White Smoke From Exhaust, Help.. Please

[dashi]

the white smoke comes out of the exhaust, lots of smoke... when it runs for a while, its ok.

the radiator is leaking, i am going to get it replaced.

is the white smoke due to that? or is something else i have to replace? i heard like head gasket or something

any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks so much

[Lexusfreak]

How much is "lot's of smoke"? (are we talking about the kind like from John Candy's old Mercury in the movie Uncle Buck kind of smoke?) In the cold weather after start up, most cars have white smoke that comes out of the exhaust which is normal. B)

[mxl4729]

are we talking about the kind like from John Candy's old Mercury in the movie Uncle Buck kind of smoke?

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that is a great line :D

and he is right in the morning then the engine is cold it will smoke for a little bit. but once it warms up it should go away. if it does not you might have a blown head gasket.

if it is a blow head gasket it will smell sweet.

any there is a kit you can buy that connects to the top of the radiator and detects carbon dioxide. if you take it to a shop they should have it. it only takes a second and tells you for sure weather there is a blow head gasket or not.

[kcpth]

any there is a kit you can buy that connects to the top of the radiator and detects carbon dioxide. if you take it to a shop they should have it. it only takes a second and tells you for sure weather there is a blow head gasket or not.

I didn't know that. Do they have that kit @ Autozone? I don't think i have a head gasket blown... but i would like to find out just in case since most of my cars are still OLD OEM part's @ 176k. N plus i like to learn these things n it's fun picking my car apart now B)

[amf1932]

any there is a kit you can buy that connects to the top of the radiator and detects carbon dioxide. if you take it to a shop they should have it. it only takes a second and tells you for sure weather there is a blow head gasket or not.

I didn't know that. Do they have that kit @ Autozone? I don't think i have a head gasket blown... but i would like to find out just in case since most of my cars are still OLD OEM part's @ 176k. N plus i like to learn these things n it's fun picking my car apart now B)

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From your description, it certainly sounds like a blown head gasket. :cries:

[bartkat]

Got coolant r in the oil or oil in the collant? That would be the head gasket. That would also be the source of the white smoke.

[mxl4729]

Got coolant r in the oil or oil in the collant?  That would be the head gasket.  That would also be the source of the white smoke.

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if you have coolant in you oil you are *BLEEP*ed, the antifreeze washes out the oil from the bearings and kill the motor.

as for the kit I do not know were you can get it. it was given to me by one of the guys the shop I work in. it has green fluid that goes inside a tub that goes on the radiator top. as the air flows thought the fluid turns yellow if there is carbon monoxide. once you take it off and air goes thought the fluid it turns green again.

the other way to test but it is more of a pain in the !Removed! is to use a compression tester. remove all the sparkplugs and do a compression test. this way you can also test the integrity of the motor to see if it is worth fixing. because at 176 it think you are reaching the end of it;s life.

[ArmyofOne]

Got coolant r in the oil or oil in the collant?   That would be the head gasket.  That would also be the source of the white smoke.

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if you have coolant in you oil you are *BLEEP*ed, the antifreeze washes out the oil from the bearings and kill the motor.

as for the kit I do not know were you can get it. it was given to me by one of the guys the shop I work in. it has green fluid that goes inside a tub that goes on the radiator top. as the air flows thought the fluid turns yellow if there is carbon monoxide. once you take it off and air goes thought the fluid it turns green again.

the other way to test but it is more of a pain in the !Removed! is to use a compression tester. remove all the sparkplugs and do a compression test. this way you can also test the integrity of the motor to see if it is worth fixing. because at 176 it think you are reaching the end of it;s life.

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heh, NOT always the case, i drove a Chevy Chevvete $2300 Miles Across County with a blown headgasket. the coolant burns almost completely out before it does any damage, hence the white smoke. yeh, if you REALLY blow it (like at full rev's) then yeah, it can do damage, but you have to have near hydrolock levels (about 1/2 inch in each cylinder) to kill your motor, that wont happen unles you suck water through the intake (on a stock intake its hard ot do as well, you will have water coming throughj your doors!)

i have also blown 2 headgaskets (one on each bank) in my 68 charger, at 5,000 RPMS doing 110. got me home. no adverse damage to the motor other than the water pump and the headgaskets themselves. it just ran liek *BLEEP* and smoked like a bniatch.