White smoke from exhaust, Things to look out for (1 Viewer)

[NJacob]

Hi There,

I have a 2000 Lc100 4.5 inline 6. Done about 385000 kms. The car has always been babied and never gone Offroad. All the services done on time.
For couple of weeks now I have noticed that there is a slight white smoke coming out from the exhaust. When the doors or windows are open I can get a strong smell coming as well.
Has anybody faced a similar problem like this before and if so please do advice it will be very helpful. All suggestions are welcome to help diagnose the problems.

 

[Spike555]

Blown head gasket, from what I understand it is common on the I-6, keep an eye on the coolant level until you can fix it.
I'd just start topping off the cooling system with water, don't waste money on coolant. You will need to fix this sooner than later.

 

[NJacob]

Damn it, I have a trip coming up in two days in which I will be covering about 3k kms. What precautionary measures should I take and what are the do's and don'ts.

 

[Spike555]

Don't overheat the engine. If you must make this trip you're a perfect candidate for magic in a bottle head gasket fix.
Go pick one that sounds good to you, follow the directions, then plan on doing the headgasket sometime in the future.
Bring lots of water to add to the radiator, check the coolant level everytime you get fuel.

 

[cruzerDave]

@Spike555 is almost certainly right, but there *is* a chance you are burning off condensed water in the exhaust, has there been any different/unusual environmental conditions since you started noticing it?

Assuming not, when you start up cold, wait 1 minute, take the radiator cap off, any bubbling or pressure release? (DO NOT DO HOT) That would be your combustion chamber pushing air into the cooling system.

Also, check your oil. If it looks milky do NOT set out on a trip, that is your oil channels crossed with your cooling, not sure if likely on that motor or not but I had it happen on a Ford years ago and it was nasty.

If either the pressure or oil tests fail I would NOT drive that on a trip personally.

 

[Spike555]

Yes, thank you cruzerDave, I forgot to mention water in the oil. Driving with that will destroy your engine.

 

[Jeepster09]

Damn it, I have a trip coming up in two days in which I will be covering about 3k kms. What precautionary measures should I take and what are the do's and don'ts.

If head gasket is bad I would not take trip with vehicle until fixed. You could seriously overheat engine and cause more damage. If gasket leaking to point of odor and smoke, it may fail even more and leave you stranded. Use different vehicle [possibly rental if you don't have 2nd].
If possible fix before trip.

 

[nissanh]

When the engine is COLD, take the radiator cap off and start the engine. Check for continuous flow of air bubbles through the radiator. If you see bubbles (continuous in a pattern), then it shows a bad head gasket.

How cold is Dubai these days? Do you see the smoke at any time of the day? at initial startup?

 

[Bruneti]

In the US, you can find a test kit at Autozone as part of there "rent a tool" program.
http://www.autozone.com/loan-a-tools/block-tester/oem-block-tester/391378_0_0
I used this test kit on my 80 series 4.5L to confirm my head gasket was going. You may be able to find something similar local to you. This kit uses a test fluid in a gadget that is used in place of your radiator cap. If exhust gases are present in your coolant, the test fluid will change color. The test worked quickly and definitively for me. Autozone didn't even charge me for the test fluid (it's a consumable).

 

[sean2202]

You might get more help with this engine head gasket problem in the 80 section.

I have used head gasket repair in a bottle once. I believe it was K&D and had fibers in it. Had to shake it really well. I only used half the bottle and put the other half in the back of the truck incase I needed more. It worked well but the problem is that the fibers can potentialy clog other areas (ex. Radiator, thermostat, heater core). I really would only use this again in an emergency situation.

From my understanding it was developed by the military to temperarly move machinery back to base that needed repairs

 

[NJacob]

Thanks everyone for your input, today morning on a cold start took off the radiator cap. I did not notice any flow of air bubbles.


Right now the temperature midday goes to about 50 degrees

Smoke Is there throughout the day.


Is there anyway I can get post a video? So that you guys can have a look.

 

[Spike555]

The only way to post a video would be a link to your youtube video.
I don't know what 50 degrees Celsius is in American (), but that defiantly sounds like a blown headgasket to me.

 

[Bruneti]

FWIW my 80 series did not exhibit visible bubbles with the cap off, but the Autozone test kit confirmed presence of exhaust gasses in my coolant. EVERY 4.5L petrol needs a new head gasket. It's just a matter of when. Mine made it to about 180,000 miles. As mentioned already, The 80's section has tons of info on this topic. It's better to do it as preventive maintenance than be stranded on a long trip.

My advice is this: Make other vehicle plans for your trip and plan to replace your head gasket. I drove mine with a (small) head gasket leak for 3 weeks to work and home while I acquired parts for the job. I soon started having to fill 1/2 the coolant reservoir every day after my 10 mile round trip. Then one day the reservoir was completely empty after my 10 miles. I immediately parked it until I did the HG. If you consume too much coolant and overheat badly, you will warp the aluminum head ($$$).