A little background....The only sensor not replaced in the last few weeks is the coolant temp. sensor, all other have been replaced. Timing has been checked and corrected. The engine only has 79,000 original miles on it. 1986 2.5 SE. Why do I have white smoke coming out of the exhaust and when I rev up the engine I get white smoke and water coming out of the exhaust? Did I get a bad tank of gas or is water somehow getting in? I need help...I'm stumped.

this could be a cracked or warped head or a blown head gasket if it gets worse after the engine warms up. check your oil to see if it looks like a chocolate shake, and check your coolant to see if it has oil in it.

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'84 2m4 se, a work in progress http://www.mtsu.edu/~mkr2c/fiero.htm

Sorry dude, but 90% chance you've got a blown head gasket (best scenario) or a cracked head (worst and most possible scenario).

Phil

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87 FIERO GT 2.8 5spd
0-60 in 6.8 seconds!

quote Originally posted by GTDude: Sorry dude, but 90% chance you've got a blown head gasket (best scenario) or a cracked head (worst and most possible scenario). Phil

so it's 90% chance that it's a blown gasket, but a cracked head is the most possible scenario...

just checking

quote Originally posted by buddycraigg: [QUOTE]Originally posted by GTDude: Sorry dude, but 90% chance you've got a blown head gasket (best scenario) or a cracked head (worst and most possible scenario). Phil

so it's 90% chance that it's a blown gasket, but a cracked head is the most possible scenario...

just checking
[/QUOTE]

I could be wrong here (and often am) but I find it hard to believe the head could be cracked. This car's history is pretty uneventful...always used as a second car, ever since it was purchased. Always driven by responsible adults...mainly women..other than myself, and I never drove it like a maniac. Any other ideas? It has been sitting for a few months and the original gas is still in the tank...I only put about 1/4 tank of fuel in it when I started driving it. Are these cars known to hold water in the gas? This is my project car and looks like it might be even more of one. I guess I'm just trying to get my hopes up....you know how it is...want to get it on the road! Also..in response to the above I checked oil and coolant and both are good (I assumed this would give me the okay that there is no problems with the head)

I've noticed that you are from Florida. I also have noticed that it has been cold down there lately. I don't know if you have driven a car in cold weather before. If it is cold outside(probably below 50 degrees farenheight), and you start your car, you will see white smoke and water coming out of your exhaust. This would be normal for cold weather and is just condensation inside the cold exhaustpipes, caused by the warm exhaust gases. Here is a picture of my car running on a cool November day, notice the exhaust. Once the car warms up, the steam disappears.

Okay, that could be it because I dont notice it as much once the engine is warm....unless of course I have to stop at a light, stop sign etc. When I give it gas it lets out a good puff of white smoke behind me. It stops while I'm moving (I've had people follow me to confirm this). If it were the head wouldn't this be a constant problem? Leaving smoke behind me no matter whether I was at idle speed or accelerating down the road? The smoking ONLY happens at start up which I think has been answered then goes away once warm. but if I give it a good burst of fuel (2000+RPMS) I get smoke initially then it stops....I'm confused.

quote Originally posted by avengador1: I've noticed that you are from Florida. I also have noticed that it has been cold down there lately. I don't know if you have driven a car in cold weather before. If it is cold outside(probably below 50 degrees farenheight), and you start your car, you will see white smoke and water coming out of your exhaust. This would be normal for cold weather and is just condensation inside the cold exhaustpipes, caused by the warm exhaust gases. Here is a picture of my car running on a cool November day, notice the exhaust. Once the car warms up, the steam disappears.

This was the first thing i thought of when i read your post. Not sure why no one else mentioned this until now. I live in Texas (Hot summer & mild winters) and on really cold days(>50*F) my '84 Fiero gets white smoke(steam) and light water droplets coming out of it's exhaust. And this is on a brand new GM Goodwrench 2.5L longblock w/everything new with less then 100 miles......also my '97 Corvette, '99 Astro Van and my '94 Cavalier all do this to a certain degree (during the winter months).

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1984 2M4 SE Auto *stock*
1997 Covette 6-speed *slighty modified*

[This message has been edited by 97C5ENVY (edited 02-28-2003).]

Am I correct in assuming that if there is no coolant in the oil and no oil in the coolant that my cylinder head is okay?

Do a compression check- it will tell all.

