White smoke?

[sam_strachan]

I got my first TVR yesterday, a Chimaera - magic! I've wanted one for the last six years or so, and now finally I have a beautiful Starmist Green 4.0. I drove all day yesterday and just had the biggest grin ever - Wehay!

Anyway, stopped off on the way home last night, left it for about an hour, then drove the remaining 1 mile to my house. Reversed into my parking space and whitish smoke was bellowing from under the bonnet (couldn't determine which side).

So I checked the forums on here and originally thought it might have been steam from rainwater getting in or perhaps overheating, but after a brief smoke this morning (possibly leftover from last night) the temperature was well within limits (~70), oil pressure fine (~30). When left idling, temp rose to about 90 and both fans cut in fine.

Anyway went for a longer drive this afternoon (big grin) and all was fine over 40 miles or so except: had to pull sharply to the right at traffic lights to let Ambulance by and it smoked! It also happened when I did a three point turn. I have power steering. Could I have a leak which either only exists when on full lock or is made worse by being on full lock?

I've just got back from that journey, and as I pulled up the power steering was making a gentle "whining" sound, which further confirms my suspicions.

Assuming that is the case, can anyone recommend further tests I can do to confirm this? Is this actually dangerous or just annoying - i.e. Can I take the car back to be fixed in a couple of weeks with heavy steering or will the power steering suddenly explode on the M25 and kill everyone within a 20 mile radius?

If not, any other ideas?

Cheers,

Sam

[big.jezz]

i will not be whithin 20 miles of the m25 so carry on

[jeff miles]

I had something similar when I got my TVR which had been standing unused for quite a while. Every joint on the beast leaked body fluids worse than a neglected corpse, including the water pump gasket. Dumped the coolant one february night in the wilds of Dumfriesshire - that was fun. keep an eye on anything hydraulic related.

Could well be power steering - check the reservoir and have a look at the joints on the metal U bend just under the pump which can leak all over the exhaust. Nip up the hose clipos if they are loose. Suggest you also check out every hose clip you can get your hands on including the heater connections in the passenger well. Like any kit with an engine you should keep them in regular use - mine gets an outing every week except in really desperate weather, when it gets run up to temperature.


Good Luck

jeff

[Big Al.]

Try this thread it may throw up some answers.

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=125746&f=8&h=0&hw=white+smoke

[JonRB]

Indeed. I don't think it is the exact problem that I'm experiencing (in the thread Big Al mentioned) but I do recall someone mentioning problem similar to yours involving PAS fluid.
If it is only when you are turning the wheel then it could well be something to do with PAS.

(Assuming your Chimaera has power steering, that is)

>> Edited by JonRB on Sunday 13th February 17:51

[sam_strachan]

Thanks for your quick response everyone!

I've checked the PAS fluid level and it's almost completely out! So I'm off to Halfords to get some Dextron III. Once it's topped up I can do some experiments with a hot engine and the hood up to see what's going on. Unfortunately, since it's dark I can't easily check the hose clips and connections. Hey ho.

[JonRB]

This reply from the other thread may be of interest:

sgrimshaw said:

I had a similar problem last year. Turned out it was PAS fluid weeping out of a joint and onto the manifold. Don't ask me how that led to smoke out through the exhausts .... but it did. Try a search on the forums, seems that PAS and brake fluid commonly cause these symptoms. Be worth checking anyway. Simon

[sam_strachan]

Cheers JonRB and Jeff. I also found this elsewhere so I'm pretty certain of what half the problem is...

"Had this problem earlier in the year. I thought it was low PAS fluid but there was a leak. If you look under the PAS unit there is a U bend with two joints. These joints do not always fit properly due to the size of the rubber tubing used. I had mine fixed by using some specialist hose from a company in Wallingford. No more leaks and all seems to be ok now."

What I can't yet figure out is why putting it on full right lock seems to dump the fluid in the first place. I'll get there...

