I have a 1994 chevy truck 350 engine. driving yesterday all was well, turned it off & went in the store when i started the truck it had some white smoke coming from the tailpipe when i accelerated ALOT of white smoke came out the tailpipe. this lasted for about a mile & went away. truck ran fine idled smooth, no power loss. started it up this morning & looked good for about 15 seconds & the white smoke started again. get out on the road accelerate and ALOT of white smoke if more than 1/2 throttle, just some at anything less for a couple miles then no more smoke. If i shut it off briefly like to run in 7-11 and get a coke no smoke when i start it. if its off for any more than 10 min lots of smoke when starting out then it goes away. The smoke smells a little of coolant, but i have checked my oil and it still looks like oil (no milkshake like appearance) the engine does surge a little bit on startup when completely cold but goes away as soon as i step on the gas. I know this is potentially easy (gasket) or a disaster (cracked head/block) I am recently unemployed (yay economy) so a shop is pretty much out. An intake/head gasket is something i can definately do but i need some help narrowing down what could just suddenly cause this. there was no gradual warning and the engine never overheats.
Hello;
The white smoke is from coolant entering the combustion chamber(s). Coolant can enter through the water passages sealed bu the head gasket. You have probably blown a head gasket. You should check your coolant level. You may have acracked head if you continue to drive it and overheat. The temp gauge only reads when exposed to coolant, not air. Take out thhe spark plugs and look them over. A white glossy apperance will indicate water in the combustion chamber. You may need to surface the head once you have it removed so that it is flat. Hope this helps.
Thanks;
Rich
RPM Northwest
Sometimes gasket fails between a cylinder and coolant jacket and does not get into oil. Your diagnosis sounds right. Check head once removed for cracking between valves.
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