Fj80 smoking at start up. (2 Viewers)

[Cruiserhead05]

We have a 94 fj80 with 205k miles on it. took it on a 3 hour trip this weekend and when leaving just as it started up there was a weird grinding noise. i think it was just my dad holding the ingnition to long but i popped the hood and when he gave it gas in neutral there was a strange sucking type noise coming from somewhere close the the air intake...i dont know for sure. but the weirdest thing is once we got going there was white smoke eveywhere for about 3 min and then it cleared and drove home fine. oil pressure was great. good temp...seemed fine but it was kinda scary...what could be wrong....and any opinions on the new 4runners. thanks

 

[Beowulf]

Check the PCV or just replace it. I do not recommend aftermarket PCV's because some do not fit. Get a new valve cover grommet at the same time and be very careful when you remove the old PCV as the grommet will be brittle and may fall into the valve cover.
-B-

 

[landtank]

Brace yourself B,
White smoke is usually indicative of moisture (coolant) getting into the engine. Keep an eye out for a consistant dropping of coolant level in the radiator. You might also want to do a compression test.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

Land tank... that is very interesting as to what you said about radiator fluid leaking into the engine.. resently the 80 was running very hot and was low on radiator fluid. i filled it up and a couple minutes later it got low again...it never smoked when this happened(maybe oine week ago) but just now it smoked at start up...if this is the prblem how is it fixed. it does have 205k miles but that isnt to bad, out 60 has aout 285k and is fine...thanks

 

[GXO]

one word...OUCH. :-[

I will allow an FZJ80 owner to elaborate.

Coolant in the engine sounds spot on...which means you have had a dramatic failure somewhere.

I would not drive it anymore until you address this issue.

Sorry to hear it! Good Luck!

 

[Beowulf]

I'm getting that sinking feeling. Believe I'll tell the staff I'm sick and go home for the rest of the day.
Thanks a lot Rick!

Cruiserhead,
What Rick astutely caught is that your Dad's truck has very likely blown a head gasket. As Dan said, you should not drive the vehicle more than is absolutely necessary. Compression check and cylinder leakdown test should identify the problem.

Sorry for the bad news.
-B-

(FYI, my "fix" would have cost you about $10... Rick's fix will cost you $1,500 to $2,000.)

 

[landtank]

Well before you drive it any more drain the oil watching what first come out. If there is coolant in there it will come out before the oil. If there is coolant in the pan don't drive it any more and locate a shop for the rebuild.

 

[Scamper]

Unfortunately, I recently had a blown head gasket. But there are several ways in which it can go, and the symptoms will vary accordingly.

Since you saw a cloud of white smoke, I would agree that this points to coolant in the exhaust. One sure way to know if it's coolant vs condensation is to give it the whiff test. If it smells really bad and acrid, then it's coolant. If it just smells like exhaust, it's probably condensation.

A head gasket leaking coolant won't always show water in the oil. In my case, the gasket blew only enough to connect the #6 cylinder with the coolant circuit. The oil was still intact.

But be sure of what the problem is before doing any driving as rest have said. Does sound like the dreaded HG to me too though...sorry.

Tom