ETNav382

Basically I want your guys opinion on whether I should have the shop redo their work.

So, car has 125k miles just had valve covers, alternator, water pump, hoses, thermostat, coolant reservoir, oil, spark plug tubes, valley coolant pipe by AGA, timing chain cover gaskets, tensioner and belts replaced. I provided only the coolant system parts everything else was bought from them.

I got the car back two weeks ago and they told when I picked it up that once the car was up to temp it had white/blue smoke There's also a slight burning plastic smell. This all happens right around 210 on the cluster temp. guage. They said I need valve stem seals, CCV valves replaced replaced and there's a vacuum on the oil cap when the car is running. I knew about the seals and vacuum and I just replaced the CCVs today, they were previoulsy replaced within 25k miles. Anyway the car never smoked anywhere near as bad as it does now. I mean a 3 min. idle then gas pedal press results in a LARGE cloud of smoke.

Could the shop have did a shoddy job or is it the new parts made an old problem worse? I can look at the pass. side valve cover and see a small piece of gasket not lined up properly. I think attention to detail is important, especially when the customer can literally pop his hood and see. I tried taking it for a 100 mile drive today just incase the car needed an extended run but that didn't help anything. I can take a pic of the gasket if needed.

seanjordan20

Im pretty sure that you spent a lot of money for them to do it. I would definatly take it back to have them redo the valve cover because that is probably your issue. If you have done around 150 miles and it is still smoking then take it back. You will have the burning smell for a while though.

ETNav382

Yea it was a good chunk of change. Ok, I'll bring it to them on Monday and thank you so much for answering. I've put about 350 or so miles on the since I've gotten it back.

I posted this on another forum and literally nobody said anything about whether the smell was normal or not. I was hoping that with so much new rubber and other little things that it was supposed to be like that.

seanjordan20

What color is the smoke?

ETNav382

Its white-ish, it MIGHT have a blue tint to it. I haven't checked the dipstick but I have been monitoring oil level in iDrive since I got the car back and it has dropped two bars since then.

The car will probably need a quart within 1k miles. I used to be able to go about 7.5k miles (my oil change interval) and just fill one 1 quart. That was with valve cover and timing cover leaking.

seanjordan20

White smoke: White smoke is caused by water and or antifreeze entering the cylinder, and the engine trying to burn it with the fuel. The white smoke is steam. There are special gaskets (head gaskets are the primary gaskets) that keep the antifreeze from entering the cylinder area. The cylinder is where the fuel and air mixture are being compressed and burned. Any amount of antifreeze that enters this area will produce a white steam that will be present at the tailpipe area.

If white smoke is present, check to see if the proper amount of antifreeze is inside the radiator and the overflow bottle. Also check to see if antifreeze has contaminated the engine oil. You can look at the engine oil dipstick, or look at the underside of the engine oil filler cap. If the oil is contaminated with antifreeze, it will have the appearance of a chocolate milkshake. Do not start the engine if the oil is contaminated with antifreeze as serious internal engine damage can result.

How did antifreeze get in the oil or cylinder in the first place? The engine probably overheated and a head gasket failed due to excessive heat, thus allowing antifreeze to enter the cylinder (where it is not meant to be).

Blue smoke: Blue smoke is caused by engine oil entering the cylinder area and being burned along with the fuel air mixture. As with the white smoke, just a small drop of oil leaking into the cylinder can produce blue smoke out the tailpipe. Blue smoke is more likely in older or high mileage vehicles than newer cars with fewer miles.

How did the engine oil get inside the cylinder in the first place? The car has many seals, gaskets, and O-rings that are designed to keep the engine oil from entering the cylinder and one of them has failed. If too much oil leaks into the cylinder and fouls the spark plug it will cause a misfire (engine miss) in that cylinder and the spark plug will have to be replaced or cleaned of the oil. Using thicker weight engine oil or an oil additive designed to reduce oil leaks might help reduce the amount of oil leaking into the cylinder.

ETNav382

Oil is fine, just looked and coolant is also fine. I had to replace the reservoir because the stick in the old one mysteriously disappeared.

I honestly think I'll just get sent away and they'll claim its because I need the valve stem seals done.

turboawd

worn valve stem seals are a common issue on the bmw v8. and what you describe is the classic symptom of worn seals. and there is nothing the mechanic could have done, to make the seals worse.
it would have been a good idea to change the valve stem seals while you had the valve covers off, because that is half the battle.

turboawd

also, how long have you had the car? if you had the oil changed, maybe a thinner oil was used, hence more smoke.

ETNav382

Turbo, I want to believe he didn't do anything but it wasn't this bad the week before I dropped it off. Process of elimination says it must have been something that was changed. Either the cooling system is somehow completely screwed now and leaking or gaskets were not put on properly. I honestly can't think of anything else.

I would have gotten the seals done but I had already spent $4.5k on getting the other work done and it was never this bad.

I have used liqui moly for the past 35k miles, had the car since 49k miles and got it in late Jan 2010. I gave them the oil also since he was doing all the other stuff and it was due anyway.