LFA951

Yesterday I noticed my car getting a little warm , never got past the third white line and on my way home at a light it started misfiring and blowing white coolant through the exhaust pipe, when I parked it, I popped the hood and saw that both fans were not on and the coolant reservoir was boiling and some coolant was sprayed on my IC pipe and surrounding area, I slowly took the cap off and relieved a lot of pressure to find that the reservoir was quite empty and really hot as was teh head and intake manifold. I checked the oil and it was fine, no signs of coolant, just a little low, did I blow my headgasket or do I have a bad thermostat? I just put in a new cooling fan relay on Thursday and both fans were working fine after installation, checked the relay and it was fine...

hosrom_951

Once white smoke appears from the exhaust, it means coolant has entered the combustion chamber, which indicates a head gasket, or worse.

Now since you got the fans working, does it still blow white smoke from the exhaust on and off boost?

LFA951

My mechanic thinks it was blowing white smoke cause the coolant got into the Mass Air, since I did find coolant over the sensor, he told me to pull the plugs out and see if it has coolant or oil. The fans were working fine when I installed the relay on Thursday, but when I got home last night they were both off and that could be why it was overheating, or I probably have a bad thermostat...

shortyboy

i had the same issue.my head gasket was leaking and letting coolant into the combustion chamber.

LFA951

I just checked the plugs, #4 was fine and the rest of them had dry coolant on them, and #1 had the threading stripped on the head, my mechanic is going to come by and fix the threading and diagnose what might be wrong. I also found coolant on my breather and at the top of the oil filler around the tube and cap, but I pulled my oil dipstick out and it only has oil on it. I'm supposed to have a Wide Fire headgasket in there...

Tom M'Guinn

If hot coolant is not getting to the radiator, it may just be that the temp switch in the radiator is not warming up enough to kick the fans on.

Where was the coolant spraying from? Is something leaking?

Why did you replace the relay on Thursday -- have you been having other cooling problems? Have you checked the rad hose by hand to see if it's hot--or checked the rad itself with a point and shoot thermometer -- to see if the thermostat is opening?

Tom M'Guinn

Generally I'd agree, especially with it missing, but I suppose the MAF filter could be sucking in coolant if coolant is spaying on the filter...

LFA951

It was spraying from the reservoir coming through the cap or the ventilation hose and spilling all over surrounding area, I'm guessing it might be the thermostat because the fans were working fine Thursday, it was after that they stopped working I have yet to determine why it overheated...no leaks elsewhere, I replaced the relay because on a previous thread, the passenger side fan was not turning and it was getting a little hot, changed the relay and it started turning...

hosrom_951

Let it fully cool down, and don't start it till the next morning. When it start ups, notice if there is any hesitation upon start up, if the gasket is leaking, it would run on 3 cylinders for a few seconds then all 4 would fire up and run fine.

I don't see how coolant entering the MAF would really lead to white smoke, especially since you mentioned that 3 plugs have dry coolant in them, that insidcates a problem.

lart951

Luis, your mechanic sucks.

LFA951

It is not the coolant entering the MAF, I determined that upon close inspection, I can't start it until #1 plug thread is rethreaded in the head, once it is, I'm gonna start her up and see what happens, either way I have to change the headgasket since it does seem to be blowing into the combustion chamber...

LFA951

How about some positive imput?

Tom M'Guinn

Well, look on the bright side, it will be much easier to repair the spark plug hole while the head is removed. Sorry about all your troubles. Have you checked your oil by the way? If coolant is getting all the way to the exhaust, I'd think your oil is milkshakey by now...

LFA951

That's the funny thing, the oil is normal, no coolant in dipstick

Tom M'Guinn

Are you sure the white smoke was coming out the exhaust and not just coming out the rear of your car after getting on hot exhaust parts?