Car blowing white smoke, whats wrong?

[-DSM2NR-]

My friend's car is blowing white smoke for some reason but when the engine warms up the smoking stops. What could be the problem?

 

[EvolvingGST]

hrmmm? Coolant burning or is it cold out?

 

[98eclipseRS]

Sounds like it is just the condensation burning out of the exhaust which is nothign at all to be alarmed at. All cars do it when it is cold outside and you start the car after sitting all night. However, if the smoke is rather thick and lingers in the air for a while(you'll know what a while is when you see it) then he is burning coolant. But I would have to go with it just burning out the moister in his exhaust.

 

[Dream On]

Yep, most likely what Zach said. You could check the headgasket just to be safe, and make sure the oil and coolant aren't mixing.

 

[-DSM2NR-]

Yeah, I guess it's just the cold by the fact that it stops smoking once the car warms up.

 

[Spoolio]

ushally, when ## car is blowing "constant" white smoke, is cause engine coolant is leaking into ## pistons, which is caused by a bad headgasket, if u have the time and effort just replace it.

 

[ZiggysDSM]

Sounds like it is just the condensation burning out of the exhaust which is nothign at all to be alarmed at. All cars do it when it is cold outside and you start the car after sitting all night. However, if the smoke is rather thick and lingers in the air for a while(you'll know what a while is when you see it) then he is burning coolant. But I would have to go with it just burning out the moister in his exhaust.

I agree, all cars do it when they are cold especially older cars its nothing to be akarmed over unless it progressively gets worse

 

[sk8shorty01]

another thing you could check out.. mine would do that when it was cold, or when i would idle for a while, then it would go away... i brought it to a mechanic around here (before i knew anything about cars) and i had known him through the family and he said that my valve seals were going bad... he said that the reason it stops is because the seals swell when they get hot, sealing the previous gaps... not sure if this is going to help but something else to consider...