White smoke from exhaust

[aks_uk 0]

About a month ago I serviced my car with oil change, oil filter, spark plugs, etc. Two weeks ago my C started revving erratically before dying out, then would not fire up. I manged to root the problem down to the distributor which I changed with another unit and replaced the cap and rotor arm. It starts fine now however, there is plenty of white smoke from the exhaust, especially when i poot my foot down. I have done search for white smoke and come up with many different causes ie. valve seals, just steam, CO mixture etc.....does anybody have any idea what white smoke really indicates and why it might be affecting me after this service?

 

Many thanx

[h100vw 0]

Take it for a good run to make sure the exhaust gets well hot. That'll boil off any moisture in the exhaust. The cold weather makes them steam a bit more, I noticed it yesterday on my Passat on the way to work.

Gavin

[coolrado 0]

usually different coloured emissions from the exhaust are

 

white = steam (just normal moisture but if more serious, head gasket failure, internal coolant leak)

black = fuel (running rich, overfueling)

blue = oil (worn valve guides, worn rings/bores, head gasket failure to oilway or other internal oil leak)

 

there are other causes for the above but white is usually allways steam and not smoke so if you are not loosing coolant you should be ok

[samm_cvr6 0]

I had same problem. It may well just be moisture/oil that is burning, particularly when it gets hot/higher revs. I don't want to alarm you but my car was blowing white smoke before it needed rebuilding, tho there may well be plenty of other explanations for your car.

Is it misfiring? just before mine went, I think the cam broke because it had drained the entire sump even tho I just changed the oil a few days before with 4/5 litres of fresh oil!!! If it starts but doesnt accelerate properly and feels horrible to drive this is major but sounds like your C may have a different prob... :wink:

[aks_uk 0]

just took my car out for a test drive and it feels like s**t and still smoking after it's warmed up. It is not accelerating as it used to, it feels as though i'm towing another car. I'm a bit worried now as I have to consider a bebuild, but there be any chance that it might be to do with the ignition timing? because I aint tried advancing or retarding the distributor, instead I just slapped it on. Does anybody know which way to turn it to advance it, and effect it has on the way it drives?

[dr_mat 0]

Hmm. You didn't tune it? Well that's kinda asking for trouble...

[aks_uk 0]

I didn't know what to do, I just about manged to fit the dizzy in place setting the rotor arm at TDC, it now starts (after 2weeks) so I guess I'll be taking it to the garage tomorrow to get it tuned. Do I have to take it to a specialist or do most local garages have the equipment needed to tune?

[Henny 0]

tuning it just needs a timing strobe lamp, a gas analyser and a bit of simple knowledge... 8) ANY MOT garage will be able to do this, and most other garages will have this kit available to them too... 8)

[aks_uk 0]

Thanx, just been to an MOT garage. They adjusted my timing and checked emissions. They said that CO, CO2, O2 etc were fine but HC was too high. They then hooked it up to a different machine to test my spark plugs and leads, all the plugs were ok except the resistance on lead no.3 is too high, hence misfiring and unburnt fuel from exhaust. Does this sound about right?. They recommended me to buy new leads, so am going to eurocarparts now to get them.

[Rpmayne 0]

I bought some hella (i think) replacement leads for a 16v golf and they were complete shite. Nowhere near as solid into the head as the standard ones, couldn't really tell whether they had located on the plugs properly or not. Repaired the originals in the end and binned the replacements (cost about £40.00). Better to get originals I recon, £120ish though.

[aks_uk 0]

bought some hella (i think) replacement leads for a 16v golf and they were complete shite. Nowhere near as solid into the head as the standard ones, couldn't really tell whether they had located on the plugs properly or not

I did the same, got them from GSF but then returned them coz they didn't fit properly. Just bought some from eurocarparts, they look identical to the original ones, and only cost me £34+VAT :) . Just fitted them in and will be takin it for a test drive. Will update on how I get on.

[aks_uk 0]

:cry: my car is f****d!! Been drivin it around all day with no problems until now. I thought it was just pinking, until the noise got louder and louder. The revs were so sluggish sit at around 400rpm at idle, any acceleration whatsoever caused this loud ticking noise. I looked under the bonnet and the engine was shaking like mad and throttle caused the ticking noise to come from the block, sound like a wrench repeatedly banging on it. I know my car has had it's days, I'm thinking that the pistons have died or something. I would appreciate any suggestions to bring it back to life. Considering an engine transplant or rebuild. Anybody have any idea where I could start?