Dreaded newbie question

[dsmhopeful]

Finally bought my 98 eclipse gs a few monthes ago and have noticed light white smoke from the exhaust. Tonight while sitting in a traffic jam the smoke seemed to be much heavier. I was wondering if this is normal for these cars. I have also heard that the oil filter being located next to the exhaust manifold causes oil to burn in long periods of idling. The car runs fine does not overheat no loss of power no oil in the water or water in the oil. Is this normal? I am just a little concerned because there is only 60,000 miles on this car. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[UnWoRtHy]

Is your coolant low? Or brown? Just because you don't have water in your oil, if I remember correctly, doesn't necessarily mean anything. If you have smoke coming out of your exhaust...it'd be worth it to get it checked out. Especially if it only has 60,000 miles on it.

When I got my Talon, it had 75k on it. About six months later, I found an oil leak on the backside of my engine and it turned out to be the early stages of a head gasket leak. I caught it very early, luckily...so I would look into it. Could also be condensation in the exhaust system, especially if you do a lot of around-town short hops, or sit in traffic jams often. I've seen that before...and I've never had a problem with burning oil during long periods of idle.

Just keep a real close eye on it. Check your oil often. Check your coolant level often. And periodically look around the engine for signs of a leak. Oh, and just because I see it suggested whenever anyone else has an engine problem, and I want to sound intelligent this time, do a compression test too.

Good luck, man.

 

[luv2rallye]

White smoke from exhaust means coolant is either getting into cylinder due to blown head gasket or is getting into turbo thru blown turbo seal. Do coolant system pressure test to see if any is getting into cylinders (thru head gasket). Also do compression test with engine warm to see if it's the gasket. If both pass it's your turbo seals (in the coolant lines).

 

[DevilSperm]

White smoke from exhaust means coolant is either getting into cylinder due to blown head gasket or is getting into turbo thru blown turbo seal. Do coolant system pressure test to see if any is getting into cylinders (thru head gasket). Also do compression test with engine warm to see if it's the gasket. If both pass it's your turbo seals (in the coolant lines).

hes n/t my guess would be the head gasket is going out

 

[dsmhopeful]

Thanks for the input. Yes, I am non turbo. I'm already keeping a close eye on the fluids and there are no signs of leakage. The coolant pressure test and compression test both sound like good ideas and I will get them done as soon as I can. This car is an everyday driver with no mods and probably will never get any. It's my wife's car and she just wants it to last a long time.
Thanks again for the input!