[dallas_jeff]

My car has white (blue?) smoke coming from tailpipe. It only happens once it's warmed up and if I rev it. Also, there is some liquid that shoots from the exhaust when I rev it. I have it at a friend's shop. He's already done a compression test, which I passed. The spark plugs looked clean. He's going to have a look at the turbos and also do a leak down test, but any other input for suggestions would help!

Here's a video. You can see that it smokes some when I rev it, but really comes out after I release the pedal.

[X5-User]

I had the same symptoms before. It turned out to be turbo seal is leaking. Be prepared for new turbos !

[Allen@MOTIV]

Turbos seals are the most likely culprits IMO

[AlpineSwift]

How many miles on your RB's, @dallas_jeff?

[dallas_jeff]

Originally Posted by AlpineSwift

How many miles on your RB's, @dallas_jeff?

Only a few thousand. I had them put in November of last year, so they're still under warranty. I'll see what my friend says once he looks at them.

[AlpineSwift]

Doesn't seem right for RB's to blow the seals that quickly unless you were pushing a shit load more boost than they are designed for.

[X5-User]

keep us posted. That's low mileage for turbo problems

[dallas_jeff]

I was only pushing max of 18.5 psi. And I tuned down to 17ish to keep my fuel pump happy. I'll keep you posted. Yeah it does seem too quick for turbos to fail.

[crimson335]

Originally Posted by dallas_jeff

I was only pushing max of 18.5 psi. And I tuned down to 17ish to keep my fuel pump happy. I'll keep you posted. Yeah it does seem too quick for turbos to fail.

I have the exact same issue right now with my RBs, compression and leak down test will be done this week. I will also remove the exhaust from downpipe and see which turbo its smoking from. Keep me posted please and i will with you.

[Allen@MOTIV]

Originally Posted by crimson335

I have the exact same issue right now with my RBs, compression and leak down test will be done this week. I will also remove the exhaust from downpipe and see which turbo its smoking from. Keep me posted please and i will with you.

Unfortunately, the issues you and Jeff are having are fairly common with the RB turbos. They make good power but, unfortunately, reliability is less of a guarantee.

[crimson335]

Originally Posted by Allen@PTF

Unfortunately, the issues you and Jeff are having are fairly common with the RB turbos. They make good power but, unfortunately, reliability is less of a guarantee.

I am working closely with Rob im sure it will get fixes sooner or later. I also get smoke when the car slows down about 20mph or less. Just puff of smoke

[dallas_jeff]

Originally Posted by crimson335

I have the exact same issue right now with my RBs, compression and leak down test will be done this week. I will also remove the exhaust from downpipe and see which turbo its smoking from. Keep me posted please and i will with you.

Alright I'll keep you posted. Good to know I'm not alone on this issue, though.

[dallas_jeff]

Well, it's not the turbos. They're clean, and there's minimal shaft play.

[Blaster400]

OP: Are you completely catless? I know many others complain about smoking exhaust issues when they go completely catless.

Glad to see it's not your RB's.

[dallas_jeff]

Originally Posted by Blaster400

OP: Are you completely catless? I know many others complain about smoking exhaust issues when they go completely catless.

Glad to see it's not your RB's.

Yes I'm completely catless, but this smoke is more than usual for my setup. It stinks and soot is covering my car :/.

[Blaster400]

Originally Posted by dallas_jeff

Yes I'm completely catless, but this smoke is more than usual for my setup. It stinks and soot is covering my car :/.

Consider adding 100 or 200 cell race cats into your exhaust system. Might fix your problem.

[N8N]

Seems to me that N54 is prone to more condensation/visible vapor in cold weather than other cars. My oil is down a half quart in ~5000 miles, car runs great, no evident issues, never seen a CEL (now that I said that, watch...) but both tailpipes seem to blow more white sitting at a stoplight than all the other cars around me. Bothers me, but I can't find anything wrong.

[dallas_jeff]

I don't have a catch can. There's 76k miles on it. The video was taken when it was 65 outside, so it's not due to cold weather. It's more than just condensation. I can smell it even with the windows rolled up and it's impossible to keep my back bumper clean. It's soot not just water vapor. I feel like a cat may just mask the problem. I know what a catless car smells like, but this is more like a burning oil smell. My friend still hasn't done the leak down test, so I'll see what the results of that are.

[HeavyMetalRocker]

Yeah it isn't the fact he's catless. I'm catless as well and don't have this issue! And we're in the same city so it's not the temp either!!

[Blaster400]

Some guys going catless have this problem and some don't. See poll results in this thread.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...=catless+smell

[Sfvalley135i]

My car smokes when I park on a incline or decline... Flat level never smokes... Strange but only smokes for 10secs or so

[Killerfish2012]

White smoke= water. The exhaust systems on these cars hoard a lot of water. My oem mufflers had at least 1.5 gallons of water in them, when I cut them out last year.