White smoke from exhaust

It is common to see white exhaust smoke when first starting a car, especially on cooler days. This is generally steam caused by condensation. As the engine warms up and the condensation dissipates the white exhaust smoke (steam) is no longer seen. If you still see white smoke when the engine is warmed up then you probably have coolant leaking into the combustion chamber. Possible causes are warped head, blown head gasket or cracked block. Do you have unexplained coolant loss?
Good luck.

he causes of white exhaust smoke can vary; however, it is common to see white exhaust smoke when first starting a car, especially on cooler days. This is generally steam caused by condensation. As the engine warms up and the condensation dissipates the white exhaust smoke (steam) is no longer seen. If excessive white exhaust smoke is present well after the engine warms up, it is necessary to have the car inspected for possible internal coolant leaks. Indicators of an internal coolant leak include billowing white exhaust smoke accompanied by a sweet odor or a low coolant reservoir level. An internal coolant leak can also contaminate the engine oil giving it a frothy, milky appearance. Even small amounts of coolant entering the combustion chamber will produce white exhaust smoke.
One of the main causes of white exhaust smoke and coolant loss is a cracked or warped cylinder head, a cracked engine block, or head gasket failure caused by overheating. A cracked head may allow coolant to leak into one or more cylinders or into the combustion chamber of the engine. Dirty coolant, a poorly maintained cooling system, a low coolant level, or a non-functioning cooling fan can cause engine overheating. In addition, engine wear can eventually cause the gaskets to lose their capacity to seal properly allowing internal coolant loss. Intake manifold gasket and head gasket failures are two of the most common sources of internal coolant loss caused by engine wear.
Never remove the radiator cap or coolant reservoir cap while the engine is hot or running as it can cause serious injury; always allow the car to cool down completely first. Checking for a low coolant level in the reservoir is the first step in determining if coolant loss is causing the white exhaust smoke. If the coolant reservoir is at the proper level but excessive white exhaust smoke is present, a cooling system pressure check is required to determine where, if any, coolant leaks are located.

It is common to see white exhaust smoke when first starting a car, especially on cooler days. This is generally steam caused by condensation. As the engine warms up and the condensation dissipates the white exhaust smoke (steam) is no longer seen. If excessive white exhaust smoke is present well after the engine warms up, it is necessary to have the car inspected for possible internal coolant leaks. Indicators of an internal coolant leak include billowing white exhaust smoke accompanied by a sweet odor or a low coolant reservoir level. An internal coolant leak can also contaminate the engine oil giving it a frothy, milky appearance. Even small amounts of coolant entering the combustion chamber will produce white exhaust smoke. One of the main causes of white exhaust smoke and coolant loss is a cracked or warped cylinder head, a cracked engine block, or head gasket failure caused by overheating. A cracked head may allow coolant to leak into one or more cylinders or into the combustion chamber of the engine. Dirty coolant, a poorly maintained cooling system, a low coolant level, or a non-functioning cooling fan can cause engine overheating. In addition, engine wear can eventually cause the gaskets to lose their capacity to seal properly allowing internal coolant loss. Intake manifold gasket and head gasket failures are two of the most common sources of internal coolant loss caused by engine wear.
Never remove the radiator cap or coolant reservoir cap while the engine is hot or running as it can cause serious injury; always allow the car to cool down completely first. Checking for a low coolant level in the reservoir is the first step in determining if coolant loss is causing the white exhaust smoke. If the coolant reservoir is at the proper level but excessive white exhaust smoke is present, a cooling system pressure check is required to determine where, if any, coolant leaks are located. THESE LEAKS WILL CAUSE SEVERE ENGINE DAMAGE! Have the car inspected immediately.

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Internal coolant leaks can and will cause

This seems to be a symptom of a blown head gasket.
White exhaust smoke is an indication of water / coolant in the exhaust. The car running sluggish and using lots of fuel can be caused by compression loss.

