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Hello all,
I have a 94 integra with a 1.8 liter non v-tech 5 speed manual. I have been working on changing the timing belt and water pump for a while now and I finally got the timing correct and was able to drive my car yesterday (first time in about 3 weeks). When I start it, everything runs fine. It sits at idle and has no problems. But as soon as I start moving for about 5 seconds, it produces a large cloud of white smoke or steam. What could cause this and how can I fix it?Thanks,
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Two things can cause this: oil and coolant. Both are not cheap to fix. Any noises, rattling, loss of coolant or oil?
No noises and I haven’t noticed any loss of fluids so far. I’ll keep an eye on the levels. Could I have caused it during my water pump replacement because I didn’t notice this before?
It could be running rich. This could be caused by something that happened during the belt change so you might want to check over all your work. If you suspect a head gasket, more information on how to test for that can be found here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats
Keep us posted.
I just drove home and noticed the smoke was less than it was yesterday. I checked the coolant and it does appear to be a little lower than when I filled it last week. How to I check if its running rich? The exhaust does smell a bit heavy with gas, but not like its burning oil. It doesn’t sound like its misfiring or have any problems mechanically, no shaking or anything.
Alright so I drove to work today and noticed some new issued. The first thing I noticed was when I pressed on the break, I heard two repeating click noises spaced about 2 seconds apart. The second click put pressure back on my break peddle. When I started driving, I think it began miss firing. It would, for about a second, lose pressure, the check engine light would flash on and the rpms would drop about 500 and speedometer would drop about 5mph. This would last for less than a second and usually begin at about 3500 rpms. It must be a head gasket. I replaced the spark plugs when I changed the timing belt. I also added a new gasket to the oil pan and valve cover because they were both leaking. Maybe all this additional sealing of the engine and added pressure from properly firing spark plugs (the ones I was using we terribly corroded, to the point where I could hardly see the leads at all) might have caused the head gasket to blow? The car does currently have 290,000 mile on it. I’m going to do a compression test and see which cylinder it is. How difficult is changing the head gasket?
I think that’s a pretty big leap. You can use the test in the article I gave you if you suspect a head gasket issue. It does seem that you have an engine misfire. The cause of this may be the cause of the white smoke. It could still be something other than a head gasket. You might also benefit from reading this.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-performance-issues
Use a logical approach and you will find the problem. Gather as much evidence before you make a diagnosis and you’ll have a much better chance of success.
I was doing all the test that I could starting from the code reading (only the ABS code 18)and made it to the voltage leak test and so far I haven’t found any issues. I did notice that the white smoke was almost unperceivable and the miss firings have stopped…for now. I have yet to preform a leak down test but hopefully will tomorrow. I don’t see why the problem would just stop like it has. Does that give any clues? I wish I had more info.
Thanks for the guidance. I’ll keep on testing down the list on the link.
Honestly it could be normal. Especially when it’s cold outside, you’ll have white smoke coming out the tail pipe. It usually goes away as the engine warms up but if it’s really cold outside it will continue. The reason for this is that steam is a natural byproduct of combustion. There’s more of it when cold because of a richer mixture.
I would say if you’re not experiencing an overheat condition, you might forget about this and leave well enough alone.
Cold and humidity effect the density of the water coming your the exhaust pipe after the chemical reaction.
Cold (-30°C) and more humidity (60%) in the air will create a big white smoke that last longer then a high temperature and low humidity. By the way, you will consume more gas in cold weather under (0°C). Because cheap and old car computer have no pre-heated oxygen sensor to keep the sensor at his optimum heat to create a perfect explosion at cold temperature and worm -up at cold start.I thought this too but it occurred when the temperature was around 60 but I haven’t found any issues or problems so it may just be normal as I just didn’t notice it before. I did however find out (sort of) what was causing the missfire and the source of the click sound I heard the other day. It was coming from the high pressure system for my ABS and is why my ABS flashed code 18. It would pop twice ever second and every time it would do this it would cause an energy draw on the engine and all the electrical systems. The radio and lights would cut out at each click and the engine would bog down. I suppose the click (energy draw) would happen at the same time as when a spark was to fire, disallowing the spark to fire, causing the missfire. I don’t know what this means though or how to fix it. I tried to add fluid but I’m not sure how, if at all, I’m supposed to get the cap off. An ideas?
If you suspect the ABS is causing that problem, pull the ABS fuse and see if it goes away. The ABS light will come on and you won’t have ABS, but your base braking system should continue to work fine.
I’ll try that when it happens again. It has only given me trouble twice so far so I’m going to see if I can fill it with the dot 3 fluid an if that doesn’t work, I’ll just unplug the fuse. Thanks for your help with everything!
Alright so I filled the almost empty reservoir for the ABS system and that didn’t help. I didn’t notice anything until I was about 5 mins from where I live. I stopped at a stop light and I noticed the clicking and the pressure on the break peddle for a moment. I pulled into a parking lot and it had stopped. I turned off the car and realized the window was down so I tried to turn the car back on to roll it up but the car wouldn’t start. All the dash lights were dimly lit unlike normal and I could hear the starter trying to spin but there was not enough power. I popped the hood and didn’t see anything. I shook the battery cable but that didn’t help either. I closed the door pretty hard and closed the hood to see if that would shake what ever was not connecting fully into place. It worked. The car started and I backed up then it stalled. It lost power again for a second. I turned the key to restart it and no lights came on. Then they came on and I was able to start it. I let it idle for a moment and the idle rpms were only at 600 and the car sounded like it was about to die again, so I kept my foot on the accelerator until I got home. I tested the battery and its holding at 12 volts with the car off and when the car is running, its at 14.24 volts but the car still runs at 600 rpms. It normally sits at 900 to 1000 rpms at idle. What could cause this?
A lot of weird indicator. A ABS disable won’t cause a cart to start. I suspect a weird ECU (electronic computer unit) of your car. Miss fire, all light up deemed at stat, stalling, low rpm, abs not active = no start, the list is too long to point out a single electric faillure. With all this happened, It’s really like a defect ECU. You can find one in a scrap ward, eBay or other website. Older the car is cheaper is the ECU.
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