01 Ls430 - Knocking Sound Under The Hood And White Smoke From Exhaust

[alokkataria]

Hello,

I have 2001 LS430 with 106k miles on it. This morning all of a sudden I heard knocking sound under the hood and lots of white smoke coming from the exhaust. I turned off the car immediately and am planning to towe it to a garage in a couple of days. Any ideas on what it might be. How serious might it be etc?

Thanks for the advice.

Regards,

-Al

[landar]

Might be as serious as a heart attack. Thats what I would have had if mine did that.

White smoke 'usually' means coolant or power steering fluid being combusted. Maybe a gross leakage into a cylinder causing knocking?

As a start, carefully check and note all of your fluid levels to see if one is very low. Check the timing belt. Has it recently been changed?