White Smoke/Steam

[Golgade]

Hello,
I know this gets posted alot, but my car smokes alot or should I say steams. Now it very white smoke, and it happens no matter how long I drive it but it is also very erratic. It does seem to go down some after it warms up but it still varys. For example Yesterday I came up to a stop light after driving for about 15 mins and pull away only to see a very large cloud of smoke obscuring the car behind me, then later I was driving back (after a good hour of driving) and stopped again and there was still smoke but you could only see it if you were looking in the side mirror at the ground. Then later again there was no smoke. Then later again I was at another light with smoke levels somewhere in the middle. I dont really know if I am loosing coolant or not because I dont really know when to is a good time to check. The levels seem to vary up to 2 inches in the over flow. Any advice in what I should check for? I just hope i dont need a new head or head gasket, but we will see. Oh a is that hose at the top of the coolant overflow a boil over? (meaning I guess does it go no where)
Thanks
Dan Lafley

[shogun]

That is normal.
'The levels seem to vary up to 2 inches in the over flow'
depends on the temperature of the coolant, therefore there is the expansion tank.

'Oh a is that hose at the top of the coolant overflow a boil over?"
the cap of the expansion tank has a pressure relieve valve. That is to avoid overpressure. I would recommend to change the cap in regular intervals, for example very few years. There was also a recall on defective caps.
Yes, there is also this overflow connection next to the cap on the expansion tank. That drops down under the car.
Best way to test:
in your garage or parking lot, every morning after the engine cooled down for several hours completely and the car is in the same position. Not in different place. The lower part of the expansion tank is the white/milky plastic, there you can see the level without remocing the cap, there is also a mark for the normal level. Have a close look at that.

[632 Regal]

whats the ambient temperature there?

[Golgade]

I did just change the coolant and I accidently filled the coolant level all the way to the top of the overflow tank. Then I drove it a few day but never more then 1 mile, and the coolant level stayed the same. One day I took it out for about two hours and checked the coolant the next day and noticed that the level had dropped about 1 inches, and I started freaking out, but I had thought about the fact that it probably boiled over because of the amount I put in. I havent really been driving it since but should I expect levels to drop until it gets to normal level? Also the temp here is usually about 38 - 45 when I drive in the morning.
Thanks

[Tiger]

That white smoke is unburned gas combusted by the cat converters. To fix this, change the spark plug and the coil pack boot... it is the coil pack boots that is at fault here... it let electricity stray out and thus not provide enough spark power.

I had this problem too.

[Omega]

That white smoke is unburned gas combusted by the cat converters. To fix this, change the spark plug and the coil pack boot... it is the coil pack boots that is at fault here... it let electricity stray out and thus not provide enough spark power.

I had this problem too.

Really? Has anyone else heard of this?

I know my BM dumps white smoke like it's going out of fashion when it gets cold and I often wondered why it is that BMW's in general smoke more than other cars.

I put it down to water/steam in the exhaust but you could be right. There is a hell of a lot of it and it does linger for ages, even when the motor is warm.

Any comments from our estemed guru's? 632Regal > sit down. ;)

[tim eh?]

Any comments from our estemed guru's?

tiger's not an esteemed guru?

[Tiger]

Tiger is only a cat...

[BMWDriver]

Cold weather seems to bring this subject back every year. Though I kept a lookout recently, this year seems to be less in my case.

When I had my water pump replaced, the non BMW indie filled up the coolant to the top. But I went out of my way to take it back down to it's normal level when I saw this. The message "COOLANT LEVEL" had come up, to my surprise, after driving off with the new water pump. As old as the car is (sweet 16), I don't want to tax its coolant system if it can be avoided.

[Dave M]

That white smoke is unburned gas combusted by the cat converters. To fix this, change the spark plug and the coil pack boot... it is the coil pack boots that is at fault here... it let electricity stray out and thus not provide enough spark power.

I had this problem too.


This would be a very expensive way to troubleshoot a normally operating engine/exhaust.

