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I have a 99 Integra GSR that I recently had the cylinder head rebuilt by a local machine shop. The car runs great while driving, but once you let the car idle for about 10 mins or so it has some white smoke and steam out the exhaust. The car also idles a little ruff. I cleaned the IACV yesterday and the idle seems a little better, but I was wondering if there is another reason why I would be burning coolant besides a Head Gasket leak. I have not yet done a compression test (Hopefully today or tomorrow) but the car runs really good at higher RPMS(and has no smoke) so I was thinking my compression is probably good?? I also get a CEL p0300,303,304 ( random misfire, misfire cylinder 3 and misfire cylinder 4) while the car is idleing. I never get the CEL while driving at higher RPM’s.
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Sounds like a head gasket to me, I don’t know exactly how your car is built but is sounds like maybe in the higher rpm it seals and when you ae at idle the pressure isn’t as high so it’s not sealing between cylinders 3 and 4. Maybe do a leak down test or see if there is bubbles in the coolant when it is idling.
I think that test would show you where it’s leaking out good luck.
do you notice any coolant loss? Pull the plugs and shine
a light down through the spark plug holes and look for coolant.
Did the head gasket get replaced?I replaced the head gasket with a Felpro and used the copper spray on it. I am not positive it is coolant.Is there another cause for white smoke?? I dont believe I have any coolant lose. I only have 400 miles on it since the cylinder head was rebuilt and the coolant seems to be the same level on the resevoir and radiator is full. I dont have a lot of white smoke (not clouds) but noticeable when looking at the exhaust after it has been idleing for 10 mins or more.Is it possible to get white smoke if I have a vacuum leak or air leak, leaky fuel injector?? Maybe the water coming out with the smoke is just condesation?? Thanks for the help Guys
OH I did remove the spark plugs so that I can do a compression test tonight and the piston crowns look moist but I dont see coolant. The distributor rotor looks worn to me though, so I will replace that and the distributor cap has 2 small cracks where the screws are. If this is the cause of the misfire CEL could it solve the white smoke as well. I was hoping it may help with the ruff idle as well. If distributor cap and rotor are bad would my car run as good as it does at higher RPM’s?
slight white smoke and water are normal. If its warm outside
does the smoke go away? keep an eye on your coolant.The smoke does go away after you drive around for a bit and doesnt come back till you park and let it idle for about 10 mins or so. Could this be caused by a bad distributor, plugs, wires. Is white smoke only caused by burnt coolant? I need to at least resolve the CEL so that I can pass emissions. I have 153K on it with the original distributor, rotor, and the wires have about 70K on them. If my spark, fuel/ air ratio’s are off would that cause slight amounts of white smoke?
You should not get white smoke unless coolant is in the cylinders.
You have misfire codes. Start with a Honda cap and rotor. seeing they
are original.Will do as long as the compression test turns out good. How much compression should I be getting? Could a bad idle air control valve cause misfires? So if I am leaking coolant into my cylinders shouldnt it be worse at higher RPM’s. Every bad head gasket I have seen smoke really bad when higher RPMS.
A few things it could also be. The head or block may be warped a bit to cause a small crack for coolant to slowly drip in. At higher RPM’s the block gets hotter which would expand the metal and could help seal up the crack. Then after idling for 10 minutes, it could re-open as the block cooled down. If the head was taken off without the coolant having been drained, antifreeze could have gotten into your catalytic converter which could explain the smoke. Though it is unlikely due to when the smoke appears. Lastly, what if the piston rings or the sleeve got damaged a little, it could let a tiny bit of oil past the pistons and into the cylinder. It explains the smoke. Plus, like if the head/block was warped, the high temperatures would finish sealing the gap and then once it cooled down, it would reveal it again. Just some ideas to bounce around.
[quote=”Passey” post=56964]If oil was getting past the rings wouldn’t the smoke be a blue tint color?[/quote]
typically yes. But I’ve noticed that sometimes when oil gets burned, it appears more white than blue when its a small amount of oil.I disagree with your head gasket procedure. I would NEVER recommend using any kind of spray on the head gasket. Use the gasket only and torque to the proper spec. I would recommend you do a leak down test to see if you have compression loss. Keep us posted on what you find.
Huh never heard of that but it makes sense, good to know. We learn something new everyday……hopefully
White smoke or “steam” as you describe it would always first lead me to suspect bad head gasket, cracked head, etc. I might have missed it but what did your oil look like (on the dipstick?) White-ish or chocolate milk looking residue on your dipstick signals major trouble (head gasket failure being one of them).
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