99 1500 2wd 5.7 burb
Out of the blue I started old red up yesterday (after charging the dead battery) and got a huge cloud of white smoke. Smells of coolant so Im thinking oh great a head gasket. The thing is, I can see no trace of coolant in oil or vice versa. I started it up with radiator cap off, while cranking I got a little fluid spit out the neck but once it started it was not gushing or bubbling at all.
My car just turned 20k miles. I haven't abused it and rarely tach it over 4k. I needed to cross a lane in heavy traffic so I put my foot into it, it tached up to maybe 6grand, dropped a gear or so and out the tail pipe comes a huge cloud of smoke. I mean huge. Looked like it burnt a quart of oil in a second. I had just changed the oil a few days before. Mobil full syn. I know the lvl was correct because i checked it the day after i changed it.
View 10 RepliesOk, here's the situation... (Elantra GLS - Automatic)
I was at a 4-way stop sign. No other cars were around so I accelerated. Then suddenly, I hear and see a car coming at me REALLY fast, and well, I panicked. I floored the throttle (almost literally), and I heard something popping or maybe it was a farting sound... It happened so fast that I don't remember clearly...
Then behind me was a HUGE cloud of smoke behind me. I mean really, it covered up the whole street. It was 10 PM, so I couldn't really tell what color it was, but it seemed to be white... So I turned off my car. Checked the engine, no smoke from the engine. I started it up again, and instead to revving to about 2000 rpm at start up like it always does, it only went to about 1000, and more smoke was flushed out the exhaust.
I was close to home, and with no 24-hour mechanic shop around me, I drove home. As I drove home, I had quite a bit of smoke trail behind me which scared me through out the whole 2 minutes of driving. I got home, and I checked the exhaust again, but there was no more smoke. However, a burning smell lingered around the exhaust.
I was driving down a 2 lane road doing the speed limit and I found myself behind a car going much slower than the limit. It is one of those roads where every once in awhile the double yellow line is dotted so you can pass.
I finally got to the point where I could pass as there was no oncoming traffic, so I turned left to pass the guy, floored it, the tranny started to kick down into passing gear and then the car sputtered, didn't accelerate and blew out a huge white cloud from the exhaust and the cel light flashed on and off. The cloud was something like you would see in a James Bond film to get rid of cars following you. All of the cars behind me had to stop or slow up because you couldn't see. I didn't realize that until I looked in the rear view mirror. I thought the car just sputtered, I didn't even realize about the cloud until I looked back.
Got a weird issue with my 2014.5 with 10k on it today, V6/2GRFE. On Wednesday I checked oil, it was at full drove it to Virginia to pick up a car and I followed it back 150 miles home, looked fine. Sat Thursday, let a family member drive it to work Friday, was fine. Saturday I drove it about 40 miles, was fine. Sunday I moved it around the driveway, was fine.
Today I started it and got a huge cloud of gray smoke out the back. Smoke continued while idling. Shut it off, got a family member to look at it (and make a video of it for future record). Basically on startup it lets out of a big puff of smoke (worse than my old V8 truck with leaky stem seals), then smokes lightly as it idles. Revved the engine and another puff came out, and the smoking did not stop. At this point I called up my dealer and wound up having it towed in as after about 3-5 minutes of running it was still smoking, as I'm under the impression burning synthetic oil is very bad for the emissions control system. Before leaving I let it cool back off, checked the oil and found it about halfway to 2/3rds between full and add on level ground. I did not let it warm all the way up to see what would happen over concern for damage.
Car is sitting at the dealer now, the manager said he'd try to see if they could get to it tomorrow (do have an appointment for Thursday); probably feel bad after the paint fiasco with the last one. Engine ran fine, seemed to be getting good fuel economy this tank, no CELS. I get that 1qt/1000 miles from break down/very minor burning is normal, but not this much smoke and nearly half a quart in 300 probably is not.
I'm also preparing for this to be difficult to pin down as first hand experience tells me oil burning can be a pain sometimes to troubleshoot, but my 91 Camry with 225k on it doesn't smoke like this, and typically valve stem seal seepage (which would be unacceptable though not serious) goes away quickly and presents much later in engine life. Not cold at all and had an oil burning smell to it for sure, but anyone have any normal expectations for what it could be? My 2012 2GR had 34k on it with zero oil use, burning or issues. If they say nothing my plan is to show them a video, and see what they say.