Look at the coolant level color and smell (with cold engine - don't open the high pressure reservoir with engine hot as hot coolant may spray you in the face). If you have a blown gasket, the coolant color may become brownish and it may smell bad or the level will get lower even if you have just refilled the cooling system.

What you can also check for is bubbles in the reservoir. With engine cold, remove the reservoir cap. Start the engine. Try to rev the engine (or have someone do it) and observe if there are bubbles in the reservoir tank. If you see lots of bubbles, you have a blown gasket.

hi.

Check compression. If the leak is internal, then the most common cause is the head gasket. Water (or coolant) leaks internally through the worn head gasket reaching the cylinders where it gets vaporized. Symptoms are coolant fluid level going down, bad performance, loss of compression, overheating, white smoke because of vaporized coolant from exhaust, traces of fuel in coolant reservoir etc.

If head gasket is Ok and there is no overheating, then the leak is external. Check pump, radiator and coolant lines.

Regards.

Ginko.

If your turbo has coolant passages for cooling then it is possible. Most likely the issue is failed head gasket. You need to do a compression check or a cylinder leak down test to rule out a failed head gasket.

you didnt specify if this is a 6L or 6.4L since its an 07 it could be either. If 6.0L, White smoke typically indicates a blown egr cooler and this usually damages the egr valve which may cause it to fail open allowing the coolant to enter the combustion chambers and be burnt and cause white smoke, If its a 6.4L I have seen the highside turbo bearings fail causing poor performance and seal failure resulting in oil getting into exhaust, high exhaust temps make it burn and it may appear as a whitish colored smoke depending on severity. Hopefully for you its a 6.0L becuase the 6.4L turbo r&r is a repair where we remove the entire cab from the truck. However your not much better off with 6.0L since egr cooler/oil cooler job can easily run you $1500-2000.

I would start by checking for a fouled spark plug/wire. Also, check the fuel filter. It doesn't have to be good just because it is new. Could have a factory defect.

Hi there,
The most common concensus with white smoke is coolant leaking into some where in the combustion chamber as in head gasket, however you have said its not.
turbos unless there is massive internal damage usually blow out black/grey sooty smoke.
Is there bearing noise in the turbo at all? or Loss of boost?
If so it could be early indication of the turbo failing.
I would reccomend goign to a mechanic and having a leak down test perfomormed. Sometimes called a compression test. Or you could buy a decent compression tester and check it yourself.
IT coudl also mean tha tna oil seal is blown or leaking
Check your coolant resivour to see if there is any oil in there and check you oil dipstick to see if it is milky or off colour. Generally if there is either of these two it means that there is some \sort of leak between the two systems Oil and coolant.
Anotehr common problem with these engines is a crack or warped head itself.
However if your sure its not either of the above it could possibly be water getting into the combustion chamber via the injectors as in dirty fuel, however you would notice knocking and predetonation/ pinging surely. and generally the car woudl be running really rough.
Make sure you keep a good eye on the coolant level as if it runs out it will surely kill your turbo friend.
Hope this helps you out there,
Cheers
STeve

One way to check for a blown head gasket, is to simply smell the coolant reservoir. Pop the cap, and see if it smells like raw gas. Every headgasket, I've diagnosed has had this smell, even if the oil is not contaminated. Another way is to hook up a coolant pressure tester, and run the vehicle for 15-20 mins or so. If the head gasket is blown, the pressure will exceed 15 psi. sometimes as high as 25 psi. If there is oil in the coolant overflow tank, the head is cracked, about 90% of the time.
I'm working on a 03 Saab 95 2.3l t. This vehicle smokes on initial start up, then the smoke disapates, and the vehicle is fine. Another mechanic diagnosed it as bad valve seals. I disconnected the pcv system, and the vehicle no longer smokes. If the valve seals have gone bad, the vehicle will smoke on acceleration. Also if the turbo seals are leaking it will smoke more heavily on acceleration.