i turned my car on this morning and it started opuring white smoke thick as hell but it didnt smell sweet, it smelled sour.... the temp is fine... whats going on??

 

i dont know

 

White smoke is definitely coolant...if your car is not overheating, thats pretty strange.

Did you pull the head anyway?

 

Do a leakdown test or do a block test.

 

headgasket may be blown too, check the head for warpage if u overheat..

 

check if you dint blown a headgasket or if itsnt your coolant.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ke98248 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">headgasket may be blown too, check the head for warpage if u overheat..</TD></TR></TABLE>

It definitely sounds like a blown headgasket to me.

 

Its either a headgasket issue or a break in a coolant line, thats dripping onto the Exhaust pipes. When coolant burns off on the exhaust pipes, it emits a unique smell. Since your car is not over heating it means that theres plenty of coolant left, and it may be a small leak. That smell lingers for a bit, so it doesnt take allot to stink up the interior of a cabin.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97Ej6mike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Its either a headgasket issue or a break in a coolant line, thats dripping onto the Exhaust pipes. When coolant burns off on the exhaust pipes, it emits a unique smell. Since your car is not over heating it means that theres plenty of coolant left, and it may be a small leak. That smell lingers for a bit, so it doesnt take allot to stink up the interior of a cabin.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Speaking of this...i actually had this happen to me as well. It was a tiiiiiny cut in one of the coolant lines, and burned off.

Completely forgot about that possibility

 

the only reason i dont htink it is a crack int he coolant line is because the smoke is coming directly out of the exhaust pipe. i pulled the spark plugs out and cylinder 3 was smoking, but the others were fine...

 

Sounds like a headgasket. Has your car recently overheated or anything?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cbermin1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the only reason i dont htink it is a crack int he coolant line is because the smoke is coming directly out of the exhaust pipe. i pulled the spark plugs out and cylinder 3 was smoking, but the others were fine...</TD></TR></TABLE>

And you said you're seeing white smoke coming out of the exhaust? hmm...

 

I have the same problem also. My smoke is white and it smells a little but I have no leak in the coolant line and my engine does not overheat. I usually have a high idle when the engine is cold but after it warms up the smoke stops and the fan comes on and idle normalizes. I ran low on coolant in a few days before so I pured coolant into the radiator and coolant canister while the engine was cold and everything is fine for a while. I also changed the spark plugs and one of the old plugs was covered in oil. I think that was my smoking problem. I did not look at the gasket on mine either. I also changed the air filter.

 

blown head gasket does not always necessitate overheating. could be a small leak and coolant is pooling in your oil pan. check coolant levels often, if you are filling and there are no puddles on the ground of coolant i would put my bet on head gasket. you can also drain your oil and see if there is coolant in it.

 

a maechanic friendd of mine told me to put a heavier weight oil in the car, i currently now have 50wt. when i took the old oil out there was nothing in it....there are no puddles and the levels stay about the same. when i drive i dont go over 4,000 rpm because then it starts smoking ALOT, but wayyyyyy less than when i had the thinner oil in the car. the coolant level is pretty much the same as when i remember putting it in, i will now check it daily...

 

just an fyi for you, im sure you are not running a 50wt oil. 10w-50 is not 50wt its 10wt synthetic. or 15w-50 or whatever the first number is the weight..

 

its valvoline race 50wt

 

ok good. i hate when people get confused on that stuff. :\ i use to use it to on my beater *** ls :\

 

Check you coolant lines...it doesn't sound bad enough for a blown headgasket...perhaps, the beginning of one though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cbermin1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its valvoline race 50wt
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Why such a high viscosity oil? Unless you're running an engine that warrants that weight, you're just causing excess internal friction, a loss of performance, and a loss of economy. Which engine are you running?

 

i ran it on my ls motor that had close to 200k miles on it so it couldn't leak, i wasn't worried about excess friction...

 

somebody put some delicious sugar in yur gas? if its not oil and its not coolant, the only other substance that enters the combustion chamber and exits through the exhaust is your gas..... (over 4000rpm) more gas=more smoke....just a thought

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by envee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i ran it on my ls motor that had close to 200k miles on it so it couldn't leak, i wasn't worried about excess friction... </TD></TR></TABLE>

Personally I think it'd be better for a higher mileage engine to leak oil than to fight against itself, since you're just wearing it down faster... anyway, that's not the point really, and I was asking the OP about the 50 wt.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGEKDC2S2000 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">somebody put some delicious sugar in yur gas? if its not oil and its not coolant, the only other substance that enters the combustion chamber and exits through the exhaust is your gas..... (over 4000rpm) more gas=more smoke....just a thought </TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't believe oil and coolant, aka head gasket, have been ruled out yet.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGEKDC2S2000 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">somebody put some delicious sugar in yur gas? if its not oil and its not coolant, the only other substance that enters the combustion chamber and exits through the exhaust is your gas..... (over 4000rpm) more gas=more smoke....just a thought </TD></TR></TABLE>

Highly doubt it. Its a slow leak at higher RPMs from a worn or partially blown headgasket.

 

its an LS that has been boosted then sprayed with 200+ miles...