Exhaust has white smoke coming out and I dont know why...

[mister86]

Hey everyone, I picked up my AE86 (bluetop motor) and it was said that it was recently overhauled but the exhaust is smoking white. Another thing I found was that there was a bit of fuel on the spark plugs when I removed it. I dont know if its these things or something else...

1) not burning gas efficiently
2) too much gas in the cylinders
3) bad cylinder compression
4) coolant has somehow leaked into the combustion chamber

I checked the radiator cap and the dip stick and didnt see anything in terms of milky oil or anything.

Can anyone help me diagnose? Thanks!

[Power_uP]

I've never heard of either of those first two things, and I've never known your third option to cause white exhaust smoke.

Without knowing your level of mechanical experience, the best solution I can offer is to either take it to a local workshop and let them deal with it, or take it back to whoever overhauled the engine and tell them about the issue.

It could be a cracked head or a gasket failure. It could potentially be that someone skimmed too much off the head. Its unlikely that you'll locate the fault without removing the head though.

[Dave W]

The first 2 options on the list you would see black smoke from a rich mixture. The 3rd, I assume you mean that the new piston rings are not sealing in the newly honed rebuild cylinder wall, and in that case, you would see a bluish tint smoke from the oil. The 4th you will see the white smoke from the coolant. As already suggested, if really want to find the cause, you need to pull the head. You can always try stop leak product, that might fix it. Dave W

[Power_uP]

Hmm, this thread went nowhere. If you only get a small amount of white smoke for a short time after a cold start, then there's nothing worry about. Otherwise, whatever the cause of the smoke, you might want to resolve the issue before sizing up an Exedy clutch kit like you did in another thread of yours.

Alternatively, talk to Ed China. If you've ever seen him work on a Peugeot 205, then you'll know that he can stop exhaust smoke by reconnecting gearbox linkages.