ahardb0dy Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 So, after my buddy replaced the water pump and timing belt oh and the radiator the car was running again, staying cool also. Yesterday out of the blue, my step daughter was driving and stopped to get gas, she shut the car off and than when she finished getting gas and started it, the exhaust was all white smoke and the car will only move in reverse (auto trans), the car won't move at all forward and she said she checked the water and oil, the water was a little low but the oil level was fine and looked normal. So, any ideas?? She's having the car towed home right now I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 The reverse gear typically has a higher ratio than forward gears so it takes less effort for the engine to move the vehicle. It probably does not have enough torque at the moment to move forward. That's my theory as to why it only moves in reverse. Does it stall when moving forward? The ECU could also be shutting it down for protection. White smoke is a tell tale sign of burning rich. Try unplugging the oxygen sensors. Maybe it's dumping too much fuel into the engine. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 I read online that white smoke is supposed to be an indication of water getting into the exhaust? I'll have to check it out tomorrow to see exactly what the car is doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jays2010 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Might want to try a compression/leak down test. You can pick up a test kit at any auto store. My guess is bad compression.. Possible coolant leaking into a cylinder. Pull the spark plugs and check them out. If they are wet with coolant than you have bad rings or a bad head gasket. Granted there could be other possibilities... Best of luck to you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 thanks, was thinking of pulling the plugs today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted December 1, 2012 Author Share Posted December 1, 2012 pulled the plugs they were all dry, kind of crappy light brown looking, I re-gapped them to spec and re-installed them. Checked the oil was fine, tranny fluid looked ok. Water was low, added water and started it up, lots of white smoke but he car drove fine, no problem in any gear. Spoke to my buddy and he said it's most likely a head gasket, told me to top off the water and start it with the rad cap off, if water comes out of rad probably is head gasket. So I did that and water did shoot out of the rad and their was hardly any smoke with the cap off. Put the cap back on and after a minute or so the smoke was back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Usually if you have a head gasket issue, burning the coolant will smell really bad and produced a more blue smoke rather than white. Water coming out of the rad is not a tell tale sign of a head gasket. Water will come out of the rad normally because water expands with heat. If it has head gasket problems you will also have issues with hoses coming off from the pressure building up and the coolant coming out rapidly out of the overflow bottle. Water/coolant level could be low for other reasons like a leak in the circulation system somewhere. Try draining the oil and seeing if it's a milkshake. Sometimes the coolant will mix with the oil in a head gasket issue. You can also have a shop install a head gasket leak detector and check that way. A compression test is probably the easiest way to tell too since you will lose compression with a gasket leak. Last but not least you can try turning the heater on and checking for a rancid odor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 Don't know where your getting blue smoke is from burning antifreeze, every where I read says blue smoke indicates burning oil and white smoke indicates head gasket among other things. Oil looks fine on the dip stick, I would think if it was milky it would show on the dip stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jays2010 Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 pulled the plugs they were all dry, kind of crappy light brown looking, I re-gapped them to spec and re-installed them. Checked the oil was fine, tranny fluid looked ok. Water was low, added water and started it up, lots of white smoke but he car drove fine, no problem in any gear. Spoke to my buddy and he said it's most likely a head gasket, told me to top off the water and start it with the rad cap off, if water comes out of rad probably is head gasket. So I did that and water did shoot out of the rad and their was hardly any smoke with the cap off. Put the cap back on and after a minute or so the smoke was back. I agree with your buddy, seems unfortunately like a head gasket.. But get a compression test kit like I said earlier to be sure first, before you spend a lot of money. That will be your confirmation. I speak from experience because I just dealt with a 97 Honda prelude that had a blown head gasket and I had all the same symptoms you are having and as soon as I did a compression test.... It was game over... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jays2010 Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 ^^ another reason u saw smoke when the cap was on was because they cooling system was pressurized. And when there is a leak in pressure the coolant is going to flow to the spot where it's weakest which sounds like a cylinder.... Can't emphasis enough... Compression test... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 I probably will do one, just have to see if the auto parts store rents the tool, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Usually if you have a head gasket issue, burning the coolant will smell really bad and produced a more blue smoke rather than white. Water coming out of the rad is not a tell tale sign of a head gasket. Water will come out of the rad normally because water expands with heat. If it has head gasket problems you will also have issues with hoses coming off from the pressure building up and the coolant coming out rapidly out of the overflow bottle. Water/coolant level could be low for other reasons like a leak in the circulation system somewhere. Try draining the oil and seeing if it's a milkshake. Sometimes the coolant will mix with the oil in a head gasket issue. You can also have a shop install a head gasket leak detector and check that way. A compression test is probably the easiest way to tell too since you will lose compression with a gasket leak. Last but not least you can try turning the heater on and checking for a rancid odor. Where do you get your information from? Because it is wrong. Blue smoke is oil, white is coolant, and black is unburnt fuel. If you smell coolant when you turn the heater on, you have a problem with the heater core, a completely different issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 No it's not. I mentioned the heater because coolant could be leaking from the heater core. It's the least obvious location that's hard to spot a leak from. Head gasket leaks are all different depending on where the head gasket fails. In any case it will disturb the cooling system and coolant could (but does not always) enter the combustion chamber. Unburnt fuel produces a white smoke, not black. Unburnt fuel turns to water vapor as it passes through the catalytic converter. Black smoke or blue smoke is oil burning. The reason why I said the blue smoke can be a sign of a head gasket is if coolant enters the combustion chamber it can ruin the valve seats and piston rings causing a lot of oil blow by which will cause the engine to burn both coolant and oil. The best way to check for a head gasket leak is to install a device in place of the radiator cap that will sense it and color shift. The other good way to check is of course a compression test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 This is one site I found: http://www.freeasestudyguides.com/exhaust-color.html I filled the overflow and radiator today and when running the water in the overflow bubbles, No signs of water leaks anywhere, it's most likely the head gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Well apparently running rich can also produce a black smoke... It's going to have to run way rich to spit black though or possibly not have a catalytic converter. Bubbling in the overflow is unfortunately a sign of a bad head gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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