First question I would look through your yellow pages mate. It varies from area to area.
Second sounds like valve stem oil seals. Common to go hard after 100k miles on most engines. Won't kill it, just makes it smoke.
defo look in thre yellow pages for the refurb places! there are many places about now who offer it from about £30 a wheel i believe!
I thought that stem seals caused smoke on start up not whilst running???? but does sound like a drop of oil has got into the bores when hot to cause the smoke!
Timmo
After all i am the Cornish one!
Its Because its French!
Bx16v club - Sharing the love for the unloved!
I had my alloys refubed on my Rover for £20 each plus VAt and a fine job they did too, only prob if its a 16v Phase 2 is getting the two tone paint would be expesnive if not diffiuclt to replicate.
Ive just bought a used set to practice on, you normally find its only the where the wheels have been kerbed damaging the lacquer water gets into them and the alloys get corroded and looks taty.
Coupld of hours with some sandpaper and silver paint improves that!
I found with valve stem seals, if the car is idling for a while and then you rev it a bit you can blow blue smoke. Also if you race the engine, you get blue smoke on the overrun, but that was about it. Under load and normal driving showed nothing, and mine were rock hard and perished!
Whereas piston rings seemed to smoke under load in general on a mates car once.
Alloys are usually easy to get refurbed like everyone says it is just finding someone local.
Blue baffle dust is most likely the stem seals as if it only does it when stuck in traffic the oil will be at its thinest due to haet.
Stem seals are common on these cars mainly due to their age though rather than mileage, as said the rubber just hardens over time so no longer forms a perfect seal, there may be a little wear in the guides but that really does depend more on mileage as generally they are a hard wearing guide.
Cheers
Luke
Last edited by Toddman on Sat Sep 16, 2006 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Please call me Luke
1989 BX 16valve White 70k almost up to scratch
If you want a prpoer job of the wheels be carefull, a lot of refurbs use a plastic coat type of finish which is quite thick and cracks! which is worse than you started with! better to find a grit balster to clean them up, mine charges 20 per wheel, but a bit dependant on pattern - 16v ones are easy! and then paint them yourself - thin coats of etch and thin top and lacqeur.
The speedlines are painted very well new, so often you can just clean up the seating face with a wire brush in a grinder and prep the rest with wet n dry and repaint from there. thats what I did with my £10 set of phase one wheels and theyre still unchipped , and leak free 6 years later.
As for valve stem seals they can also limit top end performance as they essentially lower the ocatne of the fuel and make it pink or even miss, but they need to be really bad before you notice that! - like missing completely...... as on CVH's......
Think im going to take thet yres off and clean up the rims where the tyre seats to keep me running.
As for the blue smoke, i have only noticed the blue smoke whilst sat in a traffic jam, not whilst running, but then again it would be quite hard to see i suppose unless someone follows me.
Is the stem seal terminal, does it need replacing? is it easy to replace? As i bought the car to have a thrash every now agian will this damage the engine?
there is a possability that the stem seals can be done inplace by filling the cylinder full of compressed aur through the plug holes but yet to be proven!!! otherwise its a head off job!
Timmo
After all i am the Cornish one!
Its Because its French!
Bx16v club - Sharing the love for the unloved!
It's definately not terminal, unless you burn off all your oil you can go on for ages, I ran my smoking (only in town traffic) Gti for 8,000mls before it got just too antisocial for pedestrians
i'm with martyn - just keep the oil topped up and smile sweetly at the police when they take an interest in your polluter... i ran mine for 22k miles smoking like the drax power station before i got round to sorting it.
from the exaust.
you can go on for ages, I ran my smoking (only in town traffic) Gti for 8,000mls before it got just too antisocial for pedestrians 
