White smoke puffs when changing gear?

Discussion in 'Mech Tech' started by jenannew, Jun 4, 2013.

  1. Hi all, I've recently had the engine out of my van to replace a cracked cylinder head, re-do all of the seals and tinware, etc but now the engine has gone back in I've noticed there is white smoke coming out of the exhaust. It's not constant, seems to be puffs when changing gear mostly. Any ideas on what might be causing it? It wasn't running prior to the engine coming out so I don't know if it was like this before.
     
  2. Head gasket failed?? ;) White smoke is water vapour... it's probably very light blue smoke :)

    How hot is the engine getting while this is happening?
     
  3. Will check tonight but it seemed to happen straight from starting the engine. I was driving behind it as it was being taken home and just noticed puffs of white smoke every so often. Just wondering if it's anything to worry about that's all. I've got a fair old journey planned at the end of this month so I want to make sure he's up to the job! :)
     
  4. valve stem seals gone...?
     
  5. Your van's picked a new Pope?

    Sorry - that wasn't at all helpful, was it .... :rolleyes:
     
    bootsam, jenannew, steveagain and 2 others like this.
  6. Injuns!:). Have you had a zorst fitted? The water from the sealant can be quite spectacular as its curing off, though this tends to be more constant
     
  7. :lol: What are they?? ;)
     
  8. If it was like 5/10 minutes, then that could just be moisture in the exhaust system... takes a while to get the damp out, plus you get condensing due to the hot gasses running through cold metal...
     
  9. Poptop2

    Poptop2 Administrator


    i was sooo tempted to type this reply too ;)

    But i did think before i leapt into it and upset a newbie :)
     
  10. Hmm ok, I'll be taking it out for a longer run over the weekend so will keep an eye on it and post on here again. It was only about a 5 mile trip yesterday.

    Any chance it could be anything to do with the change in oil since the engine's been out? Not sure how sensitive these things are to changes! There's nothing else major that's been swapped since then engine's been out that I can think of, only the cylinder head and seals as I mentioned.
     
  11. My knowledge of anything remotely engine related is close to zero (you might have guessed!) so even this is over my head! o_O
     
  12. Poptop2

    Poptop2 Administrator

    Ok just to let you know, Paul is joking - it is not a headgasket/water problem as you do not have water.

    i can't help on the white smoke i'm afraid although i am guessing Paul has asked if it gets hot to determine whether it is trapped condensation creating steam when the engine gets hot!
     
  13. rickyrooo1

    rickyrooo1 Hanging round like a bad smell

    as paul says - is it white? doubtful unless it's a short trip/condensation in the exhaust - more likely light blue on changing gear is oil.... art says valve stem seals these vans don't have those as such..... keep an eye on the oil level and if it's not leaking but it's using oil it's probably burning a bit.
     
  14. Doh, I did know that :oops:
     
    baysaway likes this.
  15. Also, you're (that's everyone and not just you) going to see more vapour on initial start up due to the fact that petrol now contains more ethanol, so 10% of what fuel you're burning also has added water to it!!
     
  16. Thanks all for the advice, pleased to report no more white smoke this weekend! Hopefully nothing more to worry about.
     
    Paul Weeding likes this.

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