when I turned on the car and started using it. It especially got bad at higher rpm.

Then... after about 12 minutes of driving the car the blue smoke mostly went away.
So this was a scary experience for me... "Lots of blue smoke! at high RPM!"

This case SOLVED:

Credits to:
Ian Gates / Gavin Booth / Cole Anderson / and Dannobre for their trouble shooting.

It's a combination of two things... the high flow of the mid pipe (Cat-less) and the fact that my intake filter had car barf all over it. Lots of oil, accumulated and restricted the air flow through the filter. I don't know how they figured that out, from blue smoke from the tail pipe, but that's what it was for me.

I have swapped my stock intake with a the RacingBeat REVi intake and removed the VFAD tube in the front (useless thing... that just quietens the engine note).

So with high flow intake, there is no symptoms of blue smoke what so ever. It went from cloud of blue smoke, clear the underground.... to nothing at all.

If you are having this same trouble, you probably have a mid pipe, replace your air filter, and start saving for a high flow intake to balance your air flow across your car.

Good luck!