Whats up you guys, I usually whore around the 92+ forum but this is dealing with a 91 hatch.

Im about to buy a 91 hatch for about 2,000 but I was wondering: when I turn it on its fine and everything, it also runs fine, but what I noticed is that when I rev up the car it blows out smoke from the exhaust. Is that smoke because it is running rich or is a gasket or something. Any help is appreciate it.

 

black smoke? that'd be fuel which I think is normal since fuel is being dumped into the engine at high rpms

 

what about white smoke?

 

white smoke would be a blown head gasket. Check the coolant and oil, if either looks milky then there is probably a blown head gasket. If it is like a blueish colored smoke it's because it burns oil.

 

i dont think it would be dumping fuel when its not under load. i could see blowing some fuel related smoke under load and heavy acceleration. but if its blowing smoke at idle, its either head gasket, valve stem seals, or worn rings/bore.

almost all of those options are bad and will require work

if i were you id pass on the deal
there are other civics around
and u will regret getting ****ed if thats the case

~kris

 

White, as mentioned, its the head gasket most likely.

Black is usually the valve stem seals first due to the extreme angle the D-series valves operate at. Then comes the piston rings.

I seriously doubt it's running rich.

That aside, I'd never pay $2k for a Civic that old that blows smoke.

 

start the car when its cold and pop open the radiator cap and look for bubbles

you can also get a comp tester, remove all spark plugs disconnect the EFI fuse and turn the car over for each cylinder...take note of the compression for each cylinder

 

If it's just a little smoke it could be water vapor condensing.
I had water in the bottom of my muffler and that would cause white smoke until the car ran for a while and dried it out.

 

take it out on the highway, then rev it at idle and see if it smokes
no water vapor now

~kris

 

I've got a 91 civic hatch that's gutted, complete rolling chassis in red if interested. Body is nice for the age!