These things have huge exhaust systems (volume) and will accumulate a lot of moisture which takes time to evaporate. If you're not using coolant and you're not getting crap mileage, forget about it.

Without a cat (tisk tisk) mine blows loads of steam. Liek a choo-choo. Chuga chuga woo-woo............

Dave

[Tiger]

$65 is expensive fix? 8 Spark plugs and 8 spark plug boots. Expensive is he keep driving like this and kill both his cats... now that is $2500+ for BMW cats.

[Golgade]

Where do you guys usually get your plugs and boots from. I just know for my old 77 530i everyone recommended strickly bosch copper ones, so im sure everyone here has got their favorites and location to get them. I know I need to do plugs.
Dan Lafley

[shogun]

no experts here, so let wiki answer :D

What can cause white smoke from the exhaust?

Here are the best answers compiled from our contributors


Answer 1
It often means that you are burning antifreeze. You asked if it needs antifreeze, have you noticed any leaking out of the reservoir tank while you are running it? Sometimes when the head gasket goes it will produce a passage for the antifreeze to pass from the capillaries into the combustion chamber. It is easy to check if you have an air compressor. Remove one of the rear sparkplugs and the radiator cap. Fill the radiator and then push some air into the sparkplug hole (get a good seal in case a valve is open). Repeat with all the cylinders and watch for air bubbles coming up into the radiator. If bubbles come up or fluid is pumped out, the head gasket is blown and must be replaced. It is more likely to happen at the back of the engine because it is farthest away from the fan and therefore gets less cooling.

Also check your oil for discoloration. If it is a brownish color it could mean your oil and antifreeze are mixing and has the potential to damage your bearings.


Answer 2
If the exhaust billows white smoke for a few seconds when first starting the engine after it has been sitting for a while, such as overnight, and then runs normally, it could mean that the rubber valve stem seals have perished - especially if the vehicle is a few years old and has done over 60/70,000 miles.

Another clue is: does the exhaust smoke smell like fresh, rather than burnt oil.


Answer 3
After going nuts trying to figure out sporadic tailpipe smoke on my Nissan Maxima, with no other negative engine symptoms, I eventually stumbled upon a malfunctioning PCV valve. The ball-check wasn't fully seating, allowing small amounts of oil to sneak past and into the combustion chamber. A cheap and easy fix.


Answer 3
White smoke or semi white can be produced in several ways. One way is oil this is normally a whitish blue to blue smoke and has the apparent smell of oil being burned. Next could be antifreeze when it is being burned it has a sweet type of smell and tends to dissipate in the air rather quickly. Next is automatic transmission fluid which is normally found on automatic transmissions and its normally drawn into an engine thru a vacuum line via a defective transmission modulator valve or some other defective part. Transmission fluid is very apparent and billows out so bad that you can't see anything behind you. Last but not least another type of smoke that is not white but black is the presents of to much gas/fuel being burned in the engine. Hope This Helps, EzForJesus

PS the one good thing about transmission fluid being burned is it is an excellent way to clean the carbon out of an engine.


Answer 4
Black smoke is burning oil. Blue smoke is usually transmission fluid due to a leaking modulator valve in the older auto transmission. White smoke is due to water getting in to a cylinder from a bad gasket, cracked block or a cracked head.



Answer 5
cracked heads. Mine started misfiring, with new plugs. Smoke came out the exhaust.

Result, low compression in the cracked head. When car was cold it ran fine. After it got hot, the crack in the head would open up, hence, sputtering. I've had to replace 3 heads. Everytime I've had to have this done, I had to buy a whole new head gasket.


Answer 6
After extensive research I came to the conclusion that TOO much oil is also a main culprit for white smoke out of the exaust.


Answer 7
I changed the PVC valve, the breather and the air filter and it's good as new.


Answer 8
There are a lot of incorrect answers here... but for the most part, you can hold true to these:

Blue smoke is primarily from internal engine wear. If it's constant when the engine is on, then the rings etc are worn and need to be replaced. If it only is blue when the engine is cold or first started, the rings are worn but not gone completely. You get the oil seeping during the night and it burns off when the car is started in the morning.

