i just finished installing my crawford high flow cats, and i double checked everything, reset the ecu, and now i turned it on for the first time in about 4 days. and after <1 min. i see smoke coming from my engine (hood up) Is this normal??? please help!

 

smoke coming out of anywhere else then the exhaust is problem imo.. check if you have coolent/ water in your car.

 

did you spray any WD-40 on any bolts under there to help loosen them? WD-40 will smoke quite a bit for about 5 minutes when it heats up.

 

smoking is totally normal, when cats/test pipes are installed. It'll subside after awhile.

 

I know smoke is normal coming from the exhuast with HFC and testpies... but the OP said the smoke was coming out of his engine.

 

i just started it up again, and no smoke at all... idled for a while and reved few times, but when i let off the gas the rpm's go pretty low, car shakes a lil, and feel like its gonna die. now i got this new problem. ideas? i did spray liquid wrench ( just like WD-40)

 

update.

i just drove it. it sounds really different. it still has the idle problem. i was really weird noise at first, i think it might have been the suspension cross bar readjusting, from being taken off. that stopped and then i started to hear "rattling" idk if it was the cat rattling on the heat shield, i pounded that really flat, and it looked like i had plenty of room. it sounded like it was only coming from driver side. happens around 3000+ and red line sounds really loud, and very questionable... however theres no "rattling" reving in the garage... i can really really smell them, not exaust but the new cats, smells like metal burning...

ok there new info, any other comments or possible catastrophes???

 

most exhaust parts are have a coating on them so that they do not rust sitting on the shelves.i think that also might be your problem.also did you reset the ecu,it might take a couple days for the ecu to learn.

 

The smoke was prob the WD40 burning off and the hot metal smell will go away after they break in. No idea on the idle problem.

 

smoke coming out of the engine bay the first time is perfectly normal. Its just the cats burning in...

 

are you getting a cell code?

 

^ whats a code cell? no lights have come on. also whats a idle relearn? someone suggested that i might have a small leak? should i goin to nissian and get new gaskets?

 

sorry I mean did you car throw a cell? as in an SES light? if not, then did you clean those gaskets? how did they look? did you torque all the bolts to spec? if all thats good and you don't have a leak or rubbing then idunno man.

 

no light. i "wiped" gaskets on my shirt... looked dirty. torqued all but one to specs, i could get to it, no matter how hard. i just tightened it as tight as i possible could with a hand wrench.

 

did you do anything to your O2 sensor? anything to intake maybe?

i had the same problem when i was installing my JWT popcharger, forgot to put the O2 sensor back and idling problem came about... check that maybe?

 

no O2 sensors are in. i do have intake and MD 1/2" spacer. driving the car tonight the idel seemed about right. i did a full ecu reset over the night and now the only problem i can tell is the "rattling" i can't tell if what it is, it has a very high frequency (not pitch), only on drivers side, only during hard acceleration. i'm gonne re-do the install and see whats goin on.