Could timing cause overheating and white smoke in tailpipe

White smoke may indicate an internal coolant leak or low coolant reservoir levels. Coolant leaks can also leak into the oil of your car causing it to be frothy or milky looking smoke. You might have a cracked head gasket, engine block, or cylinder head which are all caused by overheating.

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White smoke from the tail pipe could be a blown head gasket as coolant enters your cylinders and is exhausted.

"hole in overdrive" needs clarified...

Top off coolant and start monitor for coolant loss and white smoke at tailpipe.
Lost of coolant and white smoke is a sign for blown head gasket.

• White smoke out out the tail pipe means you might have just blown your head gasket. White smoke is water (antifreeze) burning with the oil.

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Regards, Tony

Sounds like you may have ruined the piston rings and this is allowing oil to seep in to the combustion chamber hence your smoke. Or if it overheated when you ran out of oil it is possible that you have a bad head gasket now. Check both your coolant and oil for signs, oil will have a white froth, or darkening of your coolant. Hope that helps you.

Smoke oil? For what your thinking that is oil? Smoke coming from the tailpipe is not good news, but does not necessarily mean the engine needs rebuilding. First, you need to determine what color of smoke is coming from the tailpipe
* White smoke is caused by water and or antifreeze entering the cylinder, and the engine trying to burn it with the fuel. The white smoke is steam. There are special gaskets (head gaskets are the primary gaskets) that keep the antifreeze from entering the cylinder area.
* Blue smoke is caused by engine oil entering the cylinder area and being burned along with the fuel air mixture. As with the white smoke, just a small drop of oil leaking into the cylinder can produce blue smoke out the tailpipe.
* Black smoke is caused by excess fuel that has entered the cylinder area and cannot be burned completely. Another term for excess fuel is "running rich." Poor fuel mileage is also a common complaint when black smoke comes out of the tailpipe. Black smoke out the tailpipe is the least cause for alarm.


If you confirm us that is oil smoke, check and keep in mind that the car has many seals, gaskets, and O-rings that are designed to keep the engine oil from entering the cylinder, and one of them has failed. If too much oil leaks into the cylinder and fouls the spark plug, it will cause a misfire (engine miss) in that cylinder, and the spark plug will have to be replaced or cleaned of the oil. Using thicker weight engine oil or an oil additive designed to reduce oil leaks might help reduce the amount of oil leaking into the cylinder.

Keep us updated.

I hope you are sitting down. I have some bad news. You may have cracked a piston and/or head. At least you have blown a head gasket. Time to call in the pros.

I hate to say it, but it definitely sounds like you have a blown head gasket. Overheating and white colored, "sweet" smelling smoke are both telltale signs of this. If it started overheating first and the white smoke came after, then you will need to have your cooling system inspected after the head gasket is replaced.

The white smoke is from a blown headgasket, your coolant is leaking into one or more cylinders and that's actually steam that you see coming from your tailpipe.
When this happens, your coolant level drops (because it's pumping it out the tailpipe), your car overheats, and of course it will knock as it overheats. An overheated car is sluggish, as well.
Another bad thing that occurs by driving a car with this problem is that the coolant is washing the oil off your cylinder walls and your rings will tear up your cylinder walls as they self-destruct.
Head gasket replacement is not an easy fix nor is it cheap, and usually you'll need to get the head machined to make it perfectly straight again - heads warp from overheating. A good mechanic can do a head gasket replacement in a few hours.
Overheating can cause knocking.Your best bet is to replace your motor because usually the knocking noise is caused by a spun bearing which would cost a lot to repair.

sound like possible head gasket. Coolant is intruding the combustion chambers causing white steam smoke and hard starting