Over the past week on two occasions I have noticed a puff of white smoke (white not blue) during start up. This is not happening every time (maybe 1 out of 10 starts), but when it does occur it seems to be after a period of the vehicle sitting for at least 8 hours (again, not every time as I have been monitoring). Concerned…..any thoughts?
white smoke
- Thread starter mainecruiser
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- Thread starter
- #3
pretty sure it's not coolant, but I will check the level. it appears to be oil burning off from my inexperienced perspective. vehicle has 105k.
oil doesn't normally make white "smoke" if I'm not mistaken. Look and see if it dissipates right away after it comes out of the pipe. If so, it's water vapor. There is of course water produced by the combustion. Some could accumulate in your pipe and just be boiled off when you turn the thing on. If it's coolant, you will of course see a drop in level and you can also usually smell the distinctive scent.
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Hmmm...It sounds like valve stem seals to me...
Yeah, its valve seals.. thats my final answer ;p
Yeah, its valve seals.. thats my final answer ;p
Mainecruiser,
If it happens after very short drives, the exhaust system will never get hot enough to "evaporate" away the water in the pipes. So after a number of short trips, you CAN get humidity accumulating inside the exhaust and once that heats up, it will be "evaporating".
But, I take it that would normally happen when the engine is getting warm and not just "after" start-up.
An added comment; when/if driving a lot of very short trips, you risk rusting your mufflers from the inside since they never get a chance to "dry out". Had my exhaust on the 300 ZX TT replaced under warranty because I had so many short trips (less than 4 miles) back and from to work (and this was in Texas).
If it happens after very short drives, the exhaust system will never get hot enough to "evaporate" away the water in the pipes. So after a number of short trips, you CAN get humidity accumulating inside the exhaust and once that heats up, it will be "evaporating".
But, I take it that would normally happen when the engine is getting warm and not just "after" start-up.
An added comment; when/if driving a lot of very short trips, you risk rusting your mufflers from the inside since they never get a chance to "dry out". Had my exhaust on the 300 ZX TT replaced under warranty because I had so many short trips (less than 4 miles) back and from to work (and this was in Texas).
White smoke is typically coolant burning. Black/Blue smoke is oil or too-rich fuel.
yep, correctly its valve seals, i had fix my LC2001 Last year it was around 140,000.Mile just coast me seals for the head and gran the valves.
even if u change ur engine oil for 1000mile land cruiser always have this most of the time the reason u drive the car and engines its cold may coast damage seals on the valve.
- Thread starter
- #9
how big of a job is it to replace the valve stem seals? I assume the parts are inexpensive, but what would a reasonable labor estimate be? I typically have work done at the dealership. thx.
Before you go dropping it off anywhere to replace the valve seals, get someone with more experience to witness the phenomenon. An occasional puff of smoke randomly on 1 in 10 startups, which isn't even confirmed to be either oil or coolant, is definitely not a reason to start tearing a motor apart.
How sure are you that its not even just the normal water vapor formed when starting a cold engine? Under what weather conditions do you see it? Does the cloud dissipate fairly quickly or does it hang around for greater than say 30 seconds? What does it smell like, can you compare it to the exhaust smell of another vehicle?
For reference, to replace the valve seals is going to be alot of work. Two cylinder heads, 16 valve seals per head. I do not know if there is a tool to replace the seals with the heads still bolted to the block. Some DOHC's you can do it, some you can't. Either way, I'd guess around 3K if you took it to a dealer.
rich
How sure are you that its not even just the normal water vapor formed when starting a cold engine? Under what weather conditions do you see it? Does the cloud dissipate fairly quickly or does it hang around for greater than say 30 seconds? What does it smell like, can you compare it to the exhaust smell of another vehicle?
For reference, to replace the valve seals is going to be alot of work. Two cylinder heads, 16 valve seals per head. I do not know if there is a tool to replace the seals with the heads still bolted to the block. Some DOHC's you can do it, some you can't. Either way, I'd guess around 3K if you took it to a dealer.
rich
