Thread: Working fine yesterday, white smoke today

Im not a mechanic but i do know one! lol this is what he said!! "see if the fluid is coolant, if the starter is engageing and turning the motor , then it is not seized....if coolant is leaking into the cylinder it can hydrolock and then be seized.....find out how to do a leak down test on a grand prix and see if the cooling system has a leak, before you turn it over to many more times.....if there is no leak then find out where the fluid is comming from. change plugs and do a compression test and start from there"

Wow, thanks for asking your mechanic! But I do have an update myself at this stage. I just turned the motor over again, and the new development is that white smoke is now definitely coming out of the EGR valve, and also from some points along what I believe are the exhaust pipes leading into the engine bay. Now, UR LOSN said that spraying something down the EGR could cause a smoke show, so I'm really hopeful that its not coolant leaking into the engine, though I can't rule it out just yet.

Still have no idea what that black fluid is though. You guys reckon I should try changing the EGR valve?

Just looked at mine and the only thing I could see that would leak would be the PCV valve, which you would bw able to see where that would be running down from it, manifold gasket, and the rear valve cover gasket. It would be hard to tell between the manifold and valve cover gasket, unless is't more damp on the bottom side of the valve cover. If not, I would lean more towards the intake. As for the white smoke, if you have ran your car for a period of time, I would think whatever you sprayed in the EGR would be out by know. I would pull your plugs and see if the tips on any of them look different than the rest. If so, that would be a good starting point to see if that's where something is leaking to cause your smoke.

Im not trying to make you sound dumb...but if its cold where your at you will get white smoke....and it could have a coolant smell. So the "white" smoke could really not be ur problem.

Agree^^^^
Panzer4, looking at where you live, would that be Oxnard, Cali?

Yep, that would be in Cali. It does get kind of cold at night, but not during the day.

I'm comparing the condition of the car to the day before, when everything was working fine, so trust me, there is a problem. I only wish it were the cold! One day its idling fine, running smooth and (relatively) normal with normal amounts of condensation (and true, a slight smell), and the next day I'm getting more smoke than a volcano and its idling really rough and temperamental.

About the EGR, I had a look at it, and its still a little wet with Brakleen on the inside, even after ~3 days or so, because I didn't want to risk running the engine too much. I'll let you know how it goes after drying out.

I'll have a look at the PCV and the plugs, Badazgtp.

Thanks guys.

Have you did a pressure test on the coolant system to see if its the lower intake manifold gasket, cause if you get to much water in the cylinders you will lock the motor up.

Alright guys, case closed. I just checked the engine oil (seems to have become a habit!) and it looks real different this morning - pretty milky. So that settles it. Since its probably the LIM, so I'm going to check, and if it is, get to work and replace that now.

Thanks for all the advice and your help everyone!

If that is it and after you fix it get a cheap oil change and put a quart of Diesel in it and let it idle for a good 15min then drain it and change the oil with the good stuff. That will clean out your motor and stuff.

Good advise jess,thanks!

Man that sucks. You may have blown a head gasket instead of the lower intake leaking coolant into the motor. Obviously you have a problem, but I would do a compression check before anything else. If all your cylinders are pretty close, than you could be pretty sure you have problem with the intake.