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6G Celicas Forums > 6th Generation Celica > Engine/Transmission/Maintenance
JoKeRkId613
I'm worried. white smoke comes out of my exhaust when i turn my car on. what can it be? thanks!
WannabeGT4
Searching really isn't that hard.

I'd say valve stem seals. Others will say condensation. It really could be either one.
mikew04
White smoke is usually coolant if it smokes after the first few minutes you start it up. Does it smell sweet? Could be a blown head gasket. Valve stems cause oil leaks, and make the exhaust turn blueish gray.
spunky393
First answer, how much smoke, and how dense. If it's a good amount and dense, then it's more than likely your head gasket
JoKeRkId613
thanks for the responses guys. this is great help. i was just hoping you could provide me with more information on how to check on these items to see exactly what the problem is.

a. valve stem seals
b. condensation
c. coolant
d. head gasket

thanks.

p.s. the white smoke has been coming out for the past 2-3 weeks. i never thought anything of it because i tried the seafoam thing. i thought it couldve been left overs of that... but 2-3 weeks? lol. thanks again guys!
CelicaST18
If it is the head gasket, you will probably find oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil. If it was valve guides, the smoke would be blue, and do it all the time (i'm asuming from what you said that it only does it at initial start up) If it is just after start up and it goes away after a minute or two it could just be age. The secondary O2 sensor may not heat up quick enough and it is causing a rich/ lean situation on initial start up. If it is just after you start it and goes away, i wouldn't worry
Benevolence
yeah check the oil and see if it is a milky brownish color, if it is then your headgasket it probably blown
JoKeRkId613
is the head gasket real expensive?
LewFX
mine does the same thing on start-up, particully in the morning and sometimes if the car rests too long...someone told me it had a greenish tint, whats that caused by?
darksecret
You haven't run the nitrous yet have you? Usually white means burning lean or water. It's possible that after running the Seafoam it caused a head gasket leak, before running the nitrous I would get the metal gasket anyways, they are about $60 at the dealership.
darksecret
QUOTE(LewFX @ Jun 2, 2005 - 4:23 PM)
mine does the same thing on start-up, particully in the morning and sometimes if the car rests too long...someone told me it had a greenish tint, whats that caused by?
[right][snapback]294446[/snapback][/right]


Do you have a gutted cat, if you do that is why, mine does the same thing but once it is started it clears up. When any car is first started it always goes rich since it injects more fuel before intial start up causing an excess in fuel rich exhaust, the cat clears most of that up, also most don't realize that a cat doesn't actually start working properly until it reaches a proper operating temperature explaining why most inspectors allow the car to run for a minute before testing. I couldn't tell you about the greenish tint, maybe your car has a cold, lol.
CelicaST18
QUOTE(JoKeRkId613 @ Jun 2, 2005 - 8:06 PM)
is the head gasket real expensive?
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a head gasket isn't real expensive( $40-$60), but installatiuon is very expensive if you have it done in a shop... i think it can get up to $800+ for installation
dan4
QUOTE
yeah check the oil and see if it is a milky brownish color, if it is then your headgasket it probably blown


Right ignore that matey. C'mon lads if your HeadGasket (HG) is blown and that is happening then your car will not smoke. It will only smoke if coolant is getting into the combustion chamber. It will do this through a split between the water jacket and the cylinder. If it is only when you first start your car then ignore it - condensation
QUOTE
Do you have a gutted cat, if you do that is why, mine does the same thing but once it is started it clears up
.

well said, mine smokes a treat when first started now ive de catted

If it continues when warm then you may have a prob....

HG - Test for exhaust gases in coolant....
Valve stem seals - normally when on slowing down in gear and then accelerating again but this is blue smoke normally
Piston rings - mainly blue smoke all the time and loss of power but symtoms of valve stem seals too

test compressions of each cylinder too!

