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WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 11:41 am
by gomulletgo
What causes white smoke from the exhaust when the engine is cold? The smoke smells like petrol, the spark plugs were fouled and not firing very well so I replaced all the plugs, this doesn't seem to have fixed it though.

The coolant level doesn't look like it's dropped and the oil and water do not look like they are mixing, it is very definitely a heavy white smoke (not blue or black) I don't think it is just a case of steam, there is enough white smoke under heavy acceleration when the engine is cold to smoke out an intersection. Yet once the engine has warmed up the problem totally goes away.

So what does it sound like guys? Weak spark? Over fueling? Dodgy PCV valve? Any help would be great :)

Note: this question is in this section aswell in the hope that it may help someone else in the future.

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 1:49 pm
by H2OLOVA
is it a turbo? Either turbo seals or head/gasket would be my guess

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 5:47 pm
by DaveM
So we are not talking about steam from exhaust on cold/frosty mornings then :wink:

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 5:49 pm
by vvega
why have you posted this question in other places in the board ??
dont spam

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 7:46 pm
by skid
vvega wrote:why have you posted this question in other places in the board ??
dont spam



you not confusing this thread with that posted by 86surf are you Wayne :roll: :roll:


nope, I just spotted the double up

2 mins after the first one

maybe he had a brain explosion that caused him to post exactly the same shite twice

never mind


oh yeah, 86surf asked the same question a day or 2 ago

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 7:50 pm
by vvega
probably :D

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 8:20 pm
by mar4les
white smoke when cold generly means antifreeze leaking into cylinder when the engine warns up things expand an stops the leaking head gasket or crack in head. but u did say you cheaked the water level.

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 5:59 pm
by gomulletgo
H2OLOVA, non-turbo. suzuki 2 litre V6

DaveM, maybe but it seems excessive to me.

vvega, because it is in relation to a suzuki engine, but I thought the information may help anyone with a petrol engine with this problem. If I was trying to post-whore I would be on more than three hundred posts and I would visit the board more regularly.

mar4les, Interesting, Thank you. I will keep a real close eye on the water level.

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 7:57 pm
by mar4les
sweet as !!

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 6:19 pm
by gomulletgo
Just checked the water again, it seems to be fine, very little loss of water if any (could just be the difference between warm and cold states)

So I think we can rule that out.

I know on the earlier models (1600cc) you can join two wires and get the trouble codes out of the computer, Does anyone know how to get the trouble codes on a 2000cc V6 model?

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:18 pm
by Landy Rover
Other causes for this is a leak in the brake booster sucking brake fluid from back of cylinder into booster thru vac pipe into manifold. also some autos with vac kick down sucking ATF to the inlet manifold. ????? Brake fluid burns as white smoke.

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:16 pm
by Steve_t647
I had this happen in the morning and it turned out to be when the engine cooled down the water was drawn into the head through the gasket, eventually it got bad enough to identify.

Re: WHITE SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD???

Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:38 pm
by Landy Rover
True, its usually water-anti freeze and only takes a few drops. Should get rad presure tester, pump up to 14lb cold, leave for awhile, take out plugs, try with torch to look into cylinders for any sign of water. Give engine short crank with ign disconnected while watching for any water ejection.