I'm just bringing a new rebuild online. Install was smooth and everything seems plumbed correctly. It starts up easily and will rev (but not quite as smooth as it should be) and will idle for 10 to 20 seconds before slowly dying. While running it is pumping out quite a bit of white to light gray smoke. I have started it 6 to 8 times but have not run it for more than 30 seconds.

Engine is a complete Atkins rebuild of a low mileage engine that was in good shape to start with. Engine was on the shelf for 3 years before install, but looked in perfect condition and turned freely.

What I have done along with the new engine:
New plugs and coils, and added a small amount of oil through each spark plug hole.
All new fuel lines on the engine.
cleaned and tested all injectors, and installed new screens.
All new belts.
All new radiator hoses.
Reset the PCM with the hold-down-odometer-until-test-flashes method
Reset the KAM by depressing the brake pedal 20 times until oil pressure gauge swings.
Cranked the engine several times by hand prior to starting to try and get some lubricant into the rotors.

I put 4 gallons of new high octane gas in the tank, but there were at least 2 or 3 pretty old gallons already in there.

The CAT was replaced once by the dealer at either 60K or 80K (i'll have to look up the paperwork), so it is relatively new (car has 100K on it), but the new CAT did go through my wife pushing a dying engine really hard to get it home which could have hurt it.

Any thoughts on what this sounds like? Does it sound like a bad CAT or something else? I want to run it as little as possible until I am sure everything is OK and I'm not going to damage the new engine.

 

Is the white smoke condensation burning off or coolant? I would pressure test the cooling system before going further.

 

You need to run it long enough to get it warm and burn off the assembly lube. ..and start to bed in the seals

If it is still an issue after a couple of hundred miles then start looking harder

 

The smoke is coming out of of the exhaust pipes. Outside of a blown engine, where could coolant get into that system? I'll look into a pressure test tomorrow. I'm definitely looking for advice on what tests I should run to isolate where the smoke is coming from.

It doesn't smell sweet like antifreeze or like oil, but I'm not 100% confident that I could tell. It does have a smokey smell, so I don't think it is just condensation.

Where would the condensation be from? The car is in a garage and everything before the CAT has just been cleaned and put back together, so I don't see where any condensation would have come from before the CAT.

 

Thanks, that makes me feel a little better. It seems to be running smoother and smoother. How long is the learning process for the computer to adapt to a new engine?

I also just noticed a CEL, so I will check that in the morning.

 

How long have you ran it? The assembly lube and such should burn off after one good heat cycle. The fact that it sat for 3 years (and was built by Atkins) is worrisome, especially if it was not sealed and stored in a nice dry area.

The ECU should get sorted after a few drive cycles. When the new engine was installed was the NVRAM reset?

 

Yes, the engine was sealed in plastic and stored in a dry area and it turned freely and has good compression, so I am hopeful. It is definitely better than what it is replacing!

Yes, I performed the PCM reset procedures for both KAM and NVRAM. It seems to be getting smoother, so I assume that is the computer adjusting the timing.

I have not taken it anywhere near operating temperature yet. I am being overly cautious and taking baby steps to make sure all systems are fully functional before I stress it. Once I am confident that everything is solid, I'm thinking I'll reset the KAM and NVRAM again and let it run through a longer first cycle up to full temperature.

 

Well you can'y judge good compression by just turning it over but if they rebuilt it properly it should be fine. Hopefully your primed the engine before you turned it over. There is no point in resetting the NVRAM again, just drive it and put some miles on it. And check the CEL.

 

Yeah get it hot, run it in, this caution is a bit over the top, it should be fine. BTW did you prime the OMP lines and injectors? If not I hope you put in premix? In fact regardless I hope you put in premix on a new start up at least. If not the pressure is very low and can take a hundred miles or more before actually pumping into the engine and by that time you may have done irreparable harm to the new engine if you run it without premix at a minimum.

 

Yes, I primed the engine as well as the OMP lines. I was going to add premix initially anyway, but since there were some bubbles in the OMP lines I made sure to add a full dose.

This is the first rotary engine I have installed, so I am trying to be extra careful. I wasn't expecting that much smoke, so it threw me a bit. If the CEL is obvious and will clear, then I will bring her up to full temp.

Thanks all for the input.

 

Yeah it will smoke a bit, some builders use a ton of vaseline and or assembly lube during assembly as well as engine oil. Plus, depending on how it failed before, there could be a lot of residue in the exhaust.

Did you flush out the oil cooler lines and coolers?

 

Ummm, well they are flushed now!

Oil pressure is good. I'll change the oil and filter pretty quickly in any case, so I'll cross my fingers that the coolers are flushed and I can get rid of any residual crap in the oil and filter change.

 

FYI: Problem solved. A disconnected CTS showed up when I got a reader to check the CEL. I read that a disconnected CTS will cause smoke and rough driving, so that part made sense. It was a PITA to reach at this point, but that fixed it and it is running smooth now.

 

Great, good for you, also good to get the feed back.

 

UH, yeah that will do it.

 

I did this on my install too... was chasing it for a week.