Black smoke is a fuel/air mixture suggestion problems with injection or carburation. Cause of black smoke is due to running rich in the fuel air mix.

White smoke can and DOES come from coolant burn off in the oil due to a leaking or blown head gasket, cracked head etc.

If you aren't sure or you don't know what you're talking about, don't advise. Wrong advice can be more damaging than the actual problem.




Answer 9
White smoke is caused by engine coolant/Antifreeze being processed in the combustion chamber(s) of the engine.....ie burning, melting, frying, whatever....

Peirod....

I'll explain further.... This is automotive chemistry 101....

Oil of any automotive type burns blue.....

too much fuel issues burn black

not enough fuel issues burn grey

on a cold day you may see what appears to be white smoke from the exhaust that will disappear after the vehicles engine has warmed up to it's normal operating temp.. This is a normal reaction called condensation... condensation is the result of a small amount of water/dew being drawn into the exhaust usually collecting in the muffler and/or the catalytic converter and is caused by our friend mother nature..... like when you see your breath on a cold day...

About me:

I am a highly expierenced ASE certified automotive repair tech. I have over 16 years of diagnostics and repairs to my credit..I have made a very good living in the automotive business by being precise with my diagnostic procedures....I have worked for 3 of the largest rental vehicle companys in the country.... I have diagnosed and repaired an estimated 200 vehicles to date with the white smoke issue... every vehicle that i mentioned had engine coolant/antifreeze entering one of the combustion chambers in the engine... Most of these vehicles had a damaged head gasket(s).. the most common causes of this issue that i have detected over the years are due to improper maintenance of the engine cooling system, severe overheating of the engine, improper tightening of the cylinder head(s) during an engine overhaul,or some other type of repairs that required the head to be removed and also defects in manufacturing of the gasket or the engine... i have seen evidence of careless repair techs that have scratched or cut the surface of a replacement head gasket with either a tool or the cylinder head during the install process.. sometimes it will never cause an issue but it can... i am very careful when dealing with any gaskets but especially head gaskets due to the amount of work involved in replacing one on some vehicles.. bottom line, i'm not fond of doing the job twice so i'm careful the first time... I have seen improper cylinder head or engine block servicing techniques cause failure of the gasket(s) these types of failures are generally caused by improper cleaning of the gasket surface of the engine block and/or the gasket surface of the head.. i have also repaired or replaced cracked heads and in extreme scenarios i have replaced cracked blocks and severly overheated engines with a new or remanufactured engine due to such severe damage to the internal engine components or block .. There are a mix of correct and incorrect answers to your concerns by the participants that have replied.. I can assure you that almost every well trained tech will answer your questions as i have.. I'm not saying I'm an automotive god, I am just proud of the priceless knowledge that i have acquired...FYI, I'm a graduate of Denver Automotive and Diesel College in Denver Colorado.... DADC is one of only two Automotive Technology colleges in the country with the intense hands-on and classroom teaching practices to properly train a truly, highly skilled automotive/diesel tech who can easily handle any diagnosis and proper repairs of yesteryears and todays automoobile technology....


Answer 10
White smoke CAN be caused from oil....

I have fast-road engined 1987 Golf Mk II. If I boot it hard on tight corners, roundabouts, etc, it can cause oil surge in the engine and some oil can 'slop' into a cylinder. The James Bond style smokescreen it produces can be very exciting for drivers behind me!


Answer 11
Lots of good answers; I just want to see if I can clarify from my experience.

SMELL!! Good mechanics without great diagnostic tools learn to SMELL. "Burning" (yes, technically it's boiling, not burning) Antifreeze smells 100% different than burning OIL. Let your nose be your guide. The Antifreeze will have a sweet sort of smell--hey--kinda like antifreeze smells, and it will make your eyes tear up and your throat lungs will tell you to get out of that toxic fog right away.

Also--the timing. Yes, when forming a good question, you need to give GOOD DETAILS. Does it ALWAYS burn white? Just at startup? Only when hot? Etc. DESCRIBE, DESCRIBE, DESCRIBE!!!