Pretty frustrated as I was liking this car more than my 2012; felt like it ran a little better, got a little better gas mileage, and road/drove a bit nicer too (probably the newer tires). Also had run into zero issues, whereas in the same span of ownership my 2012 already had one paint repair, a recall, and a brake light switch. Just had an oil change in June too at the dealer, verified the level was fine when I got it back, no leaks either.
My VW Golf TDI 2000 has 236,000 miles on it. The other day my husband jumped on the accelerator to merge onto the freeway, and it let out a huge black cloud of smoke. Wow, we thought. Weird. Impressive. Uh oh. Then we realized it was making HUGE diesel engine noises, which just got louder by the next day. Windows down, you can't hear yourself think. It also won't accelerate past 50 mph. We've spent so much money and time fixing this car. Would love to know what might be wrong this time. Just moved, no trusted mechanics who we can call. Might we have to donate it to public radio and just be done with it? Or something my husband can repair with the manual?
View 6 RepliesFirst some background. The vehicle is a 2003 Expedition with rear AC. The 5.4L engine has been replaced with a 4BT Cummins (DD since 2010), but the AC system is not altered-- other than the compressor being mounted to a different engine. The intercooler is in front of the condenser, which hurts efficiency of the AC system, but it seems to work fine in our climate.
My AC system quit cooling one day, and the problem was a hole in one of the low-side tubes from rubbing on the turbo-to-intercooler tube. I repaired this by aluminum brazing. The system held 120 psi on nitrogen for one hour. So I pumped it down overnight to 27 inches of Hg and made an appointment with the AC shop to get it recharged. I could not get an appointment for several weeks, so I continued to drive it with no AC, thinking it should be no problem since there is no pressure in the system.
I was on a road trip when all of a sudden, there was a huge stinky cloud of blue smoke billowing out from behind the truck. I pulled over and the AC clutch and pulley was smoking hot. I shut it down and cooled it off slowly with squirts from a water bottle.
So my clutch is shot but I'm not sure what caused it to fry. Is there a typical mechanical failure where the friction material can be chewed up by the pulley-hub? Or is it possible that somehow the controller commanded the clutch to engage without pressure in the system?
I think it would be prudent to replace the compressor, since there may be some bearing or housing damage from the clutch failure, so that is in the plan. I have read that when ever the system is open, the drier should be changed too. I want to do this right rather than do it again on another day.
One concern I have is that if when the clutch was failing and it managed to turn the compressor-- could there be pieces of compressor in the tube runs that I need to clean out? Other than a visual inspection of the open tube ends, is there another test or things to look for?
Last time I took my car for service at 26K miles, I picked it up asked if all is well. "Yes all is well", and I am glad I can continue my weekend. I get in it, drive it out and upon reaching 40mph a clunking noise comes from the front tire. I mean to bring it back but eventually the noise is less. I assume something was wrong. Before I know it, it is 31K miles and i need to bring it back to service. I mention the front left tire. Turns out all 4 tires are cupped. They recomend changing the tires. I what to see if i can afford it and to see the tires myself. There is some shape alteration.
I take it easy because i think...if the tires are not great, i should be careful. Both the husband and I go to a shop, drink coffee, I think i can change the tires in a few days. On my way home, as I am trying to merge into traffic and get up to speed one huge puff of white smoke comes out, lights pop up (OBD blinking and solid slip light). My husband was right behind me with his Tundra. We are only a couple of miles away from the dealership and decide to bring it back...slowly nothing above 30mph. Service dept is closed and I have left it overnight.
Both of us agree...this should not be happening...specially when I have always serviced it regularly at the dealership and have always requested the recommended service.
I have a 2002 Toyota Highlander 6 cyl, 148,000 miles. I get a cloud of white smoke from the tailpipe upon starting a cold engine. Smokes for about 1-2 minutes, then smoke stops.
