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Posted

Need some feedback on possible issue.....I have a '95 SC400... When I start the vehicle up after it's been sitting for awhile white smoke comes out of the exhaust. It stops after it starts up, there is no smoke when I drive...The car does not run hot, and I have not noticed anything out of the norm --no knocking or hesitating to speak of.. I recently (Dec. 31) had the timing belt/water pump done along with new plugs (platinum/uridium) and wires. I check the oil level and it does not seem to be burning oil.Last oil change was about 2200 miles ago.. Also, always use 91 octane.. Any idea what it could be and how serious of an issue it is.... I dropped over $1100 on repairs about 10 days ago and I'm tapped out....Thanks for any help....

Posted

You sure it's not bluish smoke? I'd check your p/s fluid reservoir level. Likely the acv is leaking fluid into the manifold. Common issue. Make sure the p/s pump isn't leaking, otherwise you'll be dropping some more on a new alt. Lots of threads on this prob. Lookup "leaking power steering pump". If you don't want to spend any more, here's a link on how to remove the p/s pump. It shows you an option to cap the intake and replace the valve with a bolt:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/steering/pspumpremoval.html

Posted

White smoke at startup is usually vaporized moisture leaving the exhaust system. If smoke is white and stops after engine is warmed up, nothing to worry about.

Posted

Grn is exactly right. Didn't mention this because I took for granted, everyone who owns a car already knows this and wouldn't be posting it as a prob/concern? Check for smell and determine if it's vapor or smoke.

Posted
You sure it's not bluish smoke? I'd check your p/s fluid reservoir level. Likely the acv is leaking fluid into the manifold. Common issue. Make sure the p/s pump isn't leaking, otherwise you'll be dropping some more on a new alt. Lots of threads on this prob. Lookup "leaking power steering pump". If you don't want to spend any more, here's a link on how to remove the p/s pump. It shows you an option to cap the intake and replace the valve with a bolt:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/steering/pspumpremoval.html

Thanks very much!! Matter of fact I have a leak somewhere in my power steering....I have to put in power steering fluid about once every 5 days or so.....I go thru a quart of power steering fluid in about 3-4 weeks...Right now I have to rough it since I'm tapped out after my last $1100 repair bill about a week ago. I'm just checking the power steering fluid level every few days... It steers fine, and no problem starting .. You hit it right on the head... Thanks very much!!!!

Posted
You sure it's not bluish smoke? I'd check your p/s fluid reservoir level. Likely the acv is leaking fluid into the manifold. Common issue. Make sure the p/s pump isn't leaking, otherwise you'll be dropping some more on a new alt. Lots of threads on this prob. Lookup "leaking power steering pump". If you don't want to spend any more, here's a link on how to remove the p/s pump. It shows you an option to cap the intake and replace the valve with a bolt:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/steering/pspumpremoval.html

Thanks very much!! Matter of fact I have a leak somewhere in my power steering....I have to put in power steering fluid about once every 5 days or so.....I go thru a quart of power steering fluid in about 3-4 weeks...Right now I have to rough it since I'm tapped out after my last $1100 repair bill about a week ago. I'm just checking the power steering fluid level every few days... It steers fine, and no problem starting .. You hit it right on the head... Thanks very much!!!!

You're going through a fair amount of fluid. I would make sure it's not leaking onto your alt. Some leaks bypass the alt altogether - that's lucky. If it's leaking onto the alt - that's unlucky. Large repair bill and you'll have to fix the leak as well or else you'll be replacing the new one shortly after. There's a thread about how to position a shield on the alt to protect it from such a leak. This would buy you some time to save enough to repair the leak without damaging the alt. I'll try to find it and post it later. In the meantime you can do a search on leaking power steering pumps and read up.

Posted

You're going through a fair amount of fluid. I would make sure it's not leaking onto your alt. Some leaks bypass the alt altogether - that's lucky. If it's leaking onto the alt - that's unlucky. Large repair bill and you'll have to fix the leak as well or else you'll be replacing the new one shortly after. There's a thread about how to position a shield on the alt to protect it from such a leak. This would buy you some time to save enough to repair the leak without damaging the alt. I'll try to find it and post it later. In the meantime you can do a search on leaking power steering pumps and read up.

Thanks a lot!!! I'm not normally this tight on $$ but right before Xmas a client I did some consulting work for (I have a Sales Consulting Co. in Phoenix) declared BK -Chapter 7 --and stiffed my on almost $12K in fees I was counting on. So until Mid-February I'm kind of hurting. That would be great if you could post that link... But I'll warn you... I'm not very mechanical, any work besides THE most very very basic (adding fluids, changing/cleaning air filter,etc.) I have a mechanic do anything beyond those things.... Hopefully that shield is something that even the most "mechanically challenged" can do..Thanks again...

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