Hi Everyone, I am getting white smoke out of my exhausts under throttle (after the car is warm). I suspect it could be a leakly head gasket, however the car idles fine, coolant appears clear of oil and the oil appears consistent and is not muddy. I will get a hydrocarbon test done on the coolant, however is there any other cause of white smoke other than coolant leaking through the head gasket?
White smoke is not a result of a rich mixture, that's black smoke. If you suspect a headgasket do NOT drive it anymore, get a compression test done first. If that checks out ok then just inspect the coolant system entirely for any other leaks. White smoke is almost always burning coolant...
Do you have dual exhaust? Is it coming from both? If so, do you have a cross-over pipe, if so is the smoke thicker from one side? A leaking turbo seal WILL cause white smoke. It will smoke during WOT, and when at idle. Could also be blocked AIV, letting oil into the system. Could be a leaking valve stem seal also. Hard to know from your short description...
Thanks for the replies. My Car is NA so no chance of blown turbo seals. I recently did a under plenum hose bypass on the drivers side to cure a leaking hose under the plenum. The car doesn't smoke at idle, but will smoke proportionally to the amount of throttle given (WOT = heaps of smoke). The smoke is definitely coolant burning, not oil otherwise i'd be able to smell it from a mile away
I could of told you in the beginning it wasn't oil, burning oil is blue smoke... Generally it goes like this, Black = Rich White = Coolant Blue = Oil As I said a compression test will tell you what you need to know, but if you have replaced one rotted coolant hose already then I bet there's lots more where that came from. Did it smoke before you messed around with it? Have you re-checked your work? Anyway a compression test needs to be done asap. Dont keep driving it, you'll warp the heads and then you'll be really screwed.
Generally, yes I tend to agree... But for the record, a blown turbo seal can also result in white smoke (coming from first hand experience). But it's safe to say, this isn't the case here
Same can a leaky injector seal... Just because it's white doesn't mean it is coolant. I'm not saying that it is a leaking injector seal as your symptoms don't fit. Get a compression test done and go from there.... could be valve stem seals, PCV's, etc, etc.... the list goes on!
Read GENERALLY, I've personally never seen a leaking injector seal cause white smoke and 9/10 white smoke IS coolant...
