white smoke

T

TimG_Z4

Member
 Attleborough, Norfolk
Hey

Little bit worried, even when up to warm engine temp the exhaust is chucking out a lot of white smoke :(

The coolant level was also low, needed about 250-500ml to bring back up to level. Oil level is fine with no deposits etc..

But, I have recently added a fuel cleaner (I know some advise against it) but I just replaced a very split intake pipe so thought it a good idea to give it a clean out.

Should I be worried or is it just the cleaner burning crap off??? :cry:
 
Thats what I thought at first, but the wife's astra blows white smoke from cold but once warm it stops.

Having not owned my Z long.. 2 weeks. I cant compare it to normal really. After my drive home from work I parked up to open the garage with engine running and there was a lot of smoke. No nasty smells etc. The air temp was 3 degrees C, engine warm with needle bang in the middle...?
 
Thanks mr nurburgring! that's the kind of answer I was hoping for... I have full warranty from where I bought it from but that still does not stop you worrying!
 
Is yours a 3.0? Remember these engines will have high emissions when idling, and so in cold weather some visual exhaust gasses will be noticeable


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Keep an eye on the coolant level. If it drops significantly over time it could be a sign of a blown head gasket. Hopefully what you are seeing is normal, but "a lot" of white smoke/steam when the engine is fully warmed up could be a sign of trouble. I believe there is some sort of pressure test that can be done for a blown head gasket but I'm not sure exactly what it is. Probably someone else on this forum could describe it.
 
It's a 2.5L.... I will keep a close eye on the coolant level, if it drops then will get it tested :cry:
 
Have a look at the oil filler cap if there is any light coloured gunk on there it could mean a head gasket problem.
 
this time of year i would expect to see some white gunk on the underside of the filler cap.
This will be totaly normal and wont go away unless its summer or you do alot of miles to burn off the condensation that builds up in the engine.
If it was head gasket you would have serious problems, if it was head that had blown between the oil way and water way then the actual oil would be white.
dont wory about it.
 
The steam may be quite normal and tiny weeping coolant leaks can evaporate before they are visible. A blown gasket can easily and cheaply be tested for by sampling the header coolant, a dealer or any decent garage should have the kit. It may be worth doing to save the worry and the cost of engine damage should things get worse and overheat.
 
Thanks for the reply's everyone! have driven the car hard today and when I got home I let her cool and checked the coolant level, no change in level..!

I also rang the garage where I bought it from, they do not believe it has an issues but if it did they said they would cover it. Told me to bring it in on Monday to be tested.

So much happier now :D

Fingers crossed for Monday!
 
Right well after close inspection all is well, after which I ran the fuel tank down as low as possible then filled the tank to full, now the smoke has much reduced..! also gave her a full service. She had one 1500 miles ago at BMW but only an oil service, was surprised at how dirty the plugs were:-

car004.jpg


And the air filter:-

car003.jpg


But now runs very well.!

One last pic all tucked up for the night, sorry for the poor quality (and my old garage) but I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark 7 days a week at the moment :(

dec026.jpg


Thanks for all the replies and thanks for looking :thumbsup:
 
Good morning. An old member rejoining after a long absence. Own a 2003 Z4 2.5 with 94k miles. Bought it new 12/31/2002....
Anyway, Tim, you didn't say how many miles on the car but those plugs don't look normal. I checked mine at 90K miles with the whole intent of replacing them but they looked literally brand new. Hard to tell from the picture but it appears like rust on the plug tips and that may explain the coolant loss and the white smoke. No matter what the mechanic says, a healthy motor should not generate any smoke, while, black, gray/blue or otherwise when warmed up at idle. If it were me, I would ask the shop to do a cooling system pressure test to rule out internal coolant leak.
All the best.
 
kalali said:
Good morning. An old member rejoining after a long absence. Own a 2003 Z4 2.5 with 94k miles. Bought it new 12/31/2002....
Anyway, Tim, you didn't say how many miles on the car but those plugs don't look normal. I checked mine at 90K miles with the whole intent of replacing them but they looked literally brand new. Hard to tell from the picture but it appears like rust on the plug tips and that may explain the coolant loss and the white smoke. No matter what the mechanic says, a healthy motor should not generate any smoke, while, black, gray/blue or otherwise when warmed up at idle. If it were me, I would ask the shop to do a cooling system pressure test to rule out internal coolant leak.
All the best.
Click to expand...

Hi Kalali

The increased smoke was caused by using a fuel system cleaner you add to the fuel, won't be using it again! noticed the coolant level drop at the same time.

The car has done 51k and though the plugs are dirty they are not showing anything wrong (apart from poor maintenance by previous owner) if the engine was using water in a cylinder the plug would in fact be very clean due to the antifreeze burning off. The engine is running very well now and has been pressure tested etc for peace of mind.

If you look here:-

http://www.spark-plugs.co.uk/pages/technical/diagnosis.htm

The deposits are the same of the one where its says for "age related or having stood for long periods" I know my car was in storage for over a year before being sold to me, so that explains why they were so bad.

Oh, and Kevshore the pic is not very clear, there is a foot gap either side. I managed to change all 4 discs and pads and rear springs in there this weekend :thumbsup:
 
Sorry I missed the reference to the fuel system cleaner. As for plugs, I should stand corrected since the condition of the plugs depend greatly on how far and how often the car is driven. I suppose mine looked new since I drive the car regularly and my ride is ~20 miles hiway.
 
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