The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop White smoke question

i know white smoke means a possibly cracked head or bad head gasket.

this is my situation. truck ha been runing fine no problems and now all of a sudden im getting a riduculous amount of white smoke. smoke started after trailering 30 miles or so to a buddies shop. when the guy unloaded he noticed it was smoking. smells strong like its running rich. i only start the truck occasionally and only run it for a few minutes to keep things in good order. hell it hasnt ran for more than 5 minutes in months.

could this problem be related to bad/old gas or something else??? any suggestions as to what i should do to pinpoint the problem????

thanks in advance

Is it smoke or steam? Is there a sweet smell to it? If it is steam and smells sweet, then you are getting coolant into the combustion chamber, meaning you have a head or head gasket problem. Starting it, letting it run for a few minutes, and shutting it off could cause a head gasket to fail. What you are doing is putting the engine through a quick heat cycle. When the parts heat up and cool down, they expand and contract and different rates, thus causing a head gasket to fail.

If the exhaust does not smell sweet, then it could be oil burning. However, smoke from burning oil has a blue tint to it. This could be caused by many different things such as bad rings, bad vavle guides, ect.

the smoke is white... i see no blue to it and it smells like its running rich. strong gassy smell. no coolant smell...

It very well could be a problem with the fuel. I have had gas go bad in 30 days. You can smell if it is bad by draining some of the gas from the tank into a small bucket and taking a big wiff. You will be able to tell the difference between fresh gasoline and bad gasoline.

Troy check everything that Phil said mate. I'm just wondering whether it might just be either bad gas or simply condensation build up in the exhaust especially if its sitting for a while and only being run for a few minutes.

All the best

Bob

thanks guys. will check into it more this weekend. we have had an excess of rain lately so maybe some water/condensation made it in somewhere...

Just take it for a long drive to clear the cobs out. Just starting them for a few minutes is harder on them than just letting them sit.
Scott

It is normal to get white smoke when you first start an engine up that has been sitting overnight. Within a few minutes it should go away.

Also check to see if the coolant in the radiator is at the proper level, so the engine doesn't overheat and does blow the head gasket or worse.

Adam