White smoke from the exhaust. What's up with that?

[dimi_108]

Goodevening all. Just a quick question. I noticed today when picking up the Legnum it had white smoke coming out of the exhaust when it was cold and first turned on. I ran the car for 30 minutes and turned it off for 1½ hours and when i turned it back on it was still a bit "smokey". Later on, the smoke disappeared.
Now i know it could be a number of things like the seals etc. I'm just hoping it's not the turbos on the way out. Anyone else experienced the white smoke?

 

[Kristian]

See how it goes after a couple of weeks, but as a general rule, white smoke = bad. Start saving, just in case.

 

[naughtika]

my car used to do the same, specially after oil changes..

mine actually does have white smoke coming out when i usually warm up the car and have the a/c on.. but after about 5 minutes its gone or while driving..

 

[dimi_108]

Thanks Chris and Kris.
Yeah i noticed the white smoke goes away after 5 minutes as well. Chris, during the 5 minutes of smoke, can you sometimes see a bit of the smoke "pass" on the side of the car while it's stationary? Not heaps but just a bit?

 

[naughtika]

yeah, just a bit..

but at one time i left it running for about 10 minutes without watching it.. when i came back.. there was white smoke everywhere.. not coming from the engine bay but from the exhaust..

im thinking that it could be the oil getting sucked out from the air breather thingy that's on the front/rear rocker cover..

 

[SiliconAngel]

So you got the car home ok then Dimi?

Me no rikey whrite smok you could have buggered rings or a turbo seal or something. As Kris said, I'd definitely start putting some cash aside and (if you can) find the time to strip it down soonish. White smoke a reliable engine doesn't make

 

[bradc]

Go for a good hard drive, then come to a stop rather quickly, leave the engine idling and check out the exhaust then. If it is smoking at that point I'd say you've got a problem.

My VR-4 has condensation coming from it for about 10 minutes normally if I just leave it idling, but as soon as I go for a drive and heat the exhaust up properly it all disappears.

 

[Davezj]

i second that comment by brad.

My car smokes massively and i mean massivly, you can't see anything out of the rear whind except thick white smoke.

This i can catagorically say on my car is condensation build up in the exhaust. last for about 5 mins then completely disapears. it is particularly bad when it rains heavery or it very cold. my car at the moment has a 5" megaphone Dunk back box from Apexi, and it sucks up moisture when turn off the engine.

i would say if smoke lasts longer than 5-10min then you may have a problem. if not don't worry about it.

I worried about it and ended up getting myself paranoid and replaced the head gasket and got the head skimmed i convinced my self it was water entering the cylinders.
After get all the work done it was exactly the same. then summer came round and the problem disappeard.
winter came round again and the smoke returned,then summer came round again and it went away. so this winter i will probably laugh every time i see it smoking.

or i might just get round to fitting my Ralliart back box i have had for the 12 months without fitting it.

But That Is Another Story!!!!

 

[dimi_108]

Thanks Kris, Brad and Dave - your input has been such a help.
Trev, yep i got her home yesterday. I might take her out with me to work and try to get a blue slip today or tomorrow definitely.

Well i started her up this morning and as soon as the engine was on there was no smoke for around 5-10 seconds. Then a bit of white smoke started to come out. I'm guessing from the condensation. I left her on for around 5 minutes and there wasn't much smoke coming out anymore just a tiny bit.
I'll report back when i get the car to work (a good 25 minute highway run).
For now, here's a video of the start up smoke this morning. To me, it looks pretty normal. Maybe i'm being paranoid like Dave
See how it goes after the drive to work...

 

[pu-11-me]

Yep, condensation.... Mine is shocking for it (and its been in minus temps all here winter!).

Wait till the engine gets to operating temp, take it through to redline in before shifting to clear it out, laugh at bystanders who think your car has blown up, then pull over and see if its still doing it

If not, you're right to go!

If it does, like the boys said, start saving

 

[Davezj]

looks ok to me,

as i say my condesation you can see out of the back window. LOADS of it.
i wouldn't worry!

 

[damian]

I agree that looks like steam from condensation in the exhaust to me, most cars do it in the morning, not just Legnums/Galants

 

[Kristian]

lol yes it's condensation Dimi - water condenses inside the exhaust system and then turns to steam as the exhaust heats up with the car running. Nothing to worry about.

 

[dimi_108]

Ah! Thanks everyone. I got to work after a good 25 minutes of highway driving and gave it a few hard hits along the way too (speaking of hits, these cars are little rockets. Before you notice, the thing is hitting 140km/h in the blink of an aye). Anyways, at work, i let it idle for a few minutes and went out and checked it - no smoke at all. Nothing. Just the burble from the exhaust. Oh and no oil coming out of the exhaust either. Good sign? I guess so if there's no more smoke at idle after a good run.

Thanks fellas, you've been a big help and i hope anyone else who's paranoid about the white smoke when their car starts up and is cold finds this thread

 

[SiliconAngel]

Yea just watched your vid Dimi - the way the smoke dissipates so quickly shows it's condensation - if it was oil it would hang around a lot longer (and be bluer too). Nothing to see here - now start saving for some mods!

 

[MarysVR4]

Hey guys!

I hope I am also paranoid...!?
But I registrate lot of white smoke until the 2nd gear.
You can watch that @ my 1/4 mile videos (existing thread),
please make a look:

1st Video was made in late summer-September

2nd Video was made in (very windy and cold) October

Because I had an accident 1 week after that 1/4 mile run in Oct. 2008 my Legnum was standing until yesterday in the garage.​

Now it's Wintertime in Germany. In the Morning it's often under 0°, in the course of the day it warms up to max. 10°.


Is that maybe the reason (like by Davezj) that's today more and thicker smoke in the opposite of sept./oct. 2008? I guess It's a lot of more then in the "warmy" days...

Thank you in advance!

regards,
Mary

 

[Soldat]

if the white "smoke" goes away after a few mins or a few km's, its probably condensation.

If it looks like the following, and your car feels like its towing a battleship, its a blown turbo

 

[ed84]

G'day,
My car blows smoke when im really flooring it. It think it looks a bit black i think, from the review mirror... i could be wrong. As is said - only when im flooring it. I just changed th 02 sensor and no change. have done the oil twice with fully synth 10W40 (or 30?) and oil filter. Any suggestions? The fact that it only happens when i have my foot on the floor accelerating (not just in neutral) kind of throws me off a bit. Obviously the turbos & engine are both working pretty hard at this point.

 

[godzilla]

Eddie, it is very common for turbo'ed cars to blow dark colored smoke under load, that just comes with the territory. You really should only be concerned if as Blake has illustrated by the Youtube vid, that you car is blowing copious amounts of white smoke (under any load amount)

 

[ed84]

well it definately is not doing that. thank god. Ok so i should just keep an eye on it then? it doesn't seem to smoke any other time. Is it just unburnt fuel you think? I suppose al lthe fuel and air pushing through, somethings gonna pass through.
Thanks mate