My g/f's car(1990 Accord Ex, F22A4) ran extremely rough at a stop today, about to stall. engine temp was normal, and raising the revs didn't really help. then it stopped. she gets home, starts it again after a few minutes, and white smoke comes out of the exhaust.

i get to her house after work, she tells me, i look at the coolant and into the head(via oil filler), nothing seemed out of the ordinary. she started it for me, white smoke again. it smelled like it was running extremely rich, but gas burns black. i take it for a drive, accelerated/shifted fine, ran fine, but smoke kept coming out.

after getting back, go to autozone and get a comp tester, do a test. results were:

cyl 1 ~ 180psi
cyl 2 ~ 90psi
cyl 3 ~ 180psi
cyl 4 ~ 180psi

I can think of two things, but neither makes complete sense. one is that the head gasket is gone, but coolant/oil looks fine and exhaust smoke smells like it's running super rich. the other is that there's a problem with the valves, allowing the fuel/air mixture in cyl 2 escape before a complete burn.

the second makes more sense to me, but i'm open for any other ideas/advice

also, mods are: 4-2-1 header, magnaflow exhaust, stock cat, and short ram intake

Thanks,

 

white smoke usually is an indication of coolant. take a look at the plug and see if it is fouled. ALso you may consider a oil analisys to verify the problem.

 

I suspect a blown head gasket between a coolant jacket and the Number 2 cylinder. The white smoke is usually indicative of coolant burning / turning to steam in the exhaust system (smells 'sweet'). Gray would indicate oil burning (smells acrid') and Black/Gray smoke indicates an over-rich condition (stings the eyes).
The skip would be indicative of the compression loss.

Whatever the reasoning, the head definitly HAS to come off.
If you haven't performed a wet compression test, I would suggest it b4 you disassemble it. - would give and indication of ring issues (just in case)

P

 

thanks for the advice...what's a wet compression test? another possibility i've been told of is a hole in one of the valves, not sure bout that one tho

 

A burned valve would give you the compression loss, but not the steam/smoke.
A wet compression test is no more that a standard test, but you squirt a little oil in the plug hole first. (it improves a marginal/leaking rings' seal against the cylinder wall). if the readings remain the same (or close to the same), they are alright. If it rises much, you've got ring issues as well.

P

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TekSI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> i'm open for any other ideas/advice

</TD></TR></TABLE>
A leakdown test will help narrow down the problem.

 

if ur not detecting signs of coolant burning it cud be oil burning..most cases oil burning smke looks white but if u look closely it has a blue tiny and can smell similiar to an engine running rich...the low compression can be from rings that arent sealing allowing oil entering ur combustion chamber...but im not no pro-tech so it wud prob be safer to listen to P. adams, hes smart ...but just thought i'd post my .02

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by P_Adams &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Whatever the reasoning, the head definitly HAS to come off.
If you haven't performed a wet compression test, I would suggest it b4 you disassemble it. - would give and indication of ring issues (just in case)

P</TD></TR></TABLE>

Too true.... it could be a head gasket, or a burnt valve, or even a crack in the head... the white smoke is probably coolant... coming from somewhere, but it's really not important at this point. The head has to come off, and at that time a quick visual inspection will reveal the cause. Good Luck.