Dreaded White Smoke

I just bought this 1996 tacoma about a month ago. It has 250k miles and was running great. Oil was clean, full of coolant, but it did have an oil leak. So, I took it to a local shop and they put a new valve cover on it. Bam, oil leak fixed. Ran great for about 200 miles and randomly started blowing a lot of white smoke out the exhaust constantly. Its not over heating, oil is still clean, coolant is still clean. What do you guys suspect I am looking at? And how much $$$ to fix. I have my own suspicions but just looking for others.

 

Is the smoke oil or coolant.
Oil will not dissipate as quick. Both have distinct smell.

Coolant - head gasket $$ / Oil - rings $$$$

If the valve cover was leaking oil sounds like excessive blow by from bad rings.

 

Is it just at start up or is it white smoke at all times?

 

"blowing a lot of white smoke out the exhaust constantly."

 

Does it do it only when cold and goes away after warmup? This could be environmental (condensation) and may not be a cause for concern.

White smoke is coolant, oil is bluish or black if there's a lot of it. Sometimes "too much fuel" can cause a whitish smoke too, so it may be a sensor, injector, or some other possible fuel mixture issue. Other possibilities include a blown head gasket, cracked head, somehow coolant is getting into the combustion chamber. I always go for the hopeful/maybe it's not catastrophic possibilities first. Further diagnosis is required to see what it's going to cost you, I'd start with putting an OBD meter on it to see if there's any codes, then next probably a compression test.

Edit: forgot . . . after the engine has cooled check your oil, see if there are water droplets on the dipstick, and coolant, see if there's any oil bubbles floating around. Sometimes you don't see this if the head gasket is leaking only into the combustion chamber, but sometimes you do.

 

Thank you guys for the replies

The smoke is constant. Even after truck gets warmed up it doesnt go away. Also, oil and coolant appears to be clean which is what leads me to believe rings are bad.

If it is bad rings, am I better off having the motor rebuilt or trying to buy a remanned engine with sub 100k miles and a 5 year warranty?

 

White smoke is usually water in the cylinder, are you loosing coolant? if so it is probably a blown head gasket, or that is the best option and the early tacomas did have a problem with head gaskets. The 95's had a recall because of it.

Blue-ish smoke it usually either valve guides or worn rings.

 

It is definitely white smoke. It goes to the shop tomorrow to verify what it is. Hoping it is just a head gasket. Whats a shop charging these days for a head gasket job?

 

have them pressurize the coolant system and do a pressure decay test. That will tell you if coolant is going somewhere and if not external then it will be internal. But if it does leak down then they might have to pull the spark plugs in order to get the water out of the cylinders. YOU DO NOT want to hydro-Lock the motor and bend a rod.

 

Thank you for the responses. I will try to remember to post back after the shop looks at it.

 

Bumping this up because my '96 had the same thing occurring, but primarily at start-up and for about a minute until warmed up. But temps are not that cold here and smoke was far more than I've seen in the past. Had it checked out and the shop said head gasket looked good but radiator hoses were bad (leaking) and coolant low. Not sure how that contributed to smoke from the exhaust pipe, but .............. They performed pressure test on coolant system afterwards and it stayed tight for ten minutes. A week later, smoke returned ............ definitely white, kind of sweet-smelling though not as much as before, so curious what other causes might be.

 

I need to know this as well. Please make sure you update, should you find out elsewhere ....

 

I think you must have forgotten ☹️

 

Last seen Nov of 23.

 

Constant white smoke coming out of the exhaust is evidence of something other than fuel in one or more cylinders. Compression testing the cylinders and pressure testing the coolant system typically will identify which cylinder or cylinders are leaking. A leak down test can verify the cylinder(s) that are leaking if the compression test does not.

White smoke after a cool damp evening on startup is not the same thing or something to be worried about.

 

sometimes its hard to distinguish white smoke from coolant, vs white with faint blue from oil....
Im not color blind & did this for a living...

You figured if its truly bellowing a ton white smoke, regardless of source you would think it would effect drivability / running condition...

 

So took my 96 Tacoma back into the shop, they looked at the engine up and down to avoid having to remove the manifold and check cylinders, block, etc.. But after all else was ruled out, went ahead with new head gasket and inspection of cylinders and block. One cylinder was cracked and needed repair, block was still good. So, got that fixed plus new head gasket (might as well after all that) and it's been a week now and so far so good. Not cheap but the alternative of a new vehicle was not attractive.

 

Machines can get intermittent problems and they’re often the hardest to diagnose. However if you’re leaking coolant or oil it will be pretty consistent or under the same general operating conditions (engine hot / cold, idle / under load, and such) and it’s just a matter of figuring out what condition they’re in. Usually the problem will get more common across all operating conditions and you’ll see it all the time eventually if you let it go for long enough of a time.

Testing for coolant pressure loss and cylinder compression / pressure loss are not to hard to diy. Lots of videos on how to do it and you can usually rent the tools for free from a parts store. You’ll need an air compressor for anything other than a compression test.

 

When you buy these and they start white smoking few hundred miles later....
that's indicative of them using 'Barr's' or some other HG sealant before they sold it...

When you drive at hwy speed all that starts to break loose
then its start using coolant.....again

What complicates things is there is two kind of leaks.....what a bitch

Steady white smoke all the time, increasing, and eventually fouled starts
thats usually a head gasket plus maybe more...
left unfixed it just gets worse.....

and if you use sealant......your gumming up your radiator and heater core
and eventually get milkshake oil.....


Now for the really bad news.......unfortunately the heads are pre disposed to crack between the valves
most of us have those cracks right now......they just havent gone all the way thru yet...

This white smoke that is intermittent.....go for a time and lose no coolant...
and then bam......you have a bad day and lose a bunch

and on an uncaught 'bunch' day.....the HG gets damaged toooo

'they' try to use HG sealant on these.....and does no good....only works on gaskets



If you buy these trucks and suspect they've used sealer......you may have a lot of cooling stuff to replace
these trucks dont handle overheating......pamper the cooling system....
your ass.....I mean your head may depend on it


more than half of these sitting for a while.....there's a reason


when you buy these.....pop that radiator cap and start investigating from there...
look for colored sealant....or copper/metal particles
right up there with the rotten frame 'tap' inspection

 

I am so pissed, how can these dealerships get away with this dirty dealing bullsh*t??