Is the head blown? or....

[Stealth1]

Hi, after a lot of Google searching and still found nothing so i hope you guys can help here.
I have white smoke coming from the exhaust from cold then stops and then starts again when engine is hot, if i rev the car up it smokes even more.
i have checked the oil, looks normal, checked the coolant, seems to stay at the same level. the temp of the car after a drive and then left to idle for 10 mins sits around the half way mark (is that normal?)

could the smoke mean the HG is gone?
i know the smoke is steam as its white but i ain't loosing any coolant, i drove a 60odd mile trip in the car and it didn't overheat (its never gone over the halfway mark)

Also i might as well ask, the engine fan comes on as soon as i start the engine, slow on idle and speeds up when revving.. is that also normal?

i forgot to add, the exhaust does have a slight blow on the rear, could that cause white smoke?

any help or anything would be great. if you need any more info / questions please ask away and i'll try my best to answer as soon as i can.

[pdxmotorhead]

Sweet smelling white smoke = blown head gasket. There is a dye you can put in the radiator that will change color if exhaust is getting into the water jacket.

These cars blow head gaskets art the drop of a hat if over heated at all.

Dave

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

How cold is it where your at right now. White smoke is very common in cold weather

[Stealth1]

Thanks for the reply guys, the white smoke don't really smell, i'll have another sniff tomorrow..

It don't smoke on the start up if thats any help?
i might buy some K-Seal just to be on the safe side, if it does have a crack that might just fill it up as i hear changing the head gaskit on these cars is a lot of tricky work.
and i'm in the cold UK.

[jca]

Sorry to hear about your problem. When you get it sorted out and fixed, Google, "Engine Watchdog" and consider installing one of their digital engine temperature monitors. I have them on both my ti and my Z3, and give me great peace of mind, knowing that I will be alerted by a sound alarm whenever my engine temperature rises above any level I wish to preset in the device. You then shut down the motor way before any overheating damage is done. Good luck.

[pdxmotorhead]

Originally Posted by Stealth1

Thanks for the reply guys, the white smoke don't really smell, i'll have another sniff tomorrow..

It don't smoke on the start up if thats any help?
i might buy some K-Seal just to be on the safe side, if it does have a crack that might just fill it up as i hear changing the head gaskit on these cars is a lot of tricky work.
and i'm in the cold UK.

Do a lot of research before you pour the spooge in the motor...
When I used to work in a retail shop we did a lot of full motor swaps including all the radiator, hoses, heater-cores etc when stop leak products were used. I'd never use the stuff...

Dave

[dave45056]

From what you describe it does not sound like a HG problem. But I cannot stress enough, that you should not use any K-seal or Barrs stop leak, etc. If you are worried about a HG leak, then just keep an eye on the coolant level, temp guage, and oil. Also, pay attention to the heat coming from the vents, especially at idle... If it gets cold at idle, then you are loosing coolant.

[Stealth1]

Ok, just a quick update to let you guys know..
today i decided to give it a test so i got onto a motorway to test the cars temp while i stick my foot to the floor, i know its not good to do it but i had to test it anyway, the temp at 0-60 about 7 or 8 seconds was the same, after doing 80mph it went down below normal, driving in the normal roads at 30 went up to half way again.
got the car home, let it cool down a bit, opened the oil cover lid and noticed tiny "milkshake" spots, pulled the dipstick out, again, tiny milkshake spots. looked at the coolant and none was used, no oil or anything was in there apart from the same level of coolant as before.

so i think i have the first signs of a HG damage because the tiny white spots.

the in car heaters work perfect, first start up there cold as normal, once engine ran for a bit they get warm and at normal running temp they get hot so there working perfect.

What damage could happen if i was to use k-seal? i done alot of research on this stuff, some bad and some worked perfect. the worst one was it clogged the rad, i was going to take of a coolant pipe and pour it in that way. if it does seal the head for now then i can save up the £500 to get it fixed but i don't want it to clog up pipes, water pump etc.. i did ask a guy i trust and he said just pour it in, worst can happen is it wont work.

Has anyone here ever used the stuff? if so, what did it do to your engine?

[FMD]

small bits of froth around the oil fill cap is normal from condensation if the car isn't driven to extensive high operating temperatures

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by Stealth1

What damage could happen if i was to use k-seal?

it will clog up the coolant passages and you'll be looking at an even bigger headache when you get it fixed, I wouldn't even use that stuff in my beater

[spidertri]

Sounds like you need a new thermostat, temp should go to the middle and stay there not drop on the highway.

[ASRACER4]

can you leak down test your engine this will tell you if you have a blown head gasket. if you cant do that i would check your oil level everyday to much sure its not increasing on the stick and check your antifreeze to make sure your not losing it.

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

Ok let us not get all crazy here. You need to replace the thermostat. You are not loosing coolant and oil is looking ok.

You are in a cold climate right now. If you look around I bet other cars have white smoke comping from their tail pipes. When you run a car and it is hot when it cools down it creates condensation and that rises to the top of the engine or the oil cap...

Fix the thermostat issue which is there since your car is not pegged at 12 o'clock and is over-cooling the engine since your current t-stat is not closing all the way.

If you want do leak down teat to ensure your not having coolant leaks into the cylinder or leaks anywhere...

Remember in cold weather hot exhaust gas will make white smoke when it hits the cold outside air...

Am I missing something here?

John S

[pdxmotorhead]

And if your car is running rich because of the open thermostat and running too cold it will produce white vapor as well. Every head gasket I've worked on there was a distinct sweet antifreeze smell at the exhaust pipe...

Dave

[AlphaVortex]

I'm having the EXACT same symptoms, but my smoke is quite sweet smelling. The car has a hell of a time starting up (even up to the 55F-60F its been lately here). It then smokes like nobodies business until the engine is nice and warm, and has presumably burned off whatever coolant is in the cylinders. It then runs "fine".

I have a new thermostat coming, but at this point I think I'm basically boned.

What bothers me is that I have not found any coolant in the oil, nor oil in the coolant.

What lead to this was a few weeks ago I noticed my t-stat going down to 1/4, and then back up. This only happened once, but I can only assume that the thing has been slightly overheated because of it. However no external signs of overheating showed up (no steam, loss of coolant, etc).

I will be trying to do a leak-down test when I can, but is my basic assumption correct? I'm thinking that since the gasket is bad, when everything cools down it leaks coolant into the cylinders. Then when I go to start it it has a hell of a time, then warms up and burns it all off, at which point the gap is "filled".