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White smoke.; I have white smoke billowing out of my exhaust
Topic Started: May 12 2013, 11:02 PM (1,513 Views)
Sin
Fresh Fish
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Hi, I am new to this, so I am just looking around. Yesterday, after putting oil in my car, It started expelling white smoke. I replaced all 3 spark plugs, and that fixed a problem with not firing on all cylinders... The only thing I can think of is the head gasket. However I am very broke and have only a layman's knowledge of engines... I know roughly where the head gasket is, but don't know how to go about fixing it, or even the prices on them. If anyone has any advice on what the problem could be please let me know. Thanks.

Edit: being an idiot, i thought the problem was originally oil based so i put in more oil... now I have to much oil in the engine. Was wondering if that could be part of the problem.
Edited by Sin, May 12 2013, 11:03 PM.
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Mishue94
New Member
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First try changing out the PCV Valve, look under your air filter and if you see any oil in your air filter compartment then it could be your PCV Valve. It doesn't cost much at all under $5 bucks where I stay. It fixed my smoke problem. There's a video on YouTube that shows how to replace it in a Geo.
Edited by Mishue94, May 12 2013, 11:19 PM.
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Old Man


1--make sure you have the correct amount of oil in the engine.
1--like Mishue94 said above change and cleanout your PVC valve, hoses and air cleaner housing.
Here is a 'How To" for cleaning / changeing the PVC
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=ie7&q=geometroforum+clean+Pcv&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACEW
After you get that done run it for a few minutes and if it still smokes get back to us on this thread
Edited by Old Man, May 14 2013, 02:38 PM.
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robertino
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This is very important if indeed its the head gasket..has it over heated? If not go out and buy a bottle of Bars Leak Head Gasket sealer , here is what it looks like.
http://barsproducts.com/catalog/view/12-head-gasket-repair-1100
Very important to follow the directions to the "T" . It hopefully should solve your problem.
Good luck !
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Aaron_37
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Too much oil in the engine would definitely make you smoke... but it wouldn't be white in all likelihood. It would smoke like a chimney, especially on start-up, and it should have a blueish tinge to it. Easily mistaken for white if it's cold out though or the humidity is high.
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Papa_G
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:gp Correct. Oil smoke is blue. White smoke is usually steam/condensation. Black/grey smoke is too much fuel.
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Bad Bent
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Facetious Educated Donkey

:gpS

From what I've read, and I've never tried it, any coolant leak stopping product is not smart enough to tell a leak from a small gap or normally small hole in the cooling system, especially a head gasket leak. Unless the engine is due for an overhaul anyway, it might be a last resort. :dunno
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Hogleg
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Midnight Toker

The gasket itself is cheap, and it is a job you can do in your driveway, however shouldn't be more than a few hundred bucks compared to the 2200 it cost me to have them done on my Sts. White smoke is water, you have a blown gasket. If its billowing, you must have it replaced. Too much oil is more dangerous than most people think. You could hydro lock your pistons and bend your rods. When checking your oil, is it milky? If so, plan on needing at least a re-ring job as well. I would also replace your catalytic converter as antifreeze isn't good for them.
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Hogleg
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Midnight Toker

I agree with Brent. They are he'll on your radiators, and can completely clog your heater core. Best to spend the time and money, and just replace the gasket.
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Papa_G
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I've held back because I'm new here. I am new to the idiosyncrasies of the Geo. But I've been working on cars as a pro and as a hobbyist for 50 years, and here's what I can tell you from many years of working experience.

Stop leak is a bad thing. Unless it's an emergency. If you see white smoke out the back, you either have a blown head gasket or a cracked head. Often times it is the gasket on aluminum; cast iron is 60/40 a gasket. Stop leak WILL clog up your cooling system. It will by design simply because most people don't read or follow the directions. I don't recommend it. And the cooling system on the Geo only holds 1 gallon. and the dose you can buy off of the shelf is way too much for it.

Check your oil. If it is milky, change it right now! With the filter. Water won't hurt the rings much but it WILL TAKE OUT YOUR CRANK/ROD BEARINGS in a heartbeat. Check the radiator. If oil is in the water, drain and flush the cooling system with the heater running full blast so you can also clean out the heater core (very importante!).

If the oil is milky, count on doing the bottom end as well as rebuilding the head. If you don't, chances are high that you will after much longer.

Disclaimer: As always, advice is worth exactly what you pay for it, and YMMV. Peace
Edited by Papa_G, May 14 2013, 11:35 PM.
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climbinghalfdome
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MPG OCD

Old Man
May 13 2013, 12:14 AM
1--make sure you have the correct amount of oil in the engine.
1--like Mishue94 said above change and cleanout your PVC valve, hoses and air cleaner housing.
Here is a 'How To" for cleaning / changeing the PVC
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=ie7&q=geometroforum+clean+Pcv&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACEW
After you get that done run it for a few minutes and if it still smokes get back to us on this thread
Rather than start a new thread, I found someone else that is having the same problems I'm having. The only difference is, my problem started just after getting a new head gasket installed. Within 100 miles on the new gasket I was driving up a mountain pass, down shifted into 4th, and "GRRrrrrr" I had a loss of power, white smoke, and oil under the air filter.
Step 1) Replaced PCV and cleaned out the tube. Tested old PCV and it worked fine. Left New one in.
Step2) Make sure correct amount of oil is in there. Yep we're good.
That was a month ago. It still does it unless I take it slow on the hills. (like 35mph)
Now what?
If it helps, I only blow smoke while driving up that mountain pass, or when my RPM`s hit 4,000 or higher if I punch it to get up to 75mph. Otherwise performance is just fine.
Ideas?
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Hogleg
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Midnight Toker

Loose head bolts? Did you reuse them? They are one time use only unless you have the 3tech set.
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climbinghalfdome
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MPG OCD

Hogleg
May 16 2013, 11:46 PM
Loose head bolts? Did you reuse them? They are one time use only unless you have the 3tech set.
OOOoooo Nice work. I never thought of that! I like the way you think.
I upgraded to the 3tech reusable head bolts when I did my rebuild/overhaul 20,000 miles ago. I got an "economy head package" from them and the advanced timing sprocket, and the head bolts. In fact I think I bought everything they sell. Look at my signature and you can see the difference that overhaul made. :rocker
The guy that did my head gasket job blamed the oil burn on "Blow by cuz your rings are bad". Not sure how I feel about this because it doesn't explain the oil under the air filter, and its easy to see that once its puddling under the air filter, it can get sucked into the intake and burned.
Not sure how I feel about a loose bolt, because wouldn't that cause poor performance all the time and not just when climbing a hill? I'm still getting between 55-64 MPG's.
Keep thinking. What else?
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Hogleg
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Midnight Toker

Not sure if it would be all the time or not. I'm not a certified tech or anything, so I'm not the most educated on the subject.
Sounds like its only doing it under a load, there are only so many things it could be because of the smoke. We know white smoke is water, how can it get into the combustion chamber?
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Hogleg
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Midnight Toker

On my 98, right before the frame busted, I had major loss of power and smoke, but it was continuous. I pulled the plugs, and one was real dirty. Cleaned them up and worked for another few hundred miles till I got rid of it. Think the compression was low on the cylinder that was messing up the plugs tho, so could have been a ring problem.

Before tearing the engine down, pull the plugs, and do a compression test.
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