I'm getting a bit of blue smoke when starting the Acadiane, and watching the oil every week for the daily commute reveals I'm going from full to half on the dipstick. It does burn a bit on the over run, but its running great.

I've read on the forum that this could be down to gunk building up and that a simple flush and oil change will cure it. I'm about to change the oil anyway, has anyone got any recommendations on flushing before adding the new oil? I've read that this can simply push the blockage around the engine and cause more harm.

cheers

Joe

That sounds a lot like knackered valve stem seals - the oil's seeping past when the car's parked and off, then being sucked past on the over-run.

How many miles to burn it off?

I had problems when i owned it - leaving deposits on the rear wheel, and black sooty smoke if revved hard. The oil consumption was a strange one too... used a bit (topped up 2-3 times, iirc) on the way to Giel for the French National meeting, but barely used any on the homeward trip. After that the oil consumption settled down during day-to-day running.

When i eBay'd it i sold it with these problems clearly stated - i had hoped that when the dealer had bought it from me he'd sorted the issues & that's why it was up for 1200 quid more than he paid, or that he'd have made any potential new owner aware of the issues...

Ah, the naivety of youth...

I've been averaging 105 miles per week. I'm also getting a lot of fumes in the cabin (more than just hot engine/exhaust smell) so maybe a bit of work in that area wouldn't go amiss anyway, fit new seals while the heads are off etc

One of the first things I asked was about oil consumption, I was told it didn't use a drop when I went to view it. I had to speak to the previous owner recently regarding the registration documents as I have still haven't got them yet, I mentioned the oil again, and he still told me it had not used a drop, but it clearly does...! Ah well. Neil you will be glad to know that the rust proofing is going well, thanks for the heads up on the Dynax stuff, its had a good going over.

Haha! Bollocks! I made a point of mentioning the smoke & the erratic oil consumption so i had a clear conscience. Still no documents?!

Glad to hear at least the rust proofing is going well!

Yup, still no documents, I think they have been lost in the post, or I hope so...Going to contact the DVLA this week.

Both times I went to view the car it was warm, so obviously it was run before hand to make sure it started and had burnt off excess oil that had seeped through. I checked for blue smoke and alas, there was none, the day after I bought and started it up I got a shock!

Thing is, I'm a bit annoyed that I wasn't told, but crap like this happens, the first time in 6 car purchases, but I wanted the car, and the existence of this forum and all the specialists and amazing scene that surrounds them means that I'm happy to deal with problems like this. I'm completely hooked on the things, my work productivity has gone down due to browsing this forum and the tin snail one...and the time I spend cleaning the poor thing.

Hopefully going to get the car to Ken in late October for a little look over then we can determine what needs to be done.

Would anyone recommend whipping the heads off? I'm a fairly confident mechanic, fitting electronic ignition was a doddle and I've had the heads off minis before when I was 16, so surely it can't be that difficult...I haven't got a garage though.

nothing too taxing in doing the heads, valve stem seals etc and a look at the rings 'cause it could be worn oil rings.

Sean

I have a similar problem with the Beige Beast - Uncle Roy suggested that it was unlikely - but not impossible - that the seals are knackered, if I remember rightly he said that the design of the engine, with the valve stem seals being horizontal, when the engine is standing, the oil in the head will not pool by the seal but in the bottom of the head, so not leak past them into the top of the cylinder - it is more likely shagged rings that need changing.