engine smoking!
 

gf called me and said she was stopped at kids school and car started smoking and smelled really bad. she turned car off to wait for school to open. when stopped engine it stopped smelling. she started the car and went to another lot to check it out and took the pics below.

is this just the valve gasket? i watched video online and doesnt look too hard

she uses at least 1 qt every few weeks and she has a high idle issue where it pegs at 4000 and i never did resolve that issue. unsure if all this is related

any tips for valve cover gasket on this car? never did one before.

99 sl1

That leaky valve cover could be the cause of the burning oil smell but more importantly, where does the smell come from? Under the hood or at the tail pipe? Is there visible smoke and if so again, where is it coming from?
This makes a huge difference in the fix so we need to know.
If it is just the leaking valve cover the parts are not expensive and for most people it's a relatively easy afternoon job.

I agree with Jamnar. And if you have ANY mechanical skills, this is an easy job. Just make sure that your valve cover is CLEAN where the gasket fits. And clean the surface on the cylinder head too. The cleaner both surfaces are, the better off you are. And don't go crazy with the rtv sealant if you use it. Apply it to the valve cover ONLY, let it sit for 15-20 minutes and get tacky, then put the gasket on, set the valve cover on the head and torque it to spec.

They actually make solid cam cover gaskets so you no longer need to use RTV if you don't want to. If you do use RTV, make sure to hit the spots that the video or the Haynes manual specifies with a bit extra -- but only where it says. Like Rube said, do not go crazy w the RTV--remember it will flatten out when the two surfaces mate.

And no matter you go RTV vs solid gasket, clean mating surfaces are essential to a leak free seal. Be sure not to gouge either surface or you will create a place for the seal to leak. I believe the Fel-Pro gaskets are supposed to be good for this but poke around the interent and read the reviews. I need to do this on my 97 SC2....procrastinating....

But as Jamnar pointed out -- is there smoke coming from the tailpipe or just under the hood? If it is coming from the tailpipe there may be other issues much more serious that may make you not want to put the $$ into the cam cover gasket.

Mileage?

That type of oil consumption is excessive even for a Saturn. It sounds like a small cam cover gasket leak turned into a massive one. Maybe from heat cycling hot to cold to hot if these are short trips to the school, and from sitting there idling for long periods of time.

Remember that any oil leak "technically" lowers the overall oil pressure in the system. In this case probably not yet dangerously low although there is a possibility that the valves, lifters, etc may not be getting all the oil they are supposed to.

smoke came from under the hood and she smelled it inside the car. i put 1 qt in just now and sprayed the heck out of it so its relatively clean. will drive it around tomorrow and see if we can make it do it.

also she said when it started smoking, after 1 minute she turned the car off and the smoke stopped however there's no way to really tell if turning the car off made it or it just burned off whatever it was

even when i'm spilled oil changing it on my own car, ive never seen smoke.

also she said was on the left side of hood but by the time opened it it wasnt smoking. this happened 2x on friday

i know i need to clean off the EGR again, someone suggested thats what may cause the occasional high idle at 4K against the limiter. i cleaned it last summer to pass emissions and it worked.

Left side of hood from outside car, facing it
OR
Left side of hood from inside car?

Please use driver and passenger side, it's easier.

Are you low on coolant?

The engine block must get extremely hot on the outside for oil on it to start smoking. The fact that the car was not moving greatly increases the temperature of the external surface of the engine vs when driving because the air cooling from being in motion is not there anymore.

Next time it happens, leave the car running, pop the hood, and get a positive ID as to whether it's oil smoking off the block, overheating at the coolant expansion tank, or elsewhere.

drivers side smoked

we just drove it 30 min around the city and up a mountain and came home and nothing. it didnt even do the 4000 at idle thing

there's nothing new that leaked at least up front and on the sides.

my guess is when she idles at 4000 that whatever leaked burned up and that was it. there are no drivability issues.

i told her drive it all week and see what happens.

