White Smoke at startup. Valve seats? Headgasket?
09-02-2005, 04:36 PM
#1
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
White Smoke at startup. Valve seats? Headgasket?
Hey guys,
Recently i've noticed I get a puff of white smoke when I start the car. It is gone as soon as the car starts. After searching the archives, it looks like valve seats to me.
It does not do it all the time, its just a once in a while occurance. Oil usage is normal, a lil here 'n there, nothing excessive.
Or could this be the ill fated headgasket giving me problems? It doesn't use any coolant and I have no other signs of a blown heatgasket.
No, I have not done a compression check, but I can.
Any ideals or just a confermation would be great.
Recently i've noticed I get a puff of white smoke when I start the car. It is gone as soon as the car starts. After searching the archives, it looks like valve seats to me.
It does not do it all the time, its just a once in a while occurance. Oil usage is normal, a lil here 'n there, nothing excessive.
Or could this be the ill fated headgasket giving me problems? It doesn't use any coolant and I have no other signs of a blown heatgasket.
No, I have not done a compression check, but I can.
Any ideals or just a confermation would be great.
09-02-2005, 06:49 PM
#2
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If it is truly white smoke, it's not guide/stem seals. If it were the smoke would have a bluish tint to it. White smoke is water and it could be as simple as condensation that builds up over-night. Are you getting any condensation or slight milkshake on the oil filler cap in the morning? It's usually more pronounced in areas that have medium to high humidity levels or see over-night temps in the 60 degree and colder range where the car is parked outside.
09-02-2005, 07:10 PM
#3
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Jeremy,
No milkshake on the cap. It was 55F last night. However, it did do it this afternoon with temps of 75F or so.
The smoke is straight up white.
No milkshake on the cap. It was 55F last night. However, it did do it this afternoon with temps of 75F or so.
The smoke is straight up white.
09-02-2005, 09:21 PM
#5
Just pressure check the Coolant system. Whatever the pressure rating of the Cap is pressure the system to just above this. Check if the pressure is held or starts to drop off. The other thing you can do is to Leak the Engine down, and as you do each Cylinder, check with the Coolant Cap off to see if any bubbles appear in the Coolant. The proper way here is to borescope the inside at the same time. If you do not have access to one, the only thing you can do is to check the Coolant system for air. I think Harbor freight sell a very inexpensive borescope. Never used one of these, but it may be worth looking at. Not sure what the brand name is, you can buy stuff to put in the Coolant system and if Combustion gases are present it changes color. No experience with this stuff, so I can not recommend from experience. If the engine appears OK, it could be the Turbo if it is water cooled. Never known one to fail in this way, but there is always a first time.
