white smoke on cold start

[truck067]

02 1500 recently started blowing white smoke on cold start, truck is using coolant(about every 8 days have to add)also runs rough on start up but smooths out after warm up. it smokes billows of white smoke when accelerating and then stops when truck has ran awhile, has anyone experienced this or knows what could be possibily going on....... thx

[mochester]

if it is in fact burning coolant, like you suspect, it could be a head gasket blown. have you checked your oil for water? if it looks milky-white, you've got a problem


besides that, i think some white smoke on a cold morning is to be expected. but i don't know how much you're talking about here...

[bradrhale]

could also be an intake manifold leaking.

[truck067]

oil is not milky, will smoke for a while, I mean smoke the whole street up

[mrjohnwayne]

I'd do a compression test to verify if it is a head gasket or not.

[WarpedCue]

A compression test may not be conclusive. If it's burning coolant,you will be able to smell it.It will smell like anti freeze.Also it is only steam,so it will dissipate fairly quickly.If it is burning oil,or some other petroleum product,like tranny fluid,the smoke will hang around,and float up into the air,eventually attracting the fire dept,to see what is on fire! No kidding. (Don't ask me how I know this!)

It sounds like a leaky intake manifold to me. Take the radiator cap off,and sniff inside the radiator for any exhaust aroma. Any exhaust smell indicates blown head gasket,cracked,or warped head.You won't generally get much, if any,water in the oil,assuming the engine has decent compression to start with. It will just pump the water right through the combustion chamber,and right out the exhaust. A leaky intake manifold will not generally contribute any exhaust fumes to the cooling system.

With a blown head gasket,the combustion chamber is blowing hot exhaust fumes into the cooling system,so the furthur,and faster you drive,the hotter the engine gets,until eventually,you overheat.So,if the truck is otherwise running OK,and not overheating,it's likely something else.

If the intake is leaking coolant into the intake ports,no exhaust fumes are going into the cooling system,so it won't cause it to overheat. Once the truck gets warmed up, heat expansion seals,or at least greatly reduces the leak,so the smoking stops.

Hope this helps.
Cheers!
Bruce

[truck067]

started to remove intake this morning, got all the way down to removing manifold bolts and decided to check oil again, milky( in the oil filler cap). this was not present friday the last time I checked it. I put everything back together, to take to shop tomorrow. My question is would an intake gasket put antifreeze in the oil, or is that just a head gasket symtom. Truck still does not run hot,nor misses, and only smokes on cold start-up sometimes...

[WarpedCue]

Its always a good idea to give us the engine size,accessory package(a/c, p/s,turbo,a/t,4x4,etc.) whenever asking any mechanically related questions.In this case it does not make any difference.Your current problem is common to any liquid cooled engine,but sometimes it will determine whether or not you get a useful answer.

I have never worked on an engine as new as yours,so please,don't take this as the last word! However,yes,on most V configured engines,a leaky intake can allow water into the oil.

Have you had any overheating problems? If so,that would indicate a head problem,as opposed to an intake leak. Most shops have a device called a "block test kit" that consists of a clear cylinder with a squeeze bulb. The cylinder is filled with a blue fluid.Air From the cooling system is drawn through the blue fluid.If there are any exhaust fumes present in the cooling system,the fluid will turn green,or yellow. Any honest shop will allow you to watch this test to see for yourself. If there is any presence of fumes in the cooling system,the problem is almost certainly the head gasket,or worse. It could be cracked head,or block,but those are unlikely,unless the engine was severely overheated before your smoking problem began.

If there is no indication of exhaust in the cooling system,and there has been no overheating,a blown head gasket is unlikely. If the head gasket is blown in such a way to allow water into the combustion chamber,causing the white smoke,there will always be exhaust present in the cooling system,and almost invariably,the engine will run hotter,and hotter,the longer you drive it,because of the hot exhaust going into the cooling system.

On the other hand, a leaky intake will not allow exhaust into the coolant,nor will it contribute to overheating,unless,of course,you allow it to run out of coolant!

If it does turn out to be a blown head gasket,or worse,make sure the shop has your radiator flow tested,and the rest of the cooling system checked for proper function, before you drive the truck,or you might have a quick repitition of the problem!

Good luck.
Cheers!
Bruce