Have u guys seen a car with blown piston rings? I mean, what are the signs of piston rings gone bad? I get white smoke out of my tail pipe, but only in the morning and after i warm up it's gone. I also have a rough idle in the morning also, sometimes, its so bad, the engine dies, and i have to keep it alive by pressing on the gas, for like 10-15 secs, and everything is okay. Could this also be a head gasket problem? thanks.

 

white smoke is usually indicative of a head gasket problem.
rings would create the same symptoms, but the smoke would be more of a
bluish color

 

I see, is it common for it to go away after warm up? and whats up withthe weird idle?

 

it CAN go away once the engine warms up. The poor idle is from the fact that
not all 4 cyls are running at 100%

 

White smoke could be a problem. However, if you're starting your car in the morning and you notice white vapor then I wouldn't worry about it. Most cars when cold, produce white vapor in the mornings. It's just condensation formed from the hot exhaust and the cold exhaust pipes.

If your car's stalling in the morning, you might want to check out your idle air valve (IAV) or the idle air solenoid, located on the throttle body.

 

1. do a compression test
2. do a dry comp test.
3. white smoke is head gasket.
4. check your radiator for a mikly residue thats signs of a blown head gasket.

 

Your problem could also be from a leaking fast idle valve. When the car is shut off after driving the wax thermovalve can leak coolant past the seals and cause a hard start with hesitation and missing when first started, that is why you see the white smoke out of your exhaust. The coolant actually leaks into the air valve and gets sucked into your engine. If the white smoke goes away after a while it is most likely NOT your head gasket. Just my 2 cents

 

White = steam
Blue = oil
Black = fuel
If you are burning coolant you should notice a drop in the water level in the radiator. Also check the oil for water, if it is present it will look sort of milky in the oil. I agree about the condensation in the morning thing.

 

If your headgasket is blown but not seriously, it may leak while your engine is cold, but when your engine warms up, the metal expands and seals things up enough leak to lessen or vanish completely.


Couple quick checks:

Start your engine up, let it idle for a couple of seconds, then shut it back off. Take out your spark plugs. If they are wet, you have a problem. Look into your cylinders with a flashlight. If things look steam-cleaned or there is liquid in the cylinders, you have a problem.


[Modified by qtiger, 10:14 PM 4/15/2002]

 

**** man..u hit right on the dot...there is a lil like...oil or something in my spark plugs..just a lil that i can barely notice..but still... and oh yeah., my spark plugs are black as f*ck..!! i think its because i have a big *** fuell pump, 255 force induciton version.. i have it for my 80 shot direct port, but i havent used it since because of my worries of the head gasket.

All i gotta say is, with a bottle warmer, f*ckin, nos is StRONG man...