Im dreading any smoke from my gt four when it eventually comes frown.gif
LewFX
QUOTE(darksecret @ Jun 2, 2005 - 3:30 PM)
QUOTE(LewFX @ Jun 2, 2005 - 4:23 PM)
mine does the same thing on start-up, particully in the morning and sometimes if the car rests too long...someone told me it had a greenish tint, whats that caused by?
[right][snapback]294446[/snapback][/right]


Do you have a gutted cat, if you do that is why, mine does the same thing but once it is started it clears up. When any car is first started it always goes rich since it injects more fuel before intial start up causing an excess in fuel rich exhaust, the cat clears most of that up, also most don't realize that a cat doesn't actually start working properly until it reaches a proper operating temperature explaining why most inspectors allow the car to run for a minute before testing. I couldn't tell you about the greenish tint, maybe your car has a cold, lol.
[right][snapback]294456[/snapback][/right]


i just replaced stock muffler with a tanabe muffler.
darksecret
Muffler wouldn't make a difference the cat makes, I think some new mufflers come with a protective coat that could be burning off making a green tint, just a guess though.
mikew04
A blown headgasket can EASILY cause your car to smoke. The exact same thing happened to me with my old car. I used seafoam (not sure if that was the cause or not, but the engine only had 105k on it) and a few days later was blowing white smoke. Did a compression test, was way too low in 3 and 4. Decided my headgasket was blown and went to work.
user posted image
If you have white smoke well after startup, then check your oil to see if its milky, and do a compression test. If you aren't sure, you should probably take it to a mechanic.
LewFX
the head gasket is below the valve cover?
playr158
valve cover
valve cover gasket
head
headgasket
block
oil pan gasket
oil pan
darksecret
you forgot the pickles
JoKeRkId613
darksecret, ure the ****! i was thinking it was that damn seafoam too! anyway, so a new headgasket it is. i think ill just do it myself. lol.
darksecret
No prob, let me know if it works and yeah it's a good idea to do it yourself, it's a pain but well worth the savings. You could also try to polish your valve cover while it's off it is a long task to do it yourself but it's the best time and it looks really good when you're done. BTW there is another post with the how topolsih the valve cover somewhere around here.
LewFX
QUOTE(JoKeRkId613 @ Jun 7, 2005 - 10:43 PM)
darksecret, ure the ****! i was thinking it was that damn seafoam too! anyway, so a new headgasket it is. i think ill just do it myself. lol.
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i ran seafoam in my gf's civic and it never smoked. since my car only has 70k miles, ill wait to do it to mine.
JoKeRkId613
well my car has 196,000 miles on it. hence the reason it smoked.
mikew04
I wanna clear this up in case someone misunderstands, but i ran seafoam like i was supposed to, and it smoked up the street like i expected. It was fine for a few days, probably for more than a week, then i noticed coolant coming out of my exhaust and a slight power loss. Not sure if it was related, and if it was, my headgasket was probably not sealing right for a while, and was on its way out.
Good luck tho with replacing it, its a pretty involving job.
darksecret
It just determines the condition of the motor, I have 130,000 miles and did it two weeks ago and don't have a single problem.
JoKeRkId613
how hard can it be to change the headgasket? just pull that bitch off, put the new one in. spray nitrous, put more seafoam, then more and more and more! bwahahaha. j/k. lol. i wouldnt try that myself, i was being sarcastic biggrin.gif
CelicaST18
about the seafoam...i was thinking, if it does its job, which is remove carbon buildup and varnish ect., then it is possible that the seafoam could be causing our cars to smoke.....that carbon/varnish could be what is sealing things up, like a headgasket, run seafoam, clean all that crap out and there is no more carbon to seal up cracks...just a thought...i would say to go ahead and run the seafoam earlier in the engines life (60-70,000) and again at maybe say 120,000, and again later...keep the carbon and varnish that the seafoam is designed to romove from forming at all.
darksecret
I would say it's definitly a days job to replace, it shouldn't be as bad on the 7A as the 5S though.
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