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Old 05-19-2015, 09:24 PM
Wallio Wallio is offline
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Default White Smoke...Help!

Hello All

It's been a long winter and finally pulled out the GN last weekend. Having a coolant issue again. See my previous post "Knocking noise" in coolant" for more info. The car started nicely and ran great. After a nice ride with the family...stopped at the red light. I began to smell like an oil/coolant odor and began seeing white smoke all around me. Guess what...it's coming from my car! The engine was shaking as if it's firing on five cylinders. Drove the car home it was about a mile away.
Once the car cooled off ... it fires right back up as if nothing happened...idles perfectly. No bubbles in the overflow tank...no smoke. I did a compression test today and it's all at 150 psi. Plugs all look the same.
Wouldn't a compression test find a bad head gasket?

Last time this happened it was the head gasket but the car ran bad ...misfiring when cold or hot. This time runs perfect at start-up and as it warms up it begins to smoke white from the exhaust.

I also noticed a rattling noise coming from the turbo. Took off the turbo inlet and noticed the nut holding the impeller had come off. It has a few scrapes on it,but not too bad. Caught it just in time. Does anyone know how this could happen? The turbo is original and was never taken apart.
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Old 05-20-2015, 03:23 PM
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kenmosher kenmosher is offline
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Default Re: White Smoke...Help!

It sure sounds like a bad head gasket but it's weird that it doesn't do it cold. Almost like something shifts/expands with heat enough to leak coolant into the combustion chamber. But then again, I would expect this to be all the time and not intermittent.

Other thing I can think of would be the intake is cracked on the inside somewhere ... maybe around the thermostat or something and leaking into the plenum? Can you take the dog house off and look in there right after it starts doing it?

Maybe do a pressure test on the cooling system?
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Old 05-21-2015, 12:04 AM
Wallio Wallio is offline
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Default Re: White Smoke...Help!

Hey Ken

I started up the car tonight and let it run. The white smoke started after a few minutes of running, also noticed some water dripping out of he exhaust...more then the usual on both sides. What gets me is how smooth the engine runs. Could it be the intake like you mentioned? When you say dog house...do you mean thermostat housing?

Not sure why I began having trouble with the turbo at the same time. Could it be related? The turbo was never serviced or modified and don't understand how the nut holding the compressor wheel can unscrew itself. I had a better look at the compressor wheel and it's damaged....it moves back and forth.
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Old 05-21-2015, 10:31 PM
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Exclamation Re: White Smoke...Help!

The "doghouse" would be the area with the throttle body on it that bolts to the intake. Also referred to as the plenum.

If you have white smoke out the exhaust, you have water in the exhaust. That water is getting into combustion chamber(s). It will eventually ruin your rings, and enough of it can hydrolock your motor. That can break parts.

IMHO, *STOP* running it because you will ruin the motor. Changing the head gaskets and intake gasket is trivial compared to full rebuild. And costs a lot less, too.
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Old 05-21-2015, 10:49 PM
Wallio Wallio is offline
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Default Re: White Smoke...Help!

Hey Scott

I'm thinking it's more the intake gasket or the intake itself is pitted not sealing properly. I'll start there and see how it goes.

I'll keep you posted on what I find.
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Old 05-27-2015, 10:53 PM
Wallio Wallio is offline
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Default Re: White Smoke...Help!

The problem is the turbo and not the the head gasket. The smoke wasn't blue and with the water coming out of the exhaust ... it threw me off.
I by passed the oil feed to the turbo and the smoking stopped.
I now need a turbo. Thanks for the help guys.
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