Diagnosis Mazder - Blue smoke from exhaust

[Station]

Was looking at a car at a mate's garage today - It's been giffer looked after (SH up to mid 2000's), had one owner from new for 14 years, and then a garage owned it for the rest of it's life.

 

There's a big hole in the rear of the sill, but the rest of the body is fine, but the biggest concern is the blue smoke from the exhaust as soon as you start it up. It drives fine, but obviously needs the head taking off ASAP.

 

Can anyone advise what it could be - if it were piston rings, would this affect performance, or valve stem seals?

 

It has the Mazda B3 engine, which is a carburettor powered 1.3 16 valve. Are the engines easily interchangeable - they are all coded with a 'B' (so probably have the same block casting and mountings), but not sure of the similarities with the MX5 1.6/1.8 and whether they're swappable between FWD/RWD.

 

This type (BG):

 

 

There's one in the local scrapyard from my 'scrapyard spots' thread which can be used for bits, if it's still there ...

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/2799-spots-north-west-more-scrapyard-shotz/page-4?do=findComment&comment=944878

[Rocket88]

Probably valve stem seals....you can do some without removing the head...........it involves string.

[Sigmund Fraud]

I'd check the oil breather - if there's plenty of smoke there, it's the rings. Otherwise it's the valve stem seals. A compression test would be better, of course.

 

Those engines are very strong, so unless it has intergalactic mileage or has seen no oil changes in its life, I would expect the rings to be absolutely fine.

[r.welfare]

O RLY? I thought most Mazda engines of this era were prone to gummed-up rings and/or stem seals. Certainly the FS 2-litre in my MPV (shared with 323, 626, MX-6/Probe and Premacy) is. I haven't investigated (other than changing the PCV) and just top it up with oil regularly.

[UmBongo]

I  would go with valve stem oil seals.

 

My 309 GTi had the same problem years ago and my mechanic knew what it was straight away.

 

This was a couple of years before he set himself on fire and his subsequent enforced retirement.

[STUNO]

I own a Mazda, in fact I have owned three. Two have had to have new piston rings and the third was sold very cheaply while producing large amounts of blue smoke. When the motor in my current one (1800 twin cam) was stripped down the oil rings just fell apart and fell off the pistons.

[Sloth in a bowl]

To replace a B3 then look at Kia Pride and first gen Kia Rio. Both used the motor till 2000ish.

 

MX 5 version of the B6 probably won't fit but old 80's B6 from a 323 probably will. Electric and gearbox compatibility FTW.

[Supernaut]

Just go full insanity mode and fit that supercharged 2.0 V6 from the Xedos 9.

 

I realise I'm not helping at all. I'll get my coat.

[xtriple]

Quite a few Japanese cars have had trouble with oil control rings over the years: Toyota Celica, various Mazdas (626, the only way to sell an old one was to black out the rear window so the driver couldn't see the smoke!) so I'm going with rings gummed up/fucked/broken. I spent ages one day replacing valve stem seals on a Mitsubishi Lancer (met brown, cream cloth interior, totally undesirable except to me!) as it smoked about 30 a day and afterwards? It smoked about 28.5 a day! It was the rings but I couldn't be arsed so it got used as it was....

 

My wifes favourite car of ever was a (fuck it, memory has gone... Japanese, brown, hatchback that looked like it was a boot, quite highly specced) and that smoked about 60 a day but she adored the flaming thing!