I?ve got a 1992 rover 827 v6 and it?s giving out white smoke (well steam really) at start up. This clears up and disappears completely after a few minutes. The classic explanation is that it?s the head gasket or a crack in the head and it?s time to rip the engine to pieces.
However, there is no oil in the coolant, the coolant level has stayed stable, the oil looks like it could do with a good change but there is no mayonnaise or froth. The engine runs fine (smooth, linear power) and isn?t down on power. The engine doesn?t overheat (or come even close to it).
If you really rev the car hard you can get a few drops of liquid to come out of the exhaust when it?s just started. I stuck a jar behind the car and collected it. It smells like oily water and not anti freeze. The exhaust smells of exhaust (and yes it will give you a headache)
A couple of lesser known suggestions I came across on the web were either having a worn out fuel filter and water in the tank, although surely white smoke would come out all the time. Alternatively it could be the car sucking auto transmission fluid up from the box, but wouldn?t this be seriously toxic and also surely it would continue all the time the car was running?
Finally could it be the catalytic converter? This looks pretty old and the converter is designed to output carbon dioxide and water, so is this just left over from the last time the car was run.
Any suggestions?
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It's water from the exhaust condensing when the exhaust is cold. Normal...
madf
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Thanks for your reply. I certainly hope it is, it's just that compared to my mondeo which emits also zero steam (you have to look really closely to see anything) it really is quite a lot. Is it just that it varies from car to car and being a bigger engine with a big (and probably not as well designed) exhaust there is just more water vapour in the pipe?
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How old is the Mondeo?;if it is a relatively late one,the cat fires up a lot quicker.
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i agree with madf, it as been cold lately if you don't do lots of miles condensation builds up in the system hence white smoke give it a good run see how it is then??
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Don't worry. If you're not losing water after say 500-1000 miles, then I doubt its HGF. When I collected my car from the garage last week (weather was cool, but not cold) after it wouldn't start, the mechanic was very concerned at the level of steam produced from the exhaust. I was thus instructed to keep an eye on the water level. But, like I told him, it's done it for years; plumes of steam on cold days, even after 15-20 minutes of running, it can still 'chuff' little bits of steam from the exhaust. About 250 miles so far, no oil emulsification or water loss, but because he is the expert, I?ll continue to monitor water levels, just in case!
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My Polo does the same, even with a new head gasket.
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Nothing to worry about.My 96 827 throws out lots of white smoke when it's cold.You can see it in the mirror as you accelerate -in fact it's a while before it disappears altogether.Remember it's a big engine that takes a lot of warming up so I wouldn't worry.These engines are very robust and can take some hammer.Mine hasn't missed a beat in 10 years-mind you I do my own servicing
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>>Remember it's a big engine that takes a lot of warming up
Not the engine warming up thats the problem,IIRC ecu tends to run injection a bit on lean side, so although its running on so called choke or rich, it runs in between although engine is cold it produces more water in exhaust.
I have had both auto and manual in past plus those that I have worked on,not one has not done this,has also not caused any problems except after startup for several minutes then worn off.
but the silencers do get filled with water if car is not taken for a decent run to heat up and evaporate the water.
As a matter of interest rovers all and other makes do this except the driver when driving does not notice
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Steve
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