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mourning smoke

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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 02:23 PM
  #1  
austinsFD's Avatar
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From: CA: Van Nuys
mourning smoke

Every mourning before I go to work and I start up my car it makes a big smoke cloud in my drive way even in the afternoon after its warmer its still make tons of smoke for around a minute or two and I has a very very minor tint of blue and the rest is darker white.

is this normal?

oh i have a 1994 mazda rx-7 touring with 90k
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 02:25 PM
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rynberg's Avatar
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Nope, it's not normal. Sounds like you have a combination of failing coolant seals and possibly failing turbos....you're at the right mileage.
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 02:40 PM
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A rebuild is in your future. My car had white smoke in the AM when my car's coolant seals were going bad.
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 02:51 PM
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Though it may very well be the coolant seals, it could also be condensation (if he parks it outside)?
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 02:54 PM
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rynberg's Avatar
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From: San Lorenzo, California
Originally posted by WaLieN
Though it may very well be the coolant seals, it could also be condensation (if he parks it outside)?
condensation does not equal "big smoke cloud" or "tons of smoke"

I think the difference between condensation and blowing burned coolant out of the exhaust is pretty obvious.
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 03:04 PM
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ObliqueFD's Avatar
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jpandes, how long did your engine last when you started noticing smoke?
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 04:08 PM
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Again, it's not normal.

Get a compression test done. Condensation can look like that on some mornings, so I worried about my car for a bit, but the test put me at ease (8.5s all around )

Dave
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 04:35 PM
  #8  
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From: San Francisco, CA
Originally posted by jpandes
A rebuild is in your future. My car had white smoke in the AM when my car's coolant seals were going bad.
The first time I drove my car for a few months before I had the dealership get my warranty co. to pay for the reman.
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 04:46 PM
  #9  
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From: Gaithersburg, MD / WVU
Are you MOURNING the idea of an upcoming blown engine, or is it smoking in the morning?
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 05:01 PM
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Yeah its almost time for a rebuild, but you still have time. Just know its coming soon, but you have plenty of time not to crap your pants.

Its not that cold in CA, so your ok, if it was really cold then its just the seals warming up which is this case, before they heat up and expand it will smoke, then stop. I bet you dont get it during the day time so much or not at all right?

Anyway, dont sweat it, but start throwing pennies in the piggy-bank to get a fund started.
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 05:03 PM
  #11  
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From: New Zealand (was California)
Some smoke is not that bad. A lot of smoke with a blue tint can be bad.

Only a compression test can tell you how much to worry.
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 05:10 PM
  #12  
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From: out there
A compression test wont tell much either, if its not smoking in the noon time, you take it and get it compression checked after a day or driving $100 says you wont see it.

Seals O-ring/apexi/side can get sticky and corky. I mean my car smoked white everywhere I went for like 4 days then stopped and Im still on the same engine.

Blue isnt great, but I still wouldnt **** my pants yet
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Old Dec 2, 2003 | 06:59 PM
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From: napa, california
ive got the same problem. but i just got the car a few weeks ago and its rained at least a little bit almost every day since then and my car is stored outside. the smoke just looks pure white coming out of mine, and it only does it either in the morning or late at night not during the day, and if it wasnt such a large amount of smoke i wouldnt have even thought about it since its been so wet and cold lately but its that large amount thats kinda got me worried. oh and i have smelled the smoke and it doesnt seem to have that sorta sweet smell that is noramlly produced by coolant burning. and ive been keeping an eye on my coolant level and its seems to be fairly constant since i got the car

Last edited by ranmaman81; Dec 2, 2003 at 07:03 PM.
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