She lets it idle at 4000 rpm?

wtf

Turn the damn thing off. Of course the oil on the engine is going to heat way up with the engine turning 4k and no air blowing by

It it is likely a vacuum leak, maybe something like a crack in a hose that gets shifted when you hit bumps...check the hose from the PCV to the air intake ducting

ok ill check the hose then. didnt do it sunday when we drove around. but when she pulled up the driveway today i heard it. other than visual inspection is there a way to trace a leak. like spray something on and it sucks it in or something.

you can spray throttle body cleaner around the intake manifold meets the block, the area where the throttle body meets the intake manifold, and along the lengths of VACUUM hoses under the hood. There are quite a few, for example the vac line from the pcv to the intake, the vac line from the brake booster to the intake mani, and around the MAP sensor (should be rectangular and mounted on the throttle body).

Also, make sure the high idle isn't being caused by something simple like the gas pedal, cable or throttle aren't sticking, keeping it from returning to normal idle.

i think i got all the above areas with spray and nothing happened. i took off the intake and sprayed in the throttle body. i also looked at the air filter and it didnt appear to be clogged.

for the fun of it i disconnected the hose on the right side of the valve cover and nothing happened. not that it was supposed to? the pcv short hose was hard as rock so i didnt wanna move it. the brake booster line was very 'dangly' but it appeard to be ok on both ends and i sprayed what i could.

i also moved the throttle manually and didnt notice any hangups.

IIRC the rev limiter only "engages" (electronically) if the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) detects a signal of <3 mph and high/rising rpms, and then prevents the engine from redlining and destroying itself.

So that 4K rpm condition should never occur unless you are under 3 mph.
Is this the case? It is not relevant to the PCM WHY the rpms are so high at such a low vehicle speed--it just does as it's programmed.

Wonder if oil got down there into the VSS wiring (I think it's mounted in the side of the tranny case but I can never remember which hole in the case is the VSS and which one is for the output speed sensor--they are installed kinda mirror image like.

Does it ever change from normal idle to 4K rpm just literally sitting there idling?
-------------------
Did you ever run this car for check engine codes? Is the light on?
I just reviewed the thread and none of us asked and you did not say yay or nay.
If the check engine light is on then we may be on an extended goosechase to nowhere.

Please get the codes run even if the light is off; you may have stored pending codes that have not yet turned on the light.
Autozone etc will read codes for free.

it definitely does it when standing still (going to 4K) but she cannot say certain that its the only time. but pretty sure its only at a stop.

i have an autoxray 7000 so will scan for codes then.

will tell her to keep an eye and be certain when it does it

she stated this high idle didnt happen all week and she had her normal schedule with everything and actually bit more driving. maybe my spraying fixed it? keep fingers crossed.

Maybe you freed up part of the throttle body or cable mechanism such that it no longer sticks.

However, the valve cover gasket still requires attention. Don't let it go....

well now we have this:

occasionally when gf pushes in the clutch to come to a stop, it revs up to 2000 but once she is stopped, it (so far) has always died down to normal idle.

You may be looking at the Idle Air Valve, but if I'm not mistaken, this is a "learning" sensor and will adjust if a low idle condition existed for a while. Maybe after a week, that will fix itself. Some one correct me if I'm wrong. My 01 SL1 will idle at around 1300 while coasting off the off ramp in neutral, but then come down to 700 rpm at a stop. Idle is affected by the engine coolant temp sensor, and the throttle position sensor too. Quality AC delco parts make a big difference in these cars as well.

/Not trying to be nitpicky, but I don't really consider coasting on an off ramp as an idling situation.

Idle to me means rpm with car at rest w no load on engine. (0 mph, neutral.)
The PCM takes the vehicle speed into account when you put it into neutral so that if you re-engage the clutch at some point while slowing down, it will not result in a huge jerking motion upon reengagement because the rpms are kept close to wbat wojuld be expected if you did re engage the clutch.

Idle rpm is indeed affected by engine temp, thus the ECTS reading, the throttle position sensor output signal, the air/fuel mixture and the proper operation of the IAC valve.
I think it can be removed and cleaned but it is very delicate.

You aren't nitpicking and you are correct. The reason behind my "off ramp" statement was to let the OP know that the PCM will let the rpms hang if you are still moving and in neutral. My choice of using the word idle was just indicating that my foot was off the accelerator. Its all good.

Good, 'cause I love you in that Saturnforum Family way ;)