High Idle

[ItzmyCRX]

I got my CRX going by turning up the idle speed a little. It's steady at about 1200 but i guess it has to be down to about 700 or something of that sort to smog here in cali. any ideas? if i turn it down anymore than 1200 it stalls. any sugestions on what's wrong? oh and it still smokes out the backend...big cloud of white smoke, changed the valve cover...same thing, checked the gaskets....same thing, HELP ME!!

[lxndr]

Sounds like a vacuum leak. Get a can of carb cleaner and spray it around the base of the carb and between the intake manifold and cylinder head. When the carb cleaner seals a leak, the idle will temporarily drop, this will help you figure out exactly where the leak is. Also check your hoses and make sure they are all routed correctly, connected and crack free.

If you're still getting clouds of white smoke after replacing the head gasket, then you either have a warped or cracked cylinder head or a cracked block.

How's your oil?
A bad head gasket or a cracked head will usually turn your oil into a milky, chocolate brown color.

[ItzmyCRX]

yeah i was starting to think it was a vacum leak. i'll try that and see if it helps any. the oil looks great, infact the whole engine looks great. i took it to an auto shop and they didn't say anything about it being cracked but they noticed almost everything else...i'll check it out though, is it like a visual crack or what?

[lxndr]

Usually it's a hairline crack that you won't be able to see. You will need to take the head to a machine shop in order to find it. If it is cracked you will need to replace it and if it's warped it can be resurfaced.

How does the smoke smell?
I know this sounds kinda odd, but sometimes the difference between white and blue smoke is so faint that the only real way to tell what's causing the smoke is to smell it. I just want to make sure that we're going in the right direction with this whole outdoor BBQ problem before you go tearing your engine apart again.

[ItzmyCRX]

What are my two options on the smell? lol it does sound rather odd...i can't really place the smell...maybe oil or gasoline...?anyways what are my smell options?

[lxndr]

Hmmm...

Usually water in the cylinders will smell like a spring morning. It will be kind of a sweet, moist smell., especially if you have antifreeze in the system.

Burning oil will smell just like it sounds... oily and burnt.

P.S. I don't advise smelling the things that come out of your car on a regular basis.

[ItzmyCRX]

Nah it's not a "springy" smell. It starts many of my headaches...so it sounds like it's the oil. any ideas on prevention?

[lxndr]

Go to your local autoparts store and get any oil additive that says it will help with the smoking, especially if it has the words miracle, amazing or incredible in the title! Then if that doesn't help, you'll probably end up rebuilding your head or replacing your rings. I'm making an educated guess that it's your valves and not the rings since your oil still looks good.

I think we've covered this already, but does it smoke all the time or mostly after you just start it up.

[ItzmyCRX]

it only smokes when i step on the gas

[lxndr]

You've got bad valves!

[ItzmyCRX]

smells expensive....what am i lookin at to get it fixed? can i do it myself to save a bit?

[lxndr]

You probably won't be able to do it yourself since it's probably your valve guides. Replacing the guides involves reaming them out, which is not something than can be done precisely without $10,000 worth of equipment. Call an autoparts store and get a price on a rebuilt head, my guess is $300-$400. Then call a local machine shop and get a price for rebuilding your head ($200-$300?).

[ItzmyCRX]

still sounds extremely expensive...is it possible to get it to stop smoking enough so i can sell it to some other poor soul?

[lxndr]

Yeah, see what your local autoparts store has to put your car on the patch, but be honest when you sell it (would you want to find out that someone put a band-aid on the car that you just bought?).

You could also try your luck with a junk yard head. Look for a car with a relatively clean exhaust pipe.

[ItzmyCRX]

you have any patch sugestions? bigger exhaust? shit like that...what kinda patch?