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Old Apr 7, 2005 | 11:28 PM
  #1  
rizzle's Avatar
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From: Lakewood, Wa
White smoke?!

White smoke from the exhaust means that antifreeze or water is getting into combustion right and is very bad from what i have read on the threads... What can i do to fix it?
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 12:10 AM
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From: lalala
><

Check your map sensor, and check all of your vacuum lines, could be a couple bad solenoids, or your spark plugs may be bad, but other than that it could be the water/radiator fluid, which would suck
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 12:34 AM
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if it is water radiator fluid... how can i fix this??
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 07:52 AM
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there's a fix posted on midwest rotary rally's site. I don't know how well it works. It's a long shot. Does it stop after the car is warmed up? Is the coolant buzzer of death coming on? Give us some more info before you go hog wild.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 08:08 AM
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yeah give us more. need mo' info
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 08:31 AM
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What does it smell like? Is it sweet and plastic smelling like antifreeze?
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 09:16 AM
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If there is a lot of smoke coming out of the exhaust, and I mean a nice amount, it is probably a coolant seal. There is a way to pour somthing into the system that may or may not seal this, you can find it if you search well.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 09:59 AM
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CRC Block weld or any copper-silicate coolant system sealer will do the trick, but it's still only a temporary substitute for a rebuilt or remanufactured engine.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 02:29 PM
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I've never tried this, but it looks like Kevin has had some good luck with it.
http://rotaryresurrection.com/rotary...oolantfix.html
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 02:36 PM
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could just be condensation. a bad coolant seal would look like a smoke grenade.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 03:36 PM
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Agree with Scratchjunkie - condensation is commonly mistaken for coolant smoke, but you can tell them apart:
- coolant smoke smells sweet
- condensation (steam) goes away and doesn't linger in the air unless it's a 'see your breath' kind of morning. Coolant smoke supposedly makes for a big, thick cloud
- coolant smoke will occur if the engine had been running, is stopped for a few minutes, and is restarted. (steam won't since the exhaust is still very warm and dry)
- coolant smoke usually means you can find hydrocarbon gasses in the coolant (champagne bubble test or hydrocarbon test)

TG I haven't witnessed the coolant smoke on my car yet.

Dave
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 07:02 PM
  #12  
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or it could mean...

we have a new Pope

Actually, all the items mentioned so far are legit and well documented.
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Old Apr 9, 2005 | 05:26 AM
  #13  
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From: Lakewood, Wa
When i start the car in the morning.. i can see alot of white smoke and it comes out alot until the car is warm.. then its a small amount that comes out...
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Old Apr 9, 2005 | 05:48 AM
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Originally Posted by rizzle
When i start the car in the morning.. i can see alot of white smoke and it comes out alot until the car is warm.. then its a small amount that comes out...
A lot of the other "sweet" smell and thick smoke can just be mistaken for rotary smells and condensation.

PRESSURE TEST YOUR SYSTEM! Borrow a pressure tester from your local Kragen or AutoZone. Build up the pressure to .9bar. Leave it for a few hours, and check back on it when the time passes. If it loses pressure, you either have a coolant leak somewhere or you may have blown coolant o-rings. If you want to further test it, find a place that will test for hydrocarbons.

The "champagne bubble" test is not accurate IMO, as it could just be small air bubbles in your coolant system. Not to sound like a *****, but you should have done a search before you created this thread. As you can see on the very bottom of this page, there have been literally 100's of threads on "white smoke".
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Old Apr 20, 2005 | 09:15 PM
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yeah... very faint white smoke comes out the exhaust on my fd too, but only during startup / warmup. anywhere from 1 - 3 min. then no more white smoke. hope its just some condensation, but i'm going to have to check the motor for leaks, then perform a compression test.
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Old Apr 20, 2005 | 09:42 PM
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Seem's like it can happen overnight, but when the seals are gone, like scratchjunkie said, there is no mistaking it. I started my car in the garage one day and within 10 seconds, could'nt see my hand in front of my face. I don't think that you could make that much smoke running 50/50 gas to oil ratio
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Old Apr 20, 2005 | 09:43 PM
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very faint white smoke comes out the exhaust on my fd too, but only during startup / warmup. anywhere from 1 - 3 min. then no more white smoke. hope its just some condensation, but i'm going to have to check the motor for leaks, then perform a compression test.
Condensation. Its normal and occurs on all types of vehicles. Nothing to worry about.
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Old Apr 20, 2005 | 09:48 PM
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Wankel Shmankel
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very faint white smoke comes out the exhaust on my fd too, but only during startup / warmup. anywhere from 1 - 3 min. then no more white smoke. hope its just some condensation, but i'm going to have to check the motor for leaks, then perform a compression test.
Condensation. Its normal and occurs on all types of vehicles. Nothing to worry about.
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Old Apr 20, 2005 | 09:55 PM
  #19  
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Could be oil as well. I have a similar problem, but mine smells like oil and in the right light, has sort of a blue tint. I am not exactly sure what it is coming from, since I have replaced the turbos, and the PCV by the oil filler neck. Wish I could be of more help.
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Old Apr 20, 2005 | 10:30 PM
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gonna check to be sure. but thank you for the reassurance POS7 . im a new fd owner so i freak about every little potential problem.
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