A head gasket problem is ALWAYS there and it only gets worse under pressure/acceleration/load. It will go from a little cloud to it's own weather system when you stomp on the gas.

OVERFILLING THE OIL will produce this white burned smoke too. Yes, it will SMELL different. IT will also usually go away after some driving. CHECK THE DIPSTICK, it's obvious, but do it--do it right. Flat surface; cold engine. Pull--Wipe it off--put it in--now you are getting the real level.

Oil burning will be at startup from worn valve rings/seals and during driving from overfilling at first a lot, then only at heavy acceleration/g forces when demand is high. Again--smell, check all your fluid levels (OIL, WATER, TRANS) of course, whatever is low is what you are BURINING (or for the one gent that gets particular, boiling).

ALWAYS Start w the simplest thing or the cheapest. Did you just change the oil and it started--overfilling, etc. Yes, it won't hurt to check the PCV valve and tubing. Really, check all you can check.


Answer 12

My problem with white smoke was whenever I would be going down the road at high RPM and let off the trottle. Then it was like a smoke bomb went off.

Bottom Line.......... My Vacuum Modulator went bad on my transmission whenever high vacuum was created it was sucking transmission fluid into my intake manifold and thus into my combustion chamber creating white smoke.

Replaced the modulator for $12 and everything is right with the world


Answer 13

i had the exact problem with my mazda down to a T. All we had to do was buy a bottle of engine sealant... it takes a full day to run thru so follow directions exactly. Now the car has no problems... full power is bacl no more "smoke bombs" and no more dying at strange times.


Answer 14
Steam or smoke is the question here. If its steam some considerations are what year is the vehicle newer catalytic converted cars emit steam and water from the exhaust and you should be cautious about the blown head gasket or cracked head syndrome, if you suspect a blown head gasket or cracked head go to a reputable shop that can confirm exhaust gasses in the coolant. You will notice a low coolant level and a peanut butter looking substance on the oil cap (possible traces of water and coolant in the oil but generally engine pressures will prevent this. Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

If it is smoke a thick white smoke it could be transmission fluid being pulled up through a vacuum line to the intake manifold and being burned, this was quite common on older Ford and Chrysler vehicles that had a vacuum shift solenoid and an automatic transmission.



Answer 15
Has your car severely overheated recently? Does the smoke smell like antifreeze? If it does, you probably have a blown head gasket. The "smoke" in this case is actually steam from water leaking into the cylinders. Also check for yellow or white goo on the oil cap and dipstick, indicating water leaks to the oil.


Answer 16
Your symptoms are indicating a possible head gasket problem. You have water going into the combustion chamber and coming out the back tailpipe as steam. You may also have exhaust gas in the water which can also be checked by a mechanic. Be prepared for the expense of a head gasket or possible engine replacement.



Answer 17
If it is not happening all of the time at operating temperature (head gasket as mentioned before) and it occurs just at startup. It may be that due to heavy moisture in the air, dew, a heavy rain, will build up moisture in your exhaust system. At initial startup until the vehicle is warmed up and run for a bit, you may see thick white smoke.


Answer 18

I had an old engine that sucked oil through an intake valve when the engine went fast enough. If you burn enough oil it looks white. Espescially in Michigan on a cold morning.


Answer 19
I had this problem with my '96 Ram after an overheat. A cracked head gasket was allowing antifreeze to get into the combustion chamber and creating all kinds of white 'sweet smelling' smoke.



Answer 20
White "smoke" in cold weather is just steam. When gasoline ignites it produces quite a bit of heat and expands to several times the original size, creating high pressure on the piston. That pressure causes the piston to move down, turning the crankshaft which makes the car go. When the fuel ignites it causes a sudden and violent chemical reaction between the the oxygen in the air and gasoline (which is a long chemical molecular chain of carbon and hydrogen) resulting in carbon dioxide and water vapor. As the water vapor cools in the exhaust pipe it starts to form small droplets that are visible in the form of steam vapor. That's the white smoke. Once the exaust pipe warms up sufficiently, the exhaust leaving the pipe is still hot enough that the water vapor hasn't formed the droplets and dissipates quickly enough that you don't see the vapor. On the other hand, if it's light blue or blue-grey smoke and it doesn't stop when the exhaust pipe warms up, that's oil vapor and a sign of bad rings and/or valve stem seals.




