Hello everyone, this one is alittle long winded but if the knowledgable dudes out there can be bothered id like a bit of help! I just bought my first 87' VL turbo - have been around cars a bit but mainly know the old school holden 6's. Its a 5 spd with a high flow turbo and an r33 side mount cooler. (AVO stg 1 - is this the intercooler or the turbo stage?) 3" mandrel from the turbo back, LSD and turbo timer running 13psi. It was in fair nick when i bought it and im slowly cleaning it up. Pod filter as well Issues 1: I did an oil and oil filter change. I noticed that the oil in it was very viscous but very black. I ended up putting shel 20W 50 in. since then there has been a distinct rocker/tappit noise or lifter. But its only one of them as far as i can tell. What is a good oil for these engines, do they like thicker stuff? This tapping noise also comes and goes and is more predominant when the car is hot ( i assume this is when the oil is hotter and runnier) Issue 2: Sometimes it blows smoke (bluey black in colour), im talking a s**t loads. You will sit there idling and you could swear it has no rings in it at all. Then the idle drops as if it has cloggged up and just before it stalls the idle picks up, the smoke goes away and its all happy????????????????? This should rule out rings because if it were then it should blow smoke all the time? I pulled off the rocker gear and all the cam lobes are there. I gave the valves a gentle tap and none of them are stuck and the lifters are ok as far as i can tell. Issue 3: Only sometimes when i give it a squirt, it blows a load of smoke in boost. This would suggest the turbo is gone, yes??? but it doesnt do it all the time. None of the above issues are consistent???!?!!!!??!?! Could this be an engine management problem or worse still, what might be happening is that a valve is randomly getting stuck open, causing the tapping and for it to blow smoke and cause the idle to die then re seats and everything is back to normal?? Cheap checks and solutions anyone??????????? I might replace the oil with a better heavier oil and see how that goes.... One last thing. I saw a thread on AFM - (air flow meters?) i assume this is the section that has the trianglar shapped element where the air is drawn from the air box/filter. In that thread they said that there should be an adjusting screw and you tune it to 360ohms when you check the resistance between the two end terminals of the plug that is plugged into the afm? - is this correct? Mine has no adjusting screw? what does that mean? Sorry for the long winded questions, but i really want to learn as much as i can. Best regards Brent

Use penrite HPR40 engine oil,Well suited for the VLT,check your sparkplug's,coolent temp sensor,see if it still smoke's after you have checked all of that! What colour is the smoke when boost hit's in?...

Black smoke under boost if fuel smoke most likely!

Fuel smoke would not be surprising if it has no aftermarket computer, especially running 13 psi, etc.

smole is i think very dark blue to black. Its a little hard to see. What are some prices on computer mods/chips. What are the mods or ad ins that can be performed on the computer. What benefits do these have? I assume its the computer that is behind the left hand kick panel/plastic trim?

will change oil, filter and plugs today... any other ideas guys?

yup,whats where it is.good on ya for gettin a vl,wise choice dude.i agree with rubin,penrite hpr40 is awsome stuff.the problem u have with the smokin?is it blowing smoke when ON boost?that sounds quite weird,of it was blowin when u back off i`d get it,but not on.good luck brento

Brent, Well done on the choice of the VL. I would do a compression test ASAP. My car used to run fine sometimes then blowe smoke like a steam train others. I changed the turbo , valves etc and then found out it was the pistions. The Piston Lances are what tends to go first which means they have a slight crack in them. The car will still run though will be down on compressiona nd blow smoke. Its definately worth checking this. DAVE

will get one done. Yes it only blows when under boost (ie when the pedal is down) as soon as you back off it goes away and when you pull up, nothing, apart from Issue @ as stated above. brent