white smoke
#1
09-25-02, 10:07 AM
white smoke
My nephews car is a 1988 dodge dynasty LE -I am trying to get this thing running right----From the tail pipe -white smoke is coming out -it's barely noticeable while driving-but if the car sits idle for too long -while running the smoke becomes extremely noticeable -what is the problem
#2
09-25-02, 10:46 AM
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White smoke in the exhaust is usually indicative of water in the engine. When you first crank an engine, it is common to see some white smoke on a cool morning. This is just the usual moisture as a by-product of the combustion process. It quickly dissipates as the engine warms up. The white smoke in your nephew's car seems to be beyond that of the warm-up stage. More likely it is coolant leaking around the head gasket or possibly at the intake manifold to engine block gasket. Is there any indication of coolant loss? Does he have to top off the radiator frequently? Look in the radiator and see if there is any oil floating on the surface of the water. Also check the dipstick for water in the oil. Is there any white frothy deposit on the underside of the oil filler cap? All of these would be indications of water in the crankcase oil, which would require immediate repair (gasket replacement).
#3
09-25-02, 12:03 PM
smoke
When I first received the car-I noticed it had no antifreeze in the car and the water level was not visible. so... I took care of that - and the smoke seem to have gone away until 2 weeks later when I sat idle for 10 minutes in the car. I noticed the smoke when I put the car in drive and began to accelerate-I do not see any white frothy deposit under the oil cap-nor do I see any oil in the coolant -and I changed the oil 5 days ago which seemed to just be tremendously dirty. I do know that the car has an oil leak but that's very little -it doesn't smoke from the hood-just from the tail pipe and it has an odor sort of like antifreeze but I am unsure.
#4
09-25-02, 01:20 PM
The additional information in your second post makes me think you have worn valve guides and/or worn valve guide seals....less serious than a blown head gasket.
Let me guess..... the car has the 3.0L V6..... right?.......and the car has over 100,000 miles...... right? Well, I'd be surprised if your car didn't have that problem!!
What happens is that under high vacuum conditions, such as prolonged idle, oil is sucked past the valve guides into the intake. Then when you drive, the oil gets burned in a puff of smoke. You get really lots of smoke after startup, idling a long time, or stop-and-go traffic.
The fix is to recondition the head.... an expensive job if you're not a do-it-yourselfer.
Let me guess..... the car has the 3.0L V6..... right?.......and the car has over 100,000 miles...... right? Well, I'd be surprised if your car didn't have that problem!!
What happens is that under high vacuum conditions, such as prolonged idle, oil is sucked past the valve guides into the intake. Then when you drive, the oil gets burned in a puff of smoke. You get really lots of smoke after startup, idling a long time, or stop-and-go traffic.
The fix is to recondition the head.... an expensive job if you're not a do-it-yourselfer.
#5
09-25-02, 02:21 PM
smoke
Thanks! As a matter of fact, the car has 199,000 mile on it-it runs excellently smooth-except for the problems I mentioned. Thanks for the info. And I guess, for $200 from the neighbor- it's not that bad of a buy until it decides to eventually die. Not too much of a "ouch" in the pocket for my sister-huh?
#6
09-25-02, 03:13 PM
Pay attention to the odor of the smoke.
If it is sweet smelling, like syrup, that is coolant. Blown head gasket/cracked head.
If it's blue smoke, it's burning oil.
As mentioned, if it's a 3.0 engine, it's not worth bus fare. Cut your losses and pitch it for something better.
If it is sweet smelling, like syrup, that is coolant. Blown head gasket/cracked head.
If it's blue smoke, it's burning oil.
As mentioned, if it's a 3.0 engine, it's not worth bus fare. Cut your losses and pitch it for something better.
#7
09-25-02, 05:26 PM
$200 and it runs well?..... good deal!!!! Don't worry about the smoke. But don't neglect the car. Keep up with the regular scheduled maintenance and it may serve you for quite a bit longer.
BTW, I had a car with the same engine. Sold it to my neighbor at 180,000 miles, and they were very happy with the purchase. As with your car, it smoked, but the engine always idled and ran perfectly.
BTW, I had a car with the same engine. Sold it to my neighbor at 180,000 miles, and they were very happy with the purchase. As with your car, it smoked, but the engine always idled and ran perfectly.
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