[JonRB]

Where in the country are you, Sam? If you're lucky there may be a decent specialist near to you who are always preferable to a dealer (in my opinion).

[sam_strachan]

I'm in East London - so I think either Tower View or Benfield are closest. However, I got the car from Adrian Blyth and I've already spoken to David Batty who kindly suggested a few things and asked me to call him back and let him know. So I suspect I'll stay on that course for the time being.

Of course, if you particularly recommend anyone closer to me then I'd love to know!

[JonRB]

Dave Batty is a top bloke and has been looking after both my Chimaera and my Corrado for the past 3 years. In fact, that's where my Chimaera is at the moment.

I've heard good things about Tower View too, so you should equally be in good hands with them.

[Corin Denton]

Generally if you have a problem with the power steering system you will get drops of the red fluid on the floor after a run once the system has come to rest. The PAS will groan anyway on lock but if it is significantly worse this is probably your problem.

The hose connections undernesth the resevoir on the near side bank of the engine are prone to leaking, easy to fix with ramp access.

Speak to Austec in Crawley if you need help - they are superb.

[Size Nine Elm]

If there's white smoke, I think it means your Chimaera has elected a new Pope.

[sam_strachan]

Perhaps my Chimaera knows something about the pope's recent illness that the vatican aren't letting on...

[tahiti450]

I had a very similar problem on another car (also rover v8 powered) in the past, turned out to be due to failed seals in the brake servo allowing fluid into the vacuum chamber behind the diaphragm. Once this had filled sufficiently it allowed brake fluid to be sucked straight down the servo pipe into the inlet manifold and hey presto clouds of white smoke intermittently especially when braking and coming off the throttle. Is there any sign of a falling fluid level in the reservoir and no obvious leak?

[sam_strachan]

Tahiti, thanks for the idea - and I'll certainly keep an eye on the brake levels - especially when I do my daylight tests, however, I'm now relatively confident that it's the PAS fluid:

- Smoke when I go to full hard right lock
- Moaning noise from steering now, even with just a very slight turn of the wheel
- Virtually empty PAS resevoir

[pebbledash]

sam_strachan said:

Tahiti, thanks for the idea - and I'll certainly keep an eye on the brake levels - especially when I do my daylight tests, however, I'm now relatively confident that it's the PAS fluid: - Smoke when I go to full hard right lock

on full lock the pressure form the pum is High.. symptoms suggests a leaking union or weaping pipe between the pump and the rack.

sam_strachan said:

- Moaning noise from steering now, even with just a very slight turn of the wheel

low PAS fluid can case PAS system to make a noise my griff 500 does.

sam_strachan said:

- Virtually empty PAS resevoir

check the clips on the pipes under the PAS pump. also the pipes can become porous after time - maybee the wrong pipe has been filled...

[deeen]

hi. on mine, the pipe below the power steering resovoir was leaking onto the rocker box cover, then running round the lip to drip on the hot manifold and smoke.

i bet if you get a screwdriver on the jubilee clips that holds the pipes onto the resovoir, you can get an extra turn on one of them.

[sam_strachan]

Update: finally got to Halfords on public transport and filled her up with Dextron III. Took her out for a spin to warm her up and have now found the following:

- It is not restricted to the right hand lock. It is actually just any wheel movement - it's just less severe. Full lock simply exacerbates it and makes it all much more noticable. Once it's cooled I'll check the levels again.

- With the hood up it appears that the smoke is coming from very near the fan belt on the driver's side. Is the pump located near here? (I've ordered my copy of the bible - won't be here for a bit!)

- Couldn't see much else in the dark so I think this will be a weekend job. In any case, I'm hoping Mr Batty will be able to shed some light tomorrow.

[JonRB]

sam_strachan said:

In any case, I'm hoping Mr Batty will be able to shed some light tomorrow.

Don't you go bothering Mr. Batty; he's very busy at the moment.

Actually, do you have a digital camera? Can you take some pics of my engine in bits for me, just as keepsakes for me please?