Hey I wa wondering I any one knows some easy steps into cheacking your z32 300zx for a blown or leaking he's gasket, I'm unsure if mine is blown or not but I do have some white smoke blowing out exhaust, a shit load in winter and a normal amount in summer but only during start up? I just recently change my coolent but only flushes radiator with water I'm not loosIng and coolant but it's a brown/ green color. it looks pretty old and corrded so I'm not sure f gasket blown or if it needs a realy good clean , many flush engine block, I had the brown coolent in my radiator for 6 months befor changing as I didn't notice it, their has been no loss in power and no problems so I am unsure what to do, it is a 1989 2+2 300zx z32 non turbo, Cheers shadow
when cold, take your radiator cap off, start engine, wait till operating temperature, and see if foam/bubbles appear through the radiator water where the cap goes. Also, pull the dipstick out and see if it's a little "milky" looking at the top of the oil level. These are a couple of quick and easy checks to do yourself. Further to this you can get each cylinder pressure tested/leak down tested to confirm.
if its only during start up/warm up, and its onyly white smoke, not blue or black, then its condensation (water) from sitting overnight. no big deal at all.
Do you have a balance - H or X pipe on the exhaust ?. If not get one fitted before spending money on the motor as not having one can cause white smoke at odd times. Cheers Dave
Just sounds like condensation in the exhaust to me. If your head gasket has blown it can show the signs as Benny suggested or can go for a year plus with possibly only loosing water between the head and block. Refer to my build thread the engine I have built bore on cylinder 5 had rust stains once I removed the head, yet oil and coolant was perfectly clean. So once was and the cooling system pressurised after reaching operating temp and shut down coolant under pressure was leaking into the cylinder. Also the guy who did my heads had to machine an extra 4thou of the head due to previously overheating and slightly warped.
Take your car to a workshop with an exhaust gas annalyser, remove radiator cap and check for hydrocarbons coming out of the filler neck.
Just to add to this, bubbles or foam isn't neccesarily a sign that your HG has failed. Bubbles can form in your coolant due to air pockets, cavitating water pumps, mild coolant leaks, and impropper ratios of coolant and water, and seeing you just flushed your system, it's likely you *will* see bubbles forming, so don't go freak out. If you want to know definately, take it down to a radiator shop, and ask them to do a hydrocarbon test on your coolant. Should only cost you $50 and it will be definite. Also HG fail in different ways. ie, a tear between coolant and oil galleries will mix oil and water and you'll get your milky oil and sludgy, milkshake like coolant. A tear between coolant galleries and chamber will see exhaust/fuel in your coolant and water entering combustion and your white smoke, or if you've really done a number on it, both. But it just sounds like condensation. Larger diameter mild steel exhausts literally saturate with water in winter, especially if you park it in the evening. So if your not overheating, and your oil is A-OK, don't panic...
