i am blowing bluish white smoke out of my exhaust and it was recomended by a few on this board that i get a compression test and a leakdown test performed on my car. Is this something that i can do myself? I don't know much about it but am very willing to learn and save a few bucks if i can.

1)What would it cost if i were to have a mechanic perform these tests on average?

2)If i need to replace a head gasket is this something that can be a DIY project or should i let a shop do it?

3)If i have to replace a head gasket what would it typicaly cost for a shop to do it?

4)My last question is if i am replaceing a head gasket and paying for a mechanic to be working on my car are there any modifications that i should have him do while already working on my car that wold be cheaper just to do it now?

Thank you in advance for all of your input it is truly appreciated

 

bump

 

Your post is kinda all over the place, so ill do my best.

First, the blueish white smoke your explaining is oil burning as you probably already know. Is it smoking consistently (at idle), or just when you floor it? Does it puff out smoke when you start up the car?

Your not going to be able to do a compression/leak test on your car without previous knowledge and equipment. Take it to the dealer to do the test, then somewhere else to fix it.

A blown head gasket is only like a $5 part. Its going to be the $50-75 an hour for labor. Probably looking at 8hours atleast. So if you could get out of it for under a thousand you would be doing good.

To get to the gasket your tearing down a good portion of your block. Of course there are upgrades you can do, but do you have the money? Is the mechanic able to do things to your engine the right way? If your going that direction you better be hittnig up one of the sponsors for a rebuild. My honest opinion unless it is puffing out smoke constantly, i mean makes your car a POS, i wouldn't touch the gasket. A little blue smoke when you mash the pedal is normal (not good, just common).

 

I notice the smoke after i have been driving for a while and then come to a stop. Usually while slowing down to corner and downshifting and then accelerating back up to speed. I have 70k miles on my z and drive about 90 mlies a day. I only notice it after the car has been hot for a while

 

damn bro, that sucks.

Are you sure it is blue? It may be just white, which would be engine coolant burning away. (same situation though, busted gasket) I'm not really sure what to say, it's hard to diagnose over the internet. Sounds like it has been a long abusive road to 70k miles if that chit is going down. Sorry partner, good luck with things.

 

its hard to say if its blue or white, it doesn't happen all that much so when it does its gone before i get a good look at it.

 

if you were local I would be able to do the tests...

 

if it turns out that it is the head gasket, how important is it to get replaced? I drive about 90 miles a day and plan to drag a few times this summer.

 

as i stated before, many cars on the road will smoke lightly on hard accelerations. If the car was puffing out smoke when you started it up, or smoking at idle then i would be extremly concerned. The fact that it doesnt happen very often, and only last a couple seconds i would just leave it alone. If it starts to smoke like something is really fried then start pricing out the work, untill then i would just brush it off before you get into unworthy costly repairs.

 

honda killer

it does not smoke on hard accellerations, pulling away from a light at low speeds sometimes i will get a big puff a smoke for no reason and then it will stop. I have never noticed it on hard acceleration, and that is what concerns me because i don't have the cash for costly repairs right now