Excessive white smoke..

[rolla4me]

after a good 6 to 8 hours of not drving the car, I start and there's a excessive white smoke comes out of the tail pipe.. I recently replaced the valve seals because i thought that's was causing the problem. It didn't help and still it's hell a smoke when i start in the morning or whenever i let the seats for 6-8 hours.

I also did a compression test after the engine is warmed up and it came out at 175psi average..

what do you guys think is causing this excessive white smoke? please help.. :cry: :cry: :cry:

thanks for looking..

[gottafesty]

How long does the white smoke last. Is it only a few seconds, a few minutes???

[rolla4me]

i say about good 5 minutes then it gradually disappears..

[freshtiva]

Probably head gasket or cracked/warped head or block. White smoke usually means water/coolant burning off. Dont freak yet because Im not a mechanic. But thats been my experience. Does your exhaust have a coolant smell ? Is this on your B6 ?

[FB71]

^^^ I have to agree, sounds like a head gasket leak. Compression test often does not show a coolant leak into a combustion chamber.

[rolla4me]

Probably head gasket or cracked/warped head or block. White smoke usually means water/coolant burning off. Dont freak yet because Im not a mechanic. But thats been my experience. Does your exhaust have a coolant smell ? Is this on your B6 ?

thanks marcus.. yeah! this is the B6 i installed..

[rolla4me]

^^^ I have to agree, sounds like a head gasket leak. Compression test often does not show a coolant leak into a combustion chamber.

thanks Jim.. I'll go ahead and replace the head gasket this coming weekend..

[freshtiva]

Some places can pressure test your head I think, Id hate for you to put on a new gasket and find out the head is warped or cracked. The motor may have got hot once.

[scitzz]

175 psi seems wayyyyy up there, such as oil in the cylinder, yet the white smoke is usually coolant. The compression test for the head looks for a variance between cylinders, usually one or 2 side by side being low.

To check the head for warpage, clean the mating surface of ALL material, then, use a straight edge across the mating surface, and try to slip a feeler gauge under it. I would have to look up the tolerances, but I seem to remember no more than .006 inches is the usable warpage. I pointed out in another post recently that there are 2 sides about machining a warped head. I believe that once aluminum is warped, it will always be warped, and flex under heat, so if a head is warped, trash,IMO, and get a used one known to be good, then have IT machined.

A Haynes manual gives great details on how to do and diagnose from, a compression test, and also how to check the deck for warpage!

[rolla4me]

i took the head out yesterday and looks likes thats where the problem coming from.. I have it pressure tested today and also have it check if it is warped. If it's not good then i'll order me a remanufactured one from Clearwater Cylinder head..
Cylinder bore and piston rings are good but I will still go ahead and change the rings since i am already that far..

[FB71]

there's a new (not reman) head on Ebay right now for $195

[rolla4me]

there's a new (not reman) head on Ebay right now for $195

where? link please... I'll snag that in a minute..


ohhhh jim, forgot to tell you... this is a B6 engine...

[FB71]

ooops, sorry. the new head is for a 1.3.

[rolla4me]

wheeeeewwww! :thumbright: the head pressure tested ok... so it was the headgasket all along...

[FB71]

did you check the head and block for flatness? should be less than 0.02mm out.