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SC3800

condensation is my guess.

are you loosing coolant? is your oil milky? if not I would not worry

Could be a 40% chance of snow... uhemm I mean 60% chance that the white smoke is from condensation built up from the heating of the engine at startup.... But that still doesn't rule out whether or not it's an internal coolant leak. Check oil... might give clues/answers.

edit 'cause of mizpeling

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BlueGT

[This message has been edited by BlueGT (edited 02-28-2003).]

i'm a little unclear exactly when this happens. the real question is whether you see this water after the engine is thoroughly warmed up.

if the "white smoke" quits after a couple of minutes of driving it's condensation. if it continues after that point you may have a more serious problem with antifreeze getting in the exhaust.

This happens when the engine is first started, and it also lets out a puff of smoke when I slow down to a stop and have to rev it up to get into first gear. While I'm driving it stops smoking all together. Someone emailed me and said it could be bad gas as it was sitting for a few months and I didnt drain the tank before driving it again. I also got an email saying it could be the valve seals and the white smoke could be oil burning. It kind of goes from one extreme to the other and I'm still not sure where to start. It could be the head or it could be bad gas....I dont know

Ok Sunshine (j/k, Florida and all),
#1 Does your car run reasonably smooth?
#2 Is your oil milky, or your coolant oily?
#3 Does your car overheat or puke it's coolant?
#4 Anti-freeze (I hope your coolant is green) has a very distinctive smell when it burns (comes out of the exhaust pipe); do you smell it at any time?

If it runs ok, fill up with good brand gas and put some STP or equivelant gas treatment in. Run a few tanks of gas through it, change the fuel filter.

Your steam is probably just condensation. Up North, we see it ALL the time during the winter... I'm getting sick of this white stuff on the ground.

edit: When oil burns, the smoke is blue, smells like, you know, burning oil.

[This message has been edited by John Boelte (edited 03-01-2003).]

If your oil and coolant colors look good, your head(s) will be fine. If the smoke is a little blueish in color, it just means that your valve guide seals have a little wear in them. I think from your description of how the smoke appears and dissappears that this is the most likely condition you have. Check your oil comsumption to confirm this. I bet you could be using up to a quart between oil changes.

If you have a blown head gasket or cracked head, you will start using/losing coolant with no apparent external leaks. It will get worse--probably quickly--until you won't be able to keep coolant in the system long enough to go anywhere. It will eventually start missing, and you won't be able to fix it. I pulled my boat home to northern California from Las Vegas with a head gasket going out in my '73 Dodge Power Wagon. And I lost the head gasket in my Celica a couple years ago. So you probably have 100-1000 miles before it gets so bad you have to fix it.

The leaky cylinder(s) will be nice and clean--no carbon-- if or when you tear the engine down because they will have been steam cleaned. You might be able to get a clue by carefully examining the plugs.

A car doesn't have to be abused to lose a gasket. The Celica gasket had been slightly damaged, probably when it was built. It just took 267,000 miles to show up.

Check your coolant level and oil often until this is resolved! You will probably have an answer before summertime. Good luck!!!

That must be nice to actually not think of the temperature as being the cause. I get a crap-load of "white smoke" around here when it's, say, -10 degrees. And yes, I'm sick of snow too. The fiero SUCKS on icy roads.

Most brand new cars I've owned, bought them for wives so I didn't really drive them much, would drip condensation from the tailpipe when I went out to start them in the early morning so they would be nice and warm for the love of my life.. er I mean love of 1/24th of my life.
If the oil looks good (I assume you check it regulary), and the coolant looks good (ditto), and the water coming out does not smell like coolant or gas or oil, your probably fine (just looks like nasty water that has come out of a tailpipe).
Now when you rev the motor and it sprays a black oily substance all over the person standing behind your car, that may be a problem.
I'm up past my bedtime please excuse me.

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http://www.geocities.com/fierorulz/

I have to agree with ScottF on this one. It really doesn't matter how easy the previous owners were on the car or how often the drove it to determine if the engine has a blown head gasket or cracked head. All it takes is ONE TIME for the engine to get hot enough to crack the head. I remember when I had to have mine replaced the machine shop I took it to said that it was VERY common for the earlier 2.5 heads (86 and earlier) to crack because the casting was weak in some of the critical areas including valve seats and around the intake/exhaust ports. Of course this condition is aggrevated in the case of the Fiero since the head is one of the highest points of the coolant system.

Also as a side note to the white poofs of smoke/steam your getting....that's normal during the warmup period in cool weather and should be accompanied with water droplets coming out of the exhaust pipe however by the time the engine reaches normal operating temps there should be little or no trace of steam even at initial takeoff. If there is and you've ruled out the posibility of water in the fuel then I would definately look at the head and head gasket as being a possible culprit.

Well, I ruled out water. Looks like this is an oil problem. I'm taking it in to have them look at the valves which in turn will lead to a new head gasket. I suppose I'll know more once they get in there.