Answer 21
white smoke is usually caused by condensation in the combustion chambers. This will usually disipate once the car has warmed up. If it persists there could be difficulties with:

Problem: Solution:

Moisture in fuel Apply one cap full of Methylated spirits to fuel tank (This is quiter safe by the way, it dissipates water)

Head gasket leak Replace head gasket, approx $500 AUS (other symptoms such high temperature will also be prevailent.)


Failing these two suggestions, there is a slight chance of moisture in the oil sump. this is rare if the head gasket is ok. Simply check your oil level, if the oil looks milky, there's the problem. Also if it is milky, replace the head gasket.

[shogun]

in short my comment:
white smoke is not an indication of a fuel or oil issue. let me go over this again.

black smoke from exhaust is an indication of a rich fuel mixture. too much fuel and not enough air being mixed. usually caused by a leaking injector, bad o2 sensor, bad fuel pressure regulator, etc...

blue smoke from exhaust is an indication of oil being burned from bad piston rings, leaving valve seals.

white "smoke" from exhaust is usually abn indication of coolant being burned. usually from a blown headgasket. now white smoke from the exhaust in the morning on a humid day or moist day is normal. especially on a BMW. and when it is coolant, you can smell it too. it smells different from normal white "smoke".

[Dave M]

$65 is expensive fix? 8 Spark plugs and 8 spark plug boots. Expensive is he keep driving like this and kill both his cats... now that is $2500+ for BMW cats.

You're correct, it would be a cheap fix. Interested to see whether new plugs and boots eliminate the 'white smoke' of doom. Anyone know if its chilly and moist in WA this time of year?

Holy doodle shogun, what a friggin post.

Dave

[Golgade]

Hello,
This is just a question, has anyone ever had any experiance with coolant sealant to at least do a temporary fix for this? I was thinking of MAYBE giving it a try, but I do realize that if it is a headgasket which it sounds like it is, it still is going to need to be replaced. Any adverse effects from this sealant? I just dont want it to ruin the coolant that I just changed.

Also if it was the head gasket would I start to have cooling issues? So far there has been no coolant in the oil or vice versa, and my temp gauge always reads steadly right below the middle tick.

[Tiger]

Autohausaz.com

[Tiger]

Do NOT use cheap fix! Do the diagnosis first. You can go to Autozone and rent a cooling pressure gauge for free... see if they have the right adapter for your car. Pump it up to 20 PSI and look for any external leak.

I bought an adapter myself... cost a fortune. There are tons of places to leak on the V8 engine.

[shogun]

Hello,
This is just a question, has anyone ever had any experiance with coolant sealant to at least do a temporary fix for this? I was thinking of MAYBE giving it a try, but I do realize that if it is a headgasket which it sounds like it is, it still is going to need to be replaced. Any adverse effects from this sealant? I just dont want it to ruin the coolant that I just changed.

Also if it was the head gasket would I start to have cooling issues? So far there has been no coolant in the oil or vice versa, and my temp gauge always reads steadly right below the middle tick.

Instead of answering that question in detail I show you pics of heater valves from my parts car I bought where such stuff was used
http://www.7-forum.com/forum/24/heizungsventile-reinigen-44167.html

There may be other sealants, but I will NEVER use it. Seleant is there to seal, and it seals everything, the leaks and heater valves and other things. maybe I am wrong, but since I have seen these valves.......

[Dave M]

Golgade, what has convinced you that you have a bad head gasket? Did I miss something? Are you actually losing coolant and, if so, have you tesetd for external leaks?

You were about to buy plugs and plug boots and now you're discussing head gaskets. I've got some ketchup popsickles....... :D

Dave