View 4 RepliesThe truck is a 98 4.6l with 188,000 miles on it and yesterday i was driving up over a pretty steep grade hill, i was going about 55 and turning maybe 2800 rpms at the top a big cloud of white smoke came out (either tailpipe or just out of motor on hot pipes)and also some in the cab. It didn't run any different though so I kept driving about 3 mile and stopped where i could take a look and and saw fresh oil around the starter area running down where the motor meets the tranny. I checked the oil and it was at a good level and also not milky. I checked level again today and it seems well and there is no drops of oil on the ground i ran it home about ten mi and it runs good. What could have happened?
View 2 RepliesI am writing about a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban and for the last few months, have noticed that the car is losing oil. I have to put in a quart of oil about every 3 weeks. I have brought it in to the mechanics and asked them to look for a leak and they can't find anything. They have changed the oil, replaced the evap hose, but the car is still losing oil. Just did a lot of driving this last weekend and the oil went all the way down, to the point of when I started it this morning, I got a huge amount of blue smoke out the back. When I took off the cap to add oil, I noticed this mustard yellow, foamy stuff on the lid. Never saw that before.
View 6 RepliesI have a 2004 Camry that I purchased used 8/2006 with 20,400 miles on it. It now has 83,000 miles on it. I’ve changed the oil and filter every 3,000 miles, and I’ve never had to add oil between changes. I’ve also replaced the antifreeze on time, using 5 yr/150,000 mile antifreeze. The only time I’ve had to add antifreeze was 4/23/13, to top off the overflow reservoir. Saturday I did my annual tune-up (plugs, air filter and fuel injector cleaner added to the gas). Plugs looked normal. Last week the car sat for several days, no issue on start-up.
Yesterday afternoon I started the car after it sat for two days. A huge amount of white smoke came out of the exhaust. It ran fine. I mentioned this to my wife, she said that about two weeks ago she saw a lot of black smoke (she thinks black) when she started the car and that it ran rough for about the first 4 miles and then started running ok. It has the 2AZFE engine, and I’ve read a TSB (TSB 1507) “It has been reported that stripped head bolt threads have been found on some of these engines during tear down. When the two rear head bolts lose their clamping ability they allow coolant to seep out at the rear of the cylinder head.” Could that be the problem?
My dodge spirit has 80,000 miles on it. i love this little car, however, yesterday for some reason while driving my radiator reservoir started to overflow. I didn't notice at the time, but when i got home there was water in the engine compartment and it was obvious that it had come from the reservoir. This morning I went out to drive the car and at first the engine shook a little but then started running smoothly, when I backed out i noticed a rather large cloud of white smoke (water in the engine) I immediately turned off the car. I have a feeling I will need to rebuild this car's engine. What I should expect to pay for this repair?
View 6 Replies99 Suburban LS 4x4 with the 5.7 with 109k miles. My Suburban broke down on my wife a few weeks ago, figured out that one of the catalytic converters had a catastrophic failure and came apart internally. I cut the cat off so that I could drive it the 60 miles home to save on the tow charge.
Had the cat replaced today and now I'm blowing white smoke out the tailpipe like I'm 007 throwing a smoke screen. The smoke alternates from smelling really rich to smelling like oil (pre-burn).
The oil pressure gauge is reading at or below 20 PSI and randomly (usually while breaking or stopped) completely bottoms out. I know cluster gauges aren't known for their accuracy but I also know this isn't 'normal' behavior. I also hear noise from the engine (possibly valves sticking but could also be more of a knocking sound than a clicking one). The oil is full (actually a little too full) and it went from looking like brand new oil to jet black in less than 30 days. I talked with the rep at one of the 'big name' auto parts stores and they recommended trying a 20W50 weight oil for a couple of months. Stated they have a similar vehicle with the same motor and made the switch a few years ago and hasn't had a problem since. I plan to do an oil change this weekend, I also bought an oil pressure sending unit that I'll change out at the same time. Am I on the right track?
Also, and most likely unrelated, my coolant temp gauge is totally inoperative and is just bottomed out no matter how warm the engine is. The coolant hoses (supply and return) are warm/hot to the touch at running temp so I'm sure coolant is circulating. What's the easiest way to check whether that issue is the gauge itself, the thermostat, or the sending unit?
There are no codes that come up on my OBD II reader at the moment.
So I'm trying to figure out the issue with my girls car, upon cold start sometimes a cloud of white smoke will come out of the tail pipe but not all the times, sometimes the oil level slowly drops but again not all the time, coolant doesn't look mixed but I'm not 100% sure. The car is the pzev 2.0.
