Hi guys,

I haven't had the time to make an intro thread yet and it sucks that this has to be it! My first car was an E36, which I then sold for an E46, and about two months ago I purchased my Z.

Here are a couple pictures I took:





I love it so far and I was really enjoying how reliable it was compared to my BMWs until now.

I recently did an oil change with Mobil 1 Synthetic (I don't know what was previously used) and after that I've noticed white smoke comes out of my exhaust. I don't know if it's related to the oil change or not but I figured it was worth mentioning. I do not know if it started smoking immediately after the change or not as I only noticed it relatively recently (1000km after the change or so).

Anyway, it only smokes after letting off of the throttle at high rpm (after I let off of a WOT pull of let off after revving high in neutral). It smokes for maybe 2-4 seconds after I let off then it dissipates into the air and doesn't smoke again unless I rev it again.

The smoke doesn't smell like burning coolant at all (after owning two BMWs I'm very familiar will the smell of burning coolant ). It just smells like how a catless exhaust would normally smell... like catless exhaust. With that being said, maybe because I am running catless it could overpower the smell of burning coolant.

The car does not overheat at all even after aggressive lapping last weekend at the track. Coolant level is a bit low but if I'm not mistaken it was already like that before. Would filling it a bit more and monitoring the level be a good idea?

Here's a video of a flyby where I now noticed that you can see the smoke.


Anyway, I'm just looking for suggestions as to what you think I should do to further attempt to diagnose the problem. Any help would be very much appreciated!

Thank you!

 

What year is it? The 06 is notorious for burning oil, that would be my guess.

 

Damn. How many miles are on it?

 

If he's burning oil, would not the exhaust have a bluish color and not be white as the OP reports?

 

White colored exhaust is often a symptom of a leaking head gasket or worse, a warped head.

If that is the case though, you should be overheating and see a loss of coolant. I’m not sure that is happening with your car.

 

Not necessarily, my first 06 burned oil like crazy and the exhaust tips were just caked in black residue, it blew smoke every time I laid into it.

 

Are you running non resonated cats? When I had my car it would throw white smoke due to test pipes

 

This is incorrect - Test pipes will not cause white exhaust - white smoke is indicative of moisture and/or coolant in the combustion ... how it got there is what you should be concerned with. Test Pipes, High Flow Cats, OEM cats, you should not have white smoke in your exhaust.

First, use your current tank of gas and get a fresh tank of gas to make sure you didnt get a bad tank. If the white exhaust persist than look into a leak-down test.

 

I don't know about the smoke, if it is a rev-up engine then they are notorious for burning oil. It really does sound nice though.
What exhaust are you running?

 

Every car I've seen with test pipes will throw crazy smoke every once in a while. I drove behind one on a canyon run and couldn't breathe. People dont know the negative effects of a TP until you gotta drive behind one for more than 15 mins. lol

 

As stated above by another member do a leakdown test. Previous owner may have had a thicker grade oil in there for a reason.

 

As stated above by another member do a leakdown test. Previous owner may have had a thicker grade oil in there for a reason.

 

its usually hard to distinguish from the blue/white smoke.
it could be a combination of things, either way,... it might be time for a rebuild. I would def do a leakdown.

at least thats what I'm going thru right now with my rebuild

 

1. Check coolant level
2. Check oil level
3. Check engine temps while driving

If these 3 are good, then it could just be because you are running catless, as others have mentioned.

Just another note, the only oil I ever had an issue with on all of my cars was Mobil 1 synthetic. I tried it in my supercharged Civic and was low on oil after about 2k miles. Switched to AMSOIL and never had a problem after that. Ran AMSOIL for another year or so until I traded it in for my Z. Because of that experience I always tell people not to use Mobil 1. I think it is overpriced garbage.

 

Usually it's black though.

 

Have head gasket checked just to see if seal leak. If not continuous then possible solution found if checked by an expert (mech). If engine going bad bad then would be continuous. LI'be had that one too with a Chevy Impala. If continuous would be serious problem. Not radiator, I also had a 750i and just hated the problem of overheating. When dealer said it was okay after several (multiple trips), I got rid of it. And got my Z. I think it might be the head gasket and if taken care of quickly that will do it. If not then the engine will be the next problem. Haven't done mechanic work in a long time, but did years ago when the mopar years were big. (My hey days were the Holly four barrels, doug thorley headers, crame cams, etc.)

 

My 06 burned oil and it was only slightly bluish, from that distance its hard to tell, but it could also be coolant. I had a turbo oil seal go bad on an SR and it billowed white smoke so sometimes its hard to tell. I would definitely just try and monitor your fluid levels for awhile.

 

Was the turbo water cooled?

I don't know if I can say this enough, but oil burns blue/black, coolant/water burns white. White exhaust is NOT oil.

 

And one more Red Herring for OP-
Did you add SeaFoam to anything during service? Gas, oil, intake...

 

Sorry I disappeared off the face of planet there, everyone!

2003. DE.

Bought it at 113,000km. I now have 121,000km. That's around 75,000 miles.

That is correct. White = coolant/water. Blue = oil. Black = fuel. Right?

No overheating at all. I've been monitoring engine temps like a hawk. No further coolant loss since I last checked, but when I DID check it was a bit low. I haven't added any since.

I am running catless, yes. Tomei test pipes.

Definitely wasn't the tank. It is still persisting.

Not a rev-up engine, no.

Impul headers, Tomei test pipes, muffler delete. Love the sound!

It is rather difficult. I swear every time I've seen it, it looks white however some others who have seen it claim it looks a little bit blue to them.

1. Coolant level is quite low, but hasn't changed since I last checked it.
2. Oil level is honestly impossible to tell. Any tips on getting an accurate read with the 350Z's dipstick?
3. Engine temps are right where they should be while driving.

It's something new that I've noticed, though, so it's definitely not just because I'm running catless.

I'm thinking next time I'll try Motul instead of Mobil 1.

No. No additives at all.

Would everyone agree that a leakdown test would be my next step? Perhaps also a compression test?