White Smoke / Car Is Smoking White [Merged 7-9]

[Apeximprt2nr]

Alright guys, well I just finished my 14B install in my 95 GSX. All is well besides some minor oil leaks on the return line and the SS feed line at the filter housing. There was also a VERY minor coolant leak from the front banjo bolt on the turbo. I tightened it a tad and I think i went away. Now the turbo is spooling really late because I think there may be a leak before the turbo.
Now on to the problems.

1. The turbo does not smoke at all besides at WOT sometimes it blows out whiteish grey smoke. I'm trying to think of where it could be burning coolant. It never did this before the turbo install.

2. There was some white smoke the past 2 days at the manifold. I'm thinking its the shitload of PB Blaster that I sprayed all over the car but I'm not sure.

3. There's a smell coming from my engine that I can smell if I pop my hood and it becomes more noticeable when I'm driving and really get on it. It smells like burning plastic sort of, with a mix of burning rubber. The lower heat shield is not on the car because it's a pain to get on and I haven't put it back on because I haven't had time. Nothing is touching anything hot so I 'm confused...The only possible thing is maybe I pout on a new 4 ply exhaust mani. gasket as well as antiseize on most of the bolts and the turbo-mani. bolts.

Any help? Thanks.

 

[wolfman]

My head gasket is gone and theres is no smoke from under the hood.Just out the tail pipe.It just eats oil nothing else,weird but its true.An the motor only has 20,000 miles on it.If it was me i would go with Slowboy Racing, Inc. there head gasket is $140 but its worth every penny,it can hold up to 30lbs of boost,if not more.

 

[slow gst]

It gets hot pretty quick but then I look at the temp gauge and it does not show that its overheating, also no smoke comes out of the hood just out of the exhaust when i hit the gas.

 

[wolfman]

Mine too, get a head gasket.See i thought it was the turbo on my car so i bought a new one but that wasnt it so i got a head gasket and im good now.

 

[dunsunIII]

yeah I'm having the same problem...but what are all the options other than a bad head gasket ### my car doesn't over heat at all

 

[MaskdDingo]

Though you are quite possibly right that it's the HG, I would try to eliminate other possibilities before assuming head gasket. Compression test maybe? At the very least take the spark plugs out to see if a cylinder is burning coolant or oil. Check the turbo for shaft play or obvious fluid leaks? Or like major oil in your IC pipe?

Would suck to have pulled the head to find out it was the turbo... or vice versa.

 

[MaskdDingo]

yeah I'm having the same problem...but what are all the options other than a bad head gasket ### my car doesn't over heat at all

Any of the seals that would allow oil or coolant into the combustion chamber or the exhaust could be the problem.

Including but not limited to: Value seals, Piston rings, Head gasket, Blown Turbo. I've even heard the the exhaust manifold gasket can cause this. It could be something causing excess back-pressure in the crankcase.... bad PCV valve allowing boost in for example...

point is, it could be many things.

Use the process of elimination to find where the smoke is coming from.

It's easier to figure out what it is by first figuring out what it isn't. if that makes any sense.

 

[dunsunIII]

thanks I'll check out all that...and thanks for the good points, but today I took off the oil cap and there was a little white smoke coming out..so does that mean that it's something to do with the head? valve seals or piston rings??

 

[MaskdDingo]

thanks I'll check out all that...and thanks for the good points, but today I took off the oil cap and there was a little white smoke coming out..so does that mean that it's something to do with the head? valve seals or piston rings??

I hope not because I get a little whip of smoke come out too if I take the oil cap off my motor after driving around, and I just had my head rebuilt. seriously, If you find out it's bad let me know!

look for places that oil is getting that shouldn't be where it can burn. It's supposed to be under the valve cover/oil cap, so if it's smoking a little at the oil filler hole after running the engine it's probably just some oil residue left that's cooking now that there is no new oil flowing up there with the car off. That's just my thought anyway.

Are you losing any fluids? Anything visibly leaking from the HG area? Check for oil in your coolant, also bubbles (foam) in the coolant could be a hint. Same thing for oil. If coolant mixes with oil it gets like milkshake color.

If so, that doesn't eliminate some other possible causes, but along with smoke out the exhaust it would be strongly pointing to head gasket.

If not, it could still be the HG, but it also could be a range of other things without knowing more.

Personally, If my car started smoking out the exhaust I would think turbo first, but that might only be because I know it's much older than my HG.

 

[1g-tsi-86]

white smoke usually means you are burning oil, and if its bluish its coolant. Do a compression test

 

[My1GLaser]

white smoke usually means you are burning oil, and if its bluish its coolant. Do a compression test

That's backwards. Blue is oil burning in the combustion chamber and white is normally coolant, but... I had white smoke that followed my car for blocks and filled the neighborhood with smoke. I thought the turbo was bad and replaced it...did the same f_cking thing.

