well, i guess its my turn..

car has 165k on it..
about 20k ago the car overheated..

now i get white smoke after idle.

I am losing coolant, and getting contamination in my coolant.

here is a pic


my coolant on the left.. new on right..

what are my options.

how long can i keep going?

anyone know of a shop in LA?


thanks.

 

check to see if there is coolant leaking from your exhaust

it's possible that there is a crack in your block and there's coolant leaking in and therefore the white smoke and the botching of the coolant itself

 

^ More realistic for the HG to be the one seeping and not the block since it's not constantly overheating.

~Cheers~

 

thanks for responses.




on one or two plugs i saw areas of white roughly where i have it highlighted.

my camera couldn't do macro for some reason. so the pic is blurred.

i think i'll need to do a cylinder compression test and radiator pressure test.
would autozone lend those tools?

 

anyone done a compression test on 2.5?

i don't want to fry my coil.. so i need to disconnect the plug from my distributer, and do i need to ground it?

also if i pull the ecu fuse, will that disable the FI?

 

I have never bothered to install a dummy plug and ground when I've performed compression checks. No problems so far. I would worry even less about fuel, but you could disconnect the fuel injector power fuse. This may cause a CEL though.

Check your engine oil. Worst possibility is coolant getting into oil. This can lead to crankshaft bearing damage quickly. Oil in coolant is not as problematic, but may require a good cooling system flush to clean when you've resolved the problem.

For another reason I'm looking at a cylinder head job on my 2.5TL also. Do you plan to diy? It looks to be a pretty tough job.

good luck

 

i've done the compression test, and i got 210 +/- 1 across all cylinders..

my oil looks fine to me.. the oil cap looks fine as well.

when i poured out that cup that is on the pic above in the toilet, i didn't see any oil spots on the water..

i think i need a good coolant flush.. when i replaced my coolant, i never drained the block..
wasn't sure about the bolt..

but with the numbers that i got, should i relax about a head gasket..

after the test i revved it after idle and didn't see smoke.. weird..

 

well, i think i figured out what was causing the smoke.

i saw oil leak where the distributor is, so i pulled it out to clean it but didn't have the o-ring.
after i put it in the smoke got worse..

went to a dealer and got the ring today and put it in.. so far i haven't seen any smoke..
i am thinking that oil was seeping out of the dizzy into exhaust below it.
could it be?


i am still losing coolant, and i have an oil leak around timing belt.

 

Having the plug nose be clean and white is an indication of coolant getting into the combustion chamber.

 

well, never mind.. i still get white smoke..
but it doesn't smell like coolant..

can it still be head gasket if compression results were good?


thanks

 

I don't think a compression test is definitive for a head gasket problem. Usually, a coolant test is performed that detects combustion products in the coolant. You've looked at spark plugs and I agree w/ 6spMike, they look too clean. Coolant smoke is very white and easy to distinquish from oil smoke. It also dissipates rapidly. There will also be a lot of condensation if you put a cold mirror in the stream.

When I had a head gasket on my 94 Accord Ex 2.2L, it would run fine most of the time, no smoke at all, and quite smooth. On a warm/hot startup after sitting for a short time, there would be a short period of dead miss on one cylinder before smoothing out. I pulled plugs and found water on one plug. That confirmed it for me.

A coolant leak test may confirm no leaks external, and if you pull plugs you may find water in a cylinder, since the leakdown is going somewhere.

good luck

 

well... i replaced my pcv and the smoke went away..
i am guessing the oil was getting into intake manifold..

i remember that i looked into my throttle body and it was wet in there. oil..

my car still runs rough, but the RPM needle doesn't jump.. and it shudders after i shut it off..
any ideas about that?

 

If you are losing significant coolant, it's going somewhere. A small amount of coolant, I wouldn't worry immediately about, but keep an eye on coolant level.

good luck