View 2 RepliesThis S10 has 4 wheel drive and the V6 engine and has 88,000 miles on it. Just about everything except the engine has been replaced because it was a work and plow car and took a beating. It is a great plow car, by the way. Recently a cloud of smoke comes out of the exhaust when you start the engine that has been sitting overnight. Mechanic says it is just old, but someone said that replacing the umbrella seals might do the trick. Stopped at my local auto parts store and they had never heard of umbrella seals.
View 7 RepliesHow many of you have this issue with your 2010 5.4 puffs a cloud of smoke on start up I have 20,000 klicks on mine after 8 months....
View 7 RepliesOn cold start or when the cars been cool down for a hour or so, a huge cloud of smoke will come out. it smells plastic burn than a rich gas smell.
So far this is what i did, a oil change, add a no smoke oil treatment, replaced with an oem pcv valve (this fix my rx300 smoking issue years ago)
Video 1, Friday at 3pm. the temperature is ~60 degrees, less smoke after a pcv changed
Video 2, Friday after noon at 6p.m. ~50 degrees
Video 3, Next day 10 a.m. ~48 degrees
In person it looks white smoke, but the camera captures it more blue smoke. I have been constantly monitoring my levels and oil and coolants are just normal.
I have a Ford Ranger 4wd, 2000 120k. Ran well, great shape, reliable and quiet running. Oil pan leaked and I got tired of going under and used Devcon in attempts to stop leak..reoccurring issue. So I get new 0il pan. Started it up following morning after driving errands and home from shop and saw a cloud of smoke on start up never seen before, cleared away and didn't think about it again. Drive round trip for about 70 miles and while driving at slow speeds back in town, the oil gauge started pinging back and forth, and the knocking started. By the time I got home I do not dare to drive it anywhere as while the oil gauge does not fluctuate anymore the rapping has increased. What could have started this chain of events? Can I expect the garage to replace the engine? Vehicle is worth 4k replacing engine probably 3K..while a beautiful useful truck body sits in yard is it really worth it? Bad draw on the cards?
View 5 RepliesTruck: 1999 Ford Truck F 350 4WD Super Duty V8-7.3L DSL Turbo VIN F
Problem: Especially when it is cold outside . . . The truck takes forever to start and while doing so a ton of white/grey smoke comes out of the exhaust.
My starting schema: Turn the key on have the gas pedal pushed to the floor until the "wait to start" light goes out. Then, I turn the key off and back on while still pressing the gas pedal all the way down. When the "wait to start" light goes out again I remove my foot from the pedal and try to start it. I never leave it cranking for more than 5-7 seconds. If, after trying this process several times I will not push the pedal in at all. Also, sometimes I will leave the pedal pushed in while I am cranking it over.
The truck used to start after a couple of tries but lately it won't start at all, even after 20 tries. Sometimes it will spin up for a second as if the engine gets going but then just doesn't continue running. When it is warm out it will usually start after a few tries but doesn't seem normal to me. After I first bought the truck(used) it would start up within half a second after turning the key.This all started after I had to fix an o-ring that was damaged on the top/back of the motor that was dumping all my oil out of the top/back of the motor.
We have a beloved 1995 Jeep Gr Cherokee 4L that was our first new car! We have babied it for many years. It now has 173k on it. We took to local Jeep dealer to get all RECALL items taken care of and to have it checked out completely. It was pinging on acceleration and hvac wasn't working. They kept it 5 months and finished all recall stuff and replaced the ENGINE TEMP SENSOR. They also recommended a new trans and a new AC. Since my niece wants it; and she loves it like we do; we took it to an honest transmission shop.
They said trans was fine just needed oil pan gasket, rear main seal and an elec engine diag because trans and engine were not speaking to each other. Now our JEEP is home; sits in driveway all week. When we start the car on Saturday we still have WHITE SMOKE then after driving awhile it goes away. Does not leak oil; does not need coolant; has NEVER over heated. Engine sounds great and it runs great. Had it tested for head gasket a couple of years ago and they said pressure was fine. We have never had to put coolant in it. The dealer and other Mechanics said nothing.