rx7_

Hey guys. Today my car started acting weirdly. First my car was hard to start, when i cranked the engine, it started but started choking right after it started and died off. So i cranked again and same thing happened, but this time it didnt die off, idle went up to normal after a few secs. However, my mate was behind my car and he noticed white smoke from my exhaust while i was CRANKING THE ENGINE! Yes, white smoke while cranking. So i shut it off, tried it again, this time with WOT. Car started but was choking a bit and there were white smoke all over, revved the car a little and white smoke was still coming out. However, after about 30 secs or so, the white smoke disappeared and when i throttle or drive on the road, my mates told me there werent any smoke at all. Really need help here as im paranoid and i am afraid that water has entered my engine. Anyone can help shed some light here? Thanks alot guys!

My situation is closely related to this thread. https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...smoke+cranking However, my car is able to start all the time, just hard to start cause of the choking which causes the idle to die.

waaBAAH

sounds liek headgasket or somethign else major but the secnd part would make it run rough or not at all.

so my guess is on headgasket.

what car are we talking about?..your user name is rx7.. your nto talking about a rx7 are you?

rx7_

It doesnt seem to run rough at all though. Btw i drive a 92 4dr civic esi d16 and im boosted.

ekb18c2

Are you leaking anti freeze from the block? Are you overheating? If your headgasket is done, you should be overheating like crazy.

rx7_

Sorry guys, i do not know what is antifreeze. Is it climate control? Im from asia and my car's jdm btw. Im not overheating much, only in jams and such. However, my radiator has a fist size dent on its fins. When my car starts and smokes, temp is cool as well, around 60-70 deg celcius on my temp gauge. Need to know what is antifreeze and how to find out if its leaking from the block. Thanks alot.

rx7_

Oh, i got an update. The white smoke went away just now when i started my engine several times. However, the car still kinda chokes and idles really low for a few secs after being started but goes away and idles smoothly.

I've yet to check my radiator and oil yet due to time constrains. Im gonna check it when the car is cold by starting the car with the rad cap open to see if there're bubbles and if water shoots out from the radiator. If it does then its definately a blown head gasket right? And i'll check my dipstick to see if there are any signs of water in the oil pan.

I will keep you guys updated. And thanks everyone for the help. Need more inputs on this weird situation.

omiehomie

antifreeze = coolant (has various colors, most common is green)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifreeze

and from the sounds of it your radiator that has that dent in it could be the source of a coolant leak....

rx7_

It doesn't leak at all though. Checked below the car for signs of leakage overnight, road had no signs of any liquid. I just want to know whats with the choking after startup and the clouds of white smoke which disappears magically after 30secs of startup.

Also, is it normal to loose a bit of coolant in the radiator or does coolant stay in the radiator the whole time. Cause i cant seem to find any leakage. Im more worried about the possibly head gasket issue though. Car only puffs out white smoke maybe 2/5 times in a day after start up. But that choking never seems to go away sadly.

rx7_

OK update! I checked my dipstick, no signs of water mixing with the oil. So i did the cold start with my radiator cap off. Filled water to the brim of radiator, then started the engine. I noticed that the water spurt out a little after the engine started, maybe like 1/2" or 1" from the brim and then it doesnt anymore.

I let it idle and warm up for a few mins. During this period, i saw small bubbles in the radiator, looked like water boiling but no, water temp was very normal. Cold actually, around 60 degrees celcius. Suspected my head gasket, so i revved the car a little, the water did not off the radiator at all. So what does this show guys? A minor head gasket burn? Or is it something else? Really confused right now.

As for the white smoke i mentioned earlier, it is completely gone now for some weird reason. However, car still starts off at very low idle.

rx7_

Bump! UPDATE*** Car is still behaving the same, now its harder to start, have to throttle to start the car, if not it'll just choke away and die on me. However, when the car starts, it sounds like a WRX boxer engine for 10secs or so and white smoke comes out from my tailpipe, misfiring i think. After the few secs car sounds normal and smoke disappears. I really need help cause i cant seem to find the problem.

cjordan

iTrader: (1)

have you checked your coolant to see if it has oil in it or check your oil to see if you have coolant in it???? could be a warped head also if you have over heated it at some point already...

rx7_

There seems to be very very minimal oil in coolant. And the last time i overheated was 3 months back. Im looking at maybe fuel problems, im using stock d16 FPR if that helps. Btw, my engine oil level is low, would that affect at all?

rx7_

HELP!