White smoke from exhaust

[vd96TALON]

Hey guys, I'm new, I own a 96 talon ESI.

Sometimes on a stop-light, my car would smoke white for 4-5 seconds and then clears away (after hard driving usually, when I drive it normally it doesn't smoke, like after going 60 on a highway it smokes on a stop for 5 seconds and then clears away)

I get the smoke ONLY on stop lights (and not always, sometimes), when Im driving it does not smoke.

I have bigger fuel injectors installed, but don't have the turbo installed yet, do you think its because I'm burning too much fuel that needed? (because of the bigger injectors) or it could be something else?

The car runs awesome, no problems whatsoever.

 

[TwoLiterLaser]

If it is a very white smoke, then it is probably not a fuel problem but a coolant problem.

What injectors are you using?

 

[vd96TALON]

thanks for the fast reply

The smoke is clear white, no *bluish-grayish", it is plain WHITE smoke

I am using RC 550cc injectors

I tried to search, still dont know many people saying its a head gasket, i'm not sure what to do, and the smoke is not even major, sometimes it smokes, sometimes it doesnt

 

[TwoLiterLaser]

What kind of fuel tuning are you using? What boost are you running?

Most importantly: are the injectors you are using the correct impedance for the N/T?

Have you done a compression test to see if the head gasket is the culprit?

 

[McFox]

+1 on the compression check. That's where I would start.

Pure white normally means you're burning oil.

The black/grey tends to be fuel.

If I turn the boost up to 15psi on my 420a and gun it I get solid black out of my exhaust.

 

[96gstdsm]

+1 on the compression check. That's where I would start.

Pure white normally means you're burning oil.

The black/grey tends to be fuel.

If I turn the boost up to 15psi on my 420a and gun it I get solid black out of my exhaust.

White actually means coolant or water not oil! Bluish grey smoke is oil! Black smoke is fuel.

As said before on here a compression test is our best bet to find out whats going on here.
Sounds to me like your headgasket has been compromised.

Edit: Also smell the white smoke. If it smells sweet at all then it is coolant.

 

[aceofriches]

MOST likely a blown head gasket.... DEFINATELY not a fuel/oil problem.....compression test is necessary

 

[JDMHVN]

I agree with all the other posts in your case, but just as a side note white smoke can also mean a blown turbo...

 

[vd96TALON]

It smells funny, I think its coolant.

I havent run the test yet, I probably sure the head is bad, how long can I drive with the problem? And also, how much its to replace? (i know it costs about $60 from autozone, but in a shop installed? around $400?)

Thanks guys, and btw I dont have a turbo, i do but its not installed.

 

[TwoLiterLaser]

I agree with all the other posts in your case, but just as a side note white smoke can also mean a blown turbo...

Which causes coolant to be leaked into the intake and or exhaust path(s).

A head gasket replace is not gonna be cheap if you pay someone to do it for you. Call around and find who will give you the best deal.

But you need to do the compression test first.

 

[tsi4ya]

Hmm what do you know i'm having the same problem on my hands i mean i shouldnt be surprised because the car has right under 140,XXX miles so it seems about the right time for the gasket to go...so now that the gasket is gone how much should i plan on spending on a gasket...i mean i plan on adding a FMI but thats it....so i guess what i'm asking is, should the factory head gasket be enough? Oh and one more thing, since getting down there is going to cost a pretty penny what else should i have looked at around that area since they will be down there to begin with? thank a lot men.
-Mik

 

[oldman420]

Personally sounds like an intake gasket to me, had the same problem on my 98 saturn sc1. Intake gasket fixed it right up.

 

[Andrew7DG]

I had a similar problem.
Mine was the valve seals. Same thing, stopped at a stoplight or at idle and car smoked. It was quite embarrassing. But mine had a blue tint to it but the exhaust smelled funny even when it didn't smoke. replaced seals and fixed it.

 

[illegal99si]

could be headgasket

 

[vd96TALON]

Didnt run the test yet, dont have time.

However I did check the car out one more time. I ran the car for 1 minute, no smoke, after idling for about 1:30 minutes it started to smoke white, and it smells like pure fuel, I put my hand on the exhaust, its wet, and smells 100% fuel. Also I noticed when I opened the hood, just a tiny bit of smoke coming out of my headers (I don't know why).

I read all the posts and searched, everyone who "smokes" white seems to have powerloss along with the problem, however in my case, my car is fine, no powerloss whatsoever, it runs great, very powerful. Like I mentioned already it only smokes white when I stay in a redlight, when I'm riding the car it does not smoke, only when idling.

Besides running the compression check, could bad injectors cause the smoke? I'm running rich white smoke, and its wet.