It turned out to be a completely clogged PCV valve and when I went into boost the crankcase pressure had nowhere to go so it pushed oil past the valve stem seals and straight into the exhaust so the oil burned white. It smelled like f_ck...just like if you threw a quart of oil into a blazing fire.

Coolant burning has a sweet smell. And normally you see a milky mixture of oil/coolant on your dipstick and inside your oil cap. Its tan colored and blotchy looking.

 

[dunsunIII]

i'm gonna do the test tomorrow and I'll let you guys know. Thanks I'll check out the pcv

 

[3dimentia]

I know im resurrecting a dead thread, but it took that long to do anything about it

The smoking was caused by a bad turbo and too much oil in the pan apparently. I was finally able to work on it, and it was quarts over! New turbo in, and no more extra oil. After it burned off the residual, no more smoke! Not any smoke at all even. Rockin!

Problem solved (for now)

 

[johneclipse]

So i searched, and everything i could find was about turbo charged cars. Mine is an N/A 94 eclipse 5-speed. just had a new N1 style muffler tip installed. Now im gettin major white smoke from the exhaust while its idling/warming up. Any ideas?

The smoke has no distinct smell that i can tell from it, it is definately white and not black or blue. only things done to the car are cosmetic and a sound system, besides the muffler.

 

[Jeff99GS]

Well white smoke is Water/Coolant. It could be a headgasket. Did you have the CAT removed when the new muffler was put on?

How is your coolant level? LOW?

 

[johneclipse]

Well white smoke is Water/Coolant. It could be a headgasket. Did you have the CAT removed when the new muffler was put on?

How is your coolant level? LOW?

the cat is still there. all i did was cut the old muffler{at the back of the car} off, added a 6inch piece of S/S pipe, and then the muffler to that pipe. all with welds.

haven't checked the coolant level, any easy way to check how much is in the radiator? the car isn't overheating though, so it should be at a decent level right?

 

[Jeff99GS]

the cat is still there. all i did was cut the old muffler{at the back of the car} off, added a 6inch piece of S/S pipe, and then the muffler to that pipe. all with welds.

haven't checked the coolant level, any easy way to check how much is in the radiator? the car isn't overheating though, so it should be at a decent level right?

It could just be the coating burning off the inside of the new muffler.

Take off the Coolant Cap on the left side of the engine. If the coolant is right there under the cap then its fine. If you dont see any coolant then it is LOW. Take a 1 gallon jug of un mixed coolant and mix it 50/50 with water. Now pour the coolant into the Filler neck till it is up to the top. NOTE the amount you poured in. Also fill the overflow reservoir to the correct level. Now start the car and let it warm up to normal operating temp. Now replace the filler cap.

I just want to see if you're burning off coolant. That is why I said check the level.

 

[johneclipse]

so its a headgasket if oil is mixed with the coolant right?

because i do have oil in with the coolant, as well as small amounts of the mixture out of the exhaust

 

[1SickAuto]

sound like you found your problem. time for a HG change

 

[johneclipse]

sound like you found your problem. time for a HG change

yea, ordered the HG today. will be here tomorrow. plannin on pickin up some engine flush, new oil, new oil filter, as well as radiator flush, and new coolant. should flush all the mixture out of everything and start over new for the new HG.

Then i get to figure out how hard it is to change a head gasket on these cars...

 

[Zincone91]

Okay well whenever my car gets any boost once soever white smoke comes out of my exhaust and its only when my boost is at 0 or higher.. i was just wondering why this is happening.. i have a evo 3 16g turbo if that matters?

 

[My1GLaser]

Okay well whenever my car gets any boost once soever white smoke comes out of my exhaust and its only when my boost is at 0 or higher.. i was just wondering why this is happening.. i have a evo 3 16g turbo if that matters?

What have you recently done to your car and how long has it been doing this? How old is the turbo? Where does the breather hose on the side of the VC go to? How old is the pcv valve?

My brand new turbo did this and I found that it was crankcase pressure from my breather hose being completely kinked. Oil must have been blowing past the valve stem or turbo seals and going straight into the exhaust. It burned white and smelled like hell, just like if you threw a quart of oil into a fire. It filled the neighborhood and followed me for blocks going down the street.

I put a check valve inline b/w the PCV valve and IM and fixed the breather hose and it never did it again.

 

[airmail96]

Was the turbo used when you bought it?

 

[Zincone91]

Well i bought the car used.. and i have an oil leak and im not the best with DSMs this is my first so i dont know a lot about it at all.. but under the turbo there is a line that squirts out oil all over my 02 dump and exhaust the like is connected to bottom of turbo

 

[slickers111]

I think you just found your problem....

 

[rush2252]

that would be the oil return line. Scope it out. Use a drain pan as it will leak oil whenever you remove it. Could be a gasket or the line could be cracked. If its the hard accordian factory style they dont like to be bent. If its broken go with OEM SS return lines will begin to leak over time. DO NOT use rubber it will not withstand the heat.


Good Luck
Kolby