white smoke

[FORFREE]

i have a 1989 hons accord lx (carb) ther is white smoke coming out of the exaust can it be bad gas? this problem is new and it started when i put gas that i had in my shed for a while.

[Tcoop1468]

I allways thought white or a blueish white smoke was oil and black smoke was gas.

[FORFREE]

i alays thought white smoke=coolant and blue smoke= oil

[frankie89]

it seems ya got a problem their, it could be a bad mixture or some gasket in the head is going..who knows i never had that problem but i see cars around my way with that problem...

[Soundy]

Ya, white smoke is usually coolant. Usually caused by a blown head gasket, cracked water jacket, etc., but if it just started with putting in some old gas, it's quite possible there was water condensed in that gas. Normally the fuel filter should catch most of the water, but some could be getting through.

Anyway, you could try dumping a bunch of methyl hydrate ("gas line antifreeze") into the tank, and refill ASAP with some clean gas to dilute the crap stuff as much as possible.

[3G Jester]

Soundy and forfree got it. check your gaskets and go from there.

[Soundy]

Ummm, try the methyl hydrate and clean gas first... it's a lot easier than checking the head gasket.

[lostforawhile]

are you sure it wasn't two cycle mix? it sounds that way to me

[3G Jester]

ohh yeah! good call tim.
do you have a weed wacker or gas powered lawn tools? check the tank you got it from. see if theres anythign written on it. with gas lawn stuff often you ahve to mix the gas and oil before you put it in the tank.

if it was regular unleaded gas for say a lawn mower and no oil was in there try soundy's idea. if that doesnt work....time to break out the tools!!

[FORFREE]

it was defentely was not two cyle pre mix it was regular unleaded and if it was oild the smoke would be blue not white i am pretty sure it was just bad gas.

[lostforawhile]

well sometimes depending on the mix it can be bluish white, but maby if it had been sitting for a while it might be pretty old and watered down,gas doesn't have much of a shelf life anymore,I don't think it's your headgasket because it only happened after you put in the gas. if it was sitting in a can for a while every time it cooled down and heated up water from the air would have condensed in it. what possesed you to put gas of an unknown vintage in your tank? if you store it for any length of time put some stabil in it, it used to last for a while but the new formulations go bad quick.

[88Accord-DX]

Most cars burn off condensation in the exhaust that appears to be white smoke at first. Just put some more gas in your car & dilute the "shed" gas you put in there.

[88hondaaccordlx-i...]

my car when i started it blue smoke come out first then after 5-8 minutes the white smoke comes out :wtf:

[Soundy]

The blue is burning oil... it's probably stuck rings or a leaky valve seal. Once the engine warms up and the things expand with the heat, it stops leaking. PROBABLY not directly related to the white smoke, although together, both could be a sign that it's time for an overhaul :)

[lostforawhile]

my car when i started it blue smoke come out first then after 5-8 minutes the white smoke comes out :wtf:
these cars have a tendency to get bad valve stem seals pretty often,if you can't do it yourself, it's not a bad job to have done. the head stays on the car. I had this problem for a little while,but once i replaced them it cleared right up.

[spnrx]

My car starts off with whute smoke and then once heated up it stops all together. If it is the valve stem seals how difficult is it to replace?

[gfrg88]

My car starts off with whute smoke and then once heated up it stops all together. If it is the valve stem seals how difficult is it to replace?


:rant: someone help us out here!!!! how the hell do we change the vallve stem seals?!?!?!/

[Soundy]

You have to remove the valve springs to get at the seals... it CAN be done with the head still on, but not easily. Usual procedure involves removing the head to allow access with a proper valve-spring compressor.

White smoke is more often coolant (water/antifreeze) getting into the combustion - that wouldn't be volve seals.

[gfrg88]

You have to remove the valve springs to get at the seals... it CAN be done with the head still on, but not easily. Usual procedure involves removing the head to allow access with a proper valve-spring compressor.

White smoke is more often coolant (water/antifreeze) getting into the combustion - that wouldn't be volve seals.


i need a little more help than that!! lol . can you explain it a little better. exactly what i need to do, or if theres a how to somewhere??