12 months in....

[Speed_6_2001]

Having had my Sp6 for nearly a year now and not being that mechanically minded (not great I agree), I’m a little worried about the cost of my first service given a recent development.

The car has run really well since I bought it last summer (despite its love of oil) although recently I’ve noticed that on start-up, usually once every week/two weeks, there’s always a puff of smoke from the exhaust. Is this the sign of something sinister going on under the bonnet or just normal and something I should have noticed before?

Whilst I’ve only done about 5k (now c.30k on the clock) and the engine had a full rebuild by the previous owner, I have a nasty feeling this service may be a nice little earner for my friendly TVR garage!!

Any advice would be really appreciated

[longbow]

From what you say, I'd take a guess that the reason for the high oil consumption is that its being ingested into the engine, possibly from the valve guides. When you turn a hot engine off, the surpluss oil in the head will be leaking down onto the vales, and the next time you start the engine it will burn off, creating smoke. Thats just an opinion although I don't know that much about the Speed 6 engine. If the performance is fine, and there are no unusual noises or power loss etc, this may be your problem.

Edited by longbow on Tuesday 3rd June 13:54

[Whitey]

Is it blue smoke? If so, it's likely as Longbow said, although probably will run fine for some time yet depending on valve clearances and how much of a drink problem it has.

Let us know how you get on.

[Buffoon]

Doesn't sound too alarming to me, providing you are holding good oil pressure.

I'd be tempted to take the cam cover off and check valve clearances, cam condition etc before service, and if all looks OK put up with the loss of oil for a while. Getting your hands grubby takes a lot of the mystery out of the engine and will make you more informed when talking to the 'professionals'.

I would also try and find out exactly what was done at rebuild i.e. was it bog standard like for like or were there any enhancements. Speed Six forum will give you a mile of info on work you can consider if the head needs to come off.

[Speed_6_2001]

In terms of power, it seems to be running fine and there haven't been any unusual noises but not knowing too much about what goes on under the bonnet makes you question everything. I think engine maintenance 101 at the local college may be the answer?

Thanks for the quick responses and advice, it's really appreciated, I'll let you know how I get on!

[BLUETHUNDER]

longbow said:

From what you say, I'd take a guess that the reason for the high oil consumption is that its being ingested into the engine, possibly from the valve guides. When you turn a hot engine off, the surpluss oil in the head will be leaking down onto the vales, and the next time you start the engine it will burn off, creating smoke. Thats just an opinion although I don't know that much about the Speed 6 engine. If the performance is fine, and there are no unusual noises or power loss etc, this may be your problem.

Edited by longbow on Tuesday 3rd June 13:54

Exactly the same as the old series 111 LandRover