gpchris Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Well I noticed it today when I turned my car off and walked behind it. I immediately started it back up and it was blowing some white smoke.. It wasn’t bad, you could still see through it. It looked a little worse than exhaust in the winter. Recently I noticed when I first start it sometimes the idle stays at 1200-1400rpm. Also my brakes get tight the first time push them (rolling down driveway). I've had my head gasket changed about 10k miles ago but I already had a coolant leak through the head gasket and my oil leaks very slowly. I also get terrible gas mileage. And last its not driven a lot but frequently moved in and out of the driveway. Any ideas?? Can take pics or vid if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 What does the white smoke smell like? Does it smell sweet? So, you replaced the head gaskets and then they blew again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpchris Posted August 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 I didnt really pay attention, I'll go smell my exhaust tomorrow... No I didnt personally replace them, my previous owner did. But I had a bad coolant leak from my headgasket so I he did them wrong or i got head warpage or somthing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 The fact that you say you are getting bad gas mileage leads me to believe it's a headgasket/head issue. With a bad LIM, you'd just lose oil/coolant, but it should still run okay. The smell of the exhaust will help and a compression check would tell you if a cylinder is losing compression through a blown headgasket or because of a warped head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpchris Posted August 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 I'm just gona so smell it now cuz i have a busy day tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpchris Posted August 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 K it didn’t have any distinct smell.. You really have to get close to smell anything. It did not smell like a lawn mower.. I reved it up to like 3000rpm and then checked and the white smoke was gone.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeld Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Remove your rad cap, idle engine until thermostat opens and then look into the radiator. Usually there will be some bubbling of the coolant if in fact there is a head gasket problem. A compresion check will be more accurate but this is a quick and easy way to give you an idea of a possible gasket problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgenin Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 If you buy a cooling system pressure tester, then you can attach it to your rad with the engine cold, start the car and see if there is erratic pressure changes, this will also verify a blown head gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpchris Posted August 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 I know my head gasket is bad around the coolant ports because a shop told me. They also put in some stop leak tabs and it stopped.. I havent lost a drop of coolant in the last 2 months. However I will lose a quart of oil in about a month. Keep in mind that there are days that i dont even drive the car and some days i drive it about 25 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Everyone here seems to suspect you're burning coolant. From experience, black smoke - burning oil. White smoke - burning coolant. I'm not sure if there are too many other things you can burn, but I would definitely check your coolant levels often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal_GS_1989 Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Everyone here seems to suspect you're burning coolant. From experience, black smoke - burning oil. White smoke - burning coolant. I'm not sure if there are too many other things you can burn, but I would definitely check your coolant levels often. Not quite right. Blue smoke = oil, Black smoke = Running too rich (Burning gas) and White = Burning coolant. Actually, pull out the plugs and check them all. If there are any that seem to be super clean, or a lot cleaner than the others, than would be the cylinder that is consuming the coolant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpchris Posted August 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Last time I filled it with coolant was 3 months ago and the reservoir is still half full.. I’m not loosing any coolant and its putting out a steady amount of white smoke. I also have an alternator that barely keeps the car running.. Could that have anything to do with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JuniorBaconChee Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 What aboot tranny fluid from a bad modulator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpchris Posted August 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 just replaced the modulator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z34Phoenix Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 i have heard alot of DOHC having smoke at startup in their older age.... mine does this aswell.... my best guess is the valve stem seals are slowly leaking oil. but doesnt mean that is your cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.