There's nothing "stock" about a Baja Bug. It's literally a Volkswagen Beetle that's been heavily modified for off-road use, the only thing that would be stock is the general body, or maybe a few parts. Not all Baja Bugs are the same. If I were even you, I'd talk to the owner on how it drives and have him guide you on driving it.
Further clues: exhaust doesn't smell like it did before; smells more like lawnmower exhaust with a slight burnt tinge. Also seem to hear loud (if it was doing it before, it's louder now), rythmic ticking when cold despite the car having plenty of oil.
Get a sheet of white paper and hang it over exhaust (will take some work to get it to stay there) and rev engine a bit. I reckon you're burning oil
No overall discoloration of paper, though I didn't rev much. Inspection of the paper (and ground) indicates that a black liquid, which appears to be water containing a contaminant, is being spat out the tailpipe when the engine is revved.
It might be worth checking the air intakes (including the filter) to make sure they are not blocked (potentially by snow). Is it anything like this: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/whats-this-black-liquid-coming-out-my-tail-pipe.839266/
My car puffed blue smoke for a few minutes after starting it last week. It was the first start after it sitting in fairly cold weather for a week. Probably not bad, but it's never done that before. Hope it makes it to 200k miles.
Over here baja bug is a term that refers to a beetle that hasbeen modified for offroad use, not like an actual baja racer. I've seen ones that didn't even havr a roll cage.
The grille openings on the front of the car are partially or completely blocked, though the airbox itself is up high enough that that shouldn't happen. The black liquid does look a lot like that, which unfortunately erases a possible clue. Although if it's suddenly running rich, is it possible that I screwed up the fuel system somehow with my 20 minutes of panicked rocking? Since it sat for 6 years with gas in it, and I've long thought it had fuel system issues, it makes me wonder if some bit of deteriorated fuel line or filter didn't get stuck somewhere, only to get blown out by repeated >4000 RPM tire spinning, causing the engine to suddenly get all the fuel it's supposed to... but if the air filter's clogged, then it wouldn't get all the air it's supposed to, causing it to run rich as heck. It's a long shot, but who knows. Soon I might go out with a flashlight and check the air filter, just to see if my harebrained theory has a chance of being right.
Unblock them, it's easy and rules out a suspect. Why on earth would you do that? Do you have something against shovels? A properly functioning fuel injected car shouldn't run rich because it isn't getting enough air into the intake. It injects fuel based on what the mass airflow sensor is reading. If there isn't a lot of air moving across it, it won't inject much fuel. It's possible the maf is fowled though. Sitting for long periods is hell on fuel systems, it's very possible thats where your issue lies. Figure out why the cel is on. Don't you jump a connector somewhere and watch the light flash to read the code on pre-OBDii cars? Or is that pre-OBD?
Holden unveiled 3 limited edition Commodores today. The Director Edition (Based on the Calais) The Motorsport Driven Edition (Based on the SSV) The Magnum Edition (Based on SS ute)
OK. I was already at the point where I was relying on a perfect run in terms of traffic and slow drivers to get to work on time. The snow got shallower a few feet behind the car; I figured if I could brute force my way to that point, the rest of the way would be easier and I could hopefully avoid being too late. Of course, it didn't go to plan; not only did I make much slower progress than I'd hoped; I went off course almost immediately into even deeper snow and came uncomfortably close to getting high-centered in the process, which jammed even more snow up into the undersides of the car. In the end, just getting back to my normal parking spot required a 4x4 SUV and a tow strap, about 45 minutes after my shift was supposed to start. It's a 1993, so OBD-I. Would the dealer still have the equipment to diagnose an OBD-I car?
Could be valve seals, typical on high mileage cars/cars that have had the shit beat out of them. The Corolla burned about a quart every 5,000 miles because the valve seals were shot. The piston rings were probably gone too, in all honestly...
Like redrobin said, probably valve seals. Not really a big deal, doesn't mean the engine is about to explode. Just keep an eye on the oil level.
It has had a rough life without tons of maintenance and I'm pretty rough on it. I'll keep watching the oil. Shouldn't be a huge deal to replace on an old Honda.
