We have a conundrum. Cousin Judy's 1985 245 Intercooled Turbo was reportedly blowing smoke out the tailpipe. So much so, that cars were giving her a wide berth. Preliminary diagnosis (remote) was a blown head gasket. She brought the car over for repairs. When it got here, we decided to do some diagnosis before removing the head. Compression was 155 to 162. Spark plugs were on the whitish-tan side, with number one being almost pure white. Oil was clear, not like coffee with cream, and coolant was green, with no oil residue. Could not see any coolant leaking anywhere.

Took it out and excercised it pretty well. Up to 4500 RPM, and hit 10# of boost a couple times and genrally ran it pretty hard. It ran and runs strong. Then brought it back to the shop and let it idle for about 20 minutes. AND, get this... it of course never smoked for us!

Set about to replace front rotors and pads. Had to wait a day for parts. Next day put it all back together, seated the brakes in a test run, and brought it back to the shop. NOW, it started to smoke out the tailpipe again. The smoke is rather bluish, and I suspect it is oil. We have seen enough blown head gaskets to be able to recognize the telltale white steam/smoke that they create, and it (in my humble opinion) it is not a blown head gasket. But, I could be wrong.

Suspect perhaps the turbo seals are going.

Has anyone experienced intermittent smoking, or could you point us toward some other diagnostics that might get us closer to a solution?

Thanks in advance. Tryghett & his Dad