Hey, I just bought a used 1999 honda accord lx and its smoking more than a normal car would from the exhaust pipe. The person that i bought it replaced 2 valves and the head gasket. I believe that while taking off the head he must of got oil in the thin cylinder/chamber( the thin space around the block that holds the anti freeze). I was wondering if I drain out all the antifreeze and fill up with new ones, would it go away?
Any help or suggestion is welcome.

 

it's burning oil or coolant. getting oil in the water jacket would not make it smoke. this will ruin the catalytic converter soon.

 

Oil in your cooling system will not make your exhaust smoke. I would suggest to have a pressure test done on your cooling system. There could be an issue with the head gasket leaking. If there is no sign of a leak you should flush the coolant system.

What colour is the smoke?

white and smells like cedar/sweet = Coolant leak into combustion chamber
blue/grey and smells like burning oil = Excessive oil leaking into combustion chamber
black and smells like fuel = Too much fuel in the combustion chamber

How long does it smoke for?
Does it stop shortly after starting the engine,
Does it continue to smoke during all driving conditions. or
Does it stop for a bit and re-appear at high rpm or under heavy load conditions?

 

the color of the smoke is white and does smell like cedar/sweet. I have never had a bad head gasket so i don't know much about the smell and what not, but it does smell sweeter than normal.
I bought the car last Saturday. It smokes while sitting, but when drives the smokes does goes away.
During high rpm it does smokes.

 

Is it possible that it is burning the left over oil or anti freeze that got to the exhaust system? The accord doesn't over heat or idle at all and it does drive pretty smooth.

 

In the event that some oil and or coolant did get spilled into the exhaust. It would have burned off within the first 15-30 minutes of driving the car.

If it is still smoking a week later. I would have your cooling system pressure tested. This way you will be able to see if and/or where the coolant is entering the cylinder.

 

as soon as the road clears up i will do a compression test and do a cooling system pressure test. Do you think I should do a coolant flush in the mean time?

 

I wouldn't be driving it around this way for an extended period of time. A coolant flush will not help, however you should make sure that your coolant is up to level.

One way to tell if you have a blown head gasket is to check for bubbles in the rad. In the morning before you start your car, remove the radiator cap and start the car. If the HG is blow you will usually see air bubbles or coolant coming up out of the filler opening. This is due to an external pressure being introduced to the cooling system via the cylinder.

You could still have a blown head gasket even if you don't see these symptoms. This is just an easy DIY to try.

 

Could also be a warp head or block.

I've done a headgasket before on my old F22B1 and it still burns coolant which would fill my three car garage up in no time if I don't open the doors.