I was just wondering if i could get a little advice on what the problem is for my car. About 5 days ago i turned on the car and noticed white smoke coming out the tail pipe. I talked to a friend and he said if the smoke is real thick (blanketing thick) then it's a head gasket problem. We just took a look at the car and it started letting out white smoke again. It didn't smell like coolent or oil and it wasn't thick. He was unable to say what is was.

After turning off the car we noticed an oil leak coming from the oil pan. It probably has nothing to do with why it's letting out white smoke. We checked the coolent and the oil and didn't notice anything different about either. There was no coolent spotted on the ground. I need a new muffler but doubt that's the reason it's letting out white smoke. Also, when stopped at a stop sign or at a stoplight, the cars seems to shake a little as well as shake when it's about to shift.

1990 Chevy Lumina
3.1/v6 auto
156,000

 

White smoke is an indication of heavy moisture, either in the gas, in the air or from the block (head gasket). If it was cold or there has been a fair amount of humidity your engine would show signs of white smoke without any engine problems. Water in the fuel could do the same thing but you can usually tell if its bad gas because your engine will ping/rattle under wot. My truck is a good example of humidity and white smoke, if its under 45* and I get on it hard it will leave a large amount of white smoke, once the air temp increases to 50ish+ no smoke at all.
SSC

 

i really appreciate it...posted 2 prior messages and no one seems to want to post....thanks a bunch...

Just one more question...i've heard that that could be the problem, but that it would only smoke for a couple seconds. When it does this, it smokes for more than a couple seconds. Just wondering if it mattered. BTW, it's been under 45 for quite a while.

 

It just depends on the amount of moisture. The weekend prior to this one it was around 32* and below. I went shopping across town, the whole way there and back I could see white smoke from condensation. It wasent as bad @ operating temp but at the stop lights I could see it in the rear view also durring shifts. A good Indication for you to look for is what the general publics cars are pumping out of the pipes. If you see a few other cars with the same symptoms as yours than your fine, but not all cars are going to act like this. I would try a couple of cans of gas dry, it might help eliminate the problem if its bad gas. If it was a head gasket it would pump out white smoke all the time, so we can eliminate that.
Good Luck!
SSC

 

Ummmm, maybe its cuz you're talkin bout a d@mn lumina. And the whole white smoke problem, its just condensation, stop worrying, its not black or blue so you're good. I sure hope that lumina is your beater, and if it is, stop caring all together.

 

ChevyLover.....

You seem to be a very pissy guy. All i was doing was coming here b/c a friend of mine said that maybe i could get my question answered here. Maybe you should reevaluate yourself and not be such a *****. I was just simply asking for advice and thanked the guy for giving it to me. Thanks any way for your "attempted" input. And by the way it isn't at startup. It's after it's been started up. Say more than a minute and while driving it. Thanks for all those who tried to help.

And actually....a car "newbie" like me knows that white smoke can be attributed to a blown head gasket. If it lets out alot of white smoke it can be that your head gasket is gone.

And it's the ONLY car i own. I am currently in college getting my degree and don't have the money to get a badass car or anything like that. Just something to get me from my place to work and back. I'm sorry if you have something stuck up your *** and believe that b/c someone doesn't have a car like yours or work on their car to make it 50 times faster he's a moron or something. I was hoping for positive input not some lame *** response from someone who obviously doesn't know a damn about smoke and cars.

Again. thanks to prior posters who have tried to help me out.


Sam

 

Chevy luva3 how old are you??

Please tell me your not some 16 year old punkass loser that just sits in front of the computer trying to get attention. I have yet to see a helpfull honest post from you yet. I have read most of your replies and they for the most part suck. Are you depressed, mad at the world, or just an ***!! You need to get laid.

Sorry to those of you who have to put up with my VERY IMMATURE post. I just had to get that out.

As for boricua482, welcome to the board!! I'm sorry its late. Not all of us here are like Chevy luva.

 

Ummm wow, pretty quick to judge eh? Boricua just stated that no one wants to reply back, soooo I told him a legitimate reason why. So sorry I come off so pissy, you guys are so sensitive.

 

O.K. We've had our fun and ribbing. Let's stay on task.

As for the comments by anyone, we'll just hope that everyone can overlook some frustrations and impatience. Whatever anyone thinks of someone else or their car isn't significant. The problem is that a memeber posted a tech problem and we are challenged to find some good advice. Pretty simple, huh?

ANYWAY, the white "smoke" could easily be condensation as several members have suggested. Depending on where you live, the temperature, and dewpoint, there can be constant white condensation spewing from the exhaust and it is completely normal. A lot of atmospheric moisture on a cold day will make visible condensation in the exhaust even after the engine and exhaust are fully warmed. Wet fuel adds even more moisture, and if the car hasn't been driven at highway speeds and loads for a while, the collected moisture in the exhaust takes a long time to clear out.

What was the temperature? Relative humidity? Was the car fully warmed? Had it been parked for more than a couple of days?

Try cruising through northern Wisconsin during a normal January and every car has about a foot or two of "cloud" hanging from the exhaust pipes. Look up at an airplane flying overhead at altitude, and you'll see the same "cloud" trailing a mile or more behind it. They move a LOT more air, so the condensation is greater. They also fly at altitudes where the temperature is usually well below 0°, so the condensation just hangs there until it dissipates. It's the same thing as your car engine on a larger scale.

If the temperature was cooler and the humidity was higher, it could be relatively normal. Keep a close watch on the coolant level and oil condition just in case, and try to get the car on the highway for 20-30 miles of driving to get it fully warmed up once in a while.

It's just a good exercise for your car to get some highway driving at least monthly, or you'll need to really accelerate your oil and fluid changes. It not only keeps the exhaust system dryer, but cleans water from the engine and transmission oils, distributes the differential oil to the outer bearings, and gets all fluids thinner and flowing better. The PCV can really only do its job when the engine is hot, the front wheel bearings need to get warm to drive water out of the hubs and relase some oil from the grease, and the engine oil splashing at higher RPMs will distribute more thoroughly through the remote areas of the engine and help keep everything cleaner and drier. The tires get warmer, and the engine gets hot enough to get into full closed loop, purging the EVAP canister, operating the EGR, and keeping everything active. It might clear up your white "smoke", too.