Hey guys.


1995 RS 5spd. Stock basically with SRI.

I recently did a valve lash and fixed my exhaust leak, and this is what I am seeing out of my tailpipe.

http://imageshack.us/clip/my-videos/695/txq.mp4/

Now, the car is at operating temp, and I was driving around today. I was rolling forwards (while in reverse with the clutch engaged) and I started going backwards (stopped rolling forward, went backwards) and I saw some white smoke as I was moving backwards.

It does NOT stop smoking. The video doesn't pick up all of the smoke, but its only showing about 30% of what is actually there. During idle there is a constant stream coming out.

I am wondering if my valve lash might have done anything to affect this? I highly doubt it since it has NO connection with coolant.... Im going to go see if its sweet smelling. and Ill do a compression test tomorrow. Ill try to get my hands on a leakdown tester, but I dont have access to compressed air....


Three questions:


1) Does smoke just show itself more during the colder days? Its been getting chilly here in canada, and it might just be condensation. I have a SRI so maybe it was coated slightly in water? I doubt it, but it is wet out here.

2) I have CEL 09, CYP Sensor. I have had it for a while and this is the first time smoke is showing itself. Could this have an affect?

3) Is it time to stop driving? The smoke is not unreal.... But I want to diagnose this early

Thanks guys


EDIT:

Checked the dipstick, looks fine. Popped open the coolant cap, looks green. Assuming oil has a lower density, I didnt see any when i popped the cap open.

Smelled the exhaust. Im a smoker and All i smelled was combustion gasses. Does this 'sweet' smell everyone talks about, is it noticable? Will I have to try hard to distinguish it or does it just smell like grandmas cupcakes?

 

sometimes you can't even tell when your headgasket is blown with no smoke at all. When mine was blown on my gsr the coolant was normal with no discoloration at all. No white smoke coming out of my tail pipe. The only things I noticed where loss of coolant within a certain amount of miles, overheating, also bubbles inside my coolant overflow tank. The only way to prove it was my headgasket was preforming a leakdown test which I knew someone on Honda-tech did for me. Bam, it was my #3 cylinder that was leaking.

Had the guy I knew on honda-tech change my headgasket, timing belt and water pump about 3 months ago. Ever since then my coolant level has been normal and no more overheating. Hope this helps

 

So I can just pop my overflow tank and take a look? And by bubbles, do you mean air from the pressurization in the cylinder? Or boiling from the heat? I hope its not the latter.

Big thanks for your reply.

 

any coolant loss?
it's possible it is just water vapor. a normal by-product of the catalyst

 

Thanks Jason. I hope it is, coolant looks topped off. Its just that my car doesn't put out a lot of vapour when its warmed up. Today is let out an average sized puff when I was reversing and I saw it all around me.

 

you're gonna get more vapor when the engine is cold, since it will idle high.
i would keep a close eye on your coolant level

 

yah or you can hear it after you have drove the car for awhile. You'll hear the air bubbles inside of the overflow tank. What I mean pressurized air from the coolant system.

If you know anyone that can do a leakdown test of all cyclinders do it. That would be the only way to actually prove its your headgasket. If you have a air compressor and have a auto parts store you can borrow the kit and its really easy to do. All you do is take off the raidator cap, takeout all of the spark plugs and do each cyclinder one by one. When you do each one make sure the cyclinder you are doing is at TDC. Screw the kits into the cyclinder(like your doing a compression test). Plug the kits into the compressor and give it air. There is a gauge on the kit and when the air pressure reaches 100% there should be no loss pressure in that cyclinder you are doing. Also, if you do have a blown head gasket in that cyclinder you'll see the coolant start overflowing in your raidator. Which is why you leave the raidator cap off. Do that methiod to each cyclinder. Make sure you rotate the crankshaft in order to get the cyclinder you are doing to TDC. Very easy to do.

 

"Vapor" from the exhaust when it is cold out is normal, the colder it gets the more vapor you will see.

If you are not loosing coolant you do not have a HG leak into the coolant system.
If there are no bubbles in the rad or overflow tank, you do not have a HG leak into the coolant system.
If there is no oil in coolant or coolant in the oil you do not have a HG leak between oil side and coolant side.

The above does not mean you do not have a HG leak, it can leak between cylinders and it can leak out between head and block without effecting the oil or coolant.

If the only symptom you have is white smoke from exhaust, that is most likely only normal water vapor, then it is unlikely you have any problems.

Keep a very close eye on your coolant level, warm engine to normal operating level, [go for a drive] make sure coolant level in overflow tank is right at HOT level, add or remove coolant if not at correct level, then check each day, [engine warm] to see if you are losing any. 94