r/Cartalk • u/Technical-Purpose-12 • Oct 04 '21
Can anyone help me figure this out? Exhaust
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Oct 04 '21
Appears to be a leaking head gasket.
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u/ag408 Oct 05 '21
Reminds me of when I blew my Supra’s head gasket. Man that still hurts
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u/Exploringmymind70 Oct 04 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
That’s most definitely the case, I had that problem with my first car. Once it got to that point tho I had 1,000$ worth of repairs.
Edit: Typo
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u/germinik Oct 05 '21
I've seen 3 cars this week driving like this. And two in traffic with broken tie rods. Just seems weird.
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Oct 05 '21
People with no money just trying to make it another week...
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u/germinik Oct 05 '21
For sure. I've done it also. It just seems weird to these instances so close together. I haven't seen either in a few years, then in 2 or 3 weeks I see 5.
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u/1badmuthafer Oct 05 '21
More old cars on the road with the new car shortage. Also means you can’t get a decent car for $1000 anymore so broke people with junk cars gotta keep driving the junk until it doesn’t drive.
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u/YYCDavid Oct 05 '21
I’m no mechanic but that would be my guess… coolant sweeping through head gasket
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u/daciasandero Oct 04 '21
If you say it smells like it’s running super rich and that the o2 sensor is bad, that seems like a pretty good place to start.
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u/union_mechanic Oct 04 '21
Bad head gaskets will ruin a O2 sensor
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u/greenskeeper-carl Oct 05 '21
But wouldn’t he be losing coolant with a head gasket?
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u/union_mechanic Oct 05 '21
Yep... I missed that part. Take a look at your spark plugs and post us a picture.... You can tell a lot from how they look. Google how to read spark plugs
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u/CTSVR Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
Coolant OR oil. The bluish-white smoke is a good indicator of oil especially if it’s absent of any sweet odor.
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u/BourbonHazmat Oct 04 '21
Fuel mixture tends to burn black. Oil burning tends to burn blue. Valves or rings would be my guess.
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u/BavarianBanshee 1985 BMW E24 635CSi "Sabine" Oct 05 '21
It looks white. I would say head gasket.
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u/MyBellyHurtsITry Oct 05 '21
It's so hard to tell the difference on camera. When people say "blue" it's typically super faint.
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21 edited Oct 04 '21
I just bought this minivan this week for shits and giggles but I still can’t figure out what’s up with the exhaust. I had it deep inspected by a mechanic, because I thought it was bad oil rings or something worse. He said he couldn’t find anything wrong. All I know is the 02 sensor are bad, and I added 1/2 of a Lucas oil stabilizer in. And the coolant reservoir hasnt gone down since I filled it a couple days ago. Note: this video was taken of startup in 100 degree weather after a 15 mile drive.
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u/MattyTF Oct 04 '21
If your coolant is dropping then you have a blown head gasket.
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21
Sorry that was a typo. The coolant level is still the same
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u/stompy11 Oct 04 '21
What lead you to believe your O2 sensor was bad? I only say this because I rarely see them go but the codes pop up when other things are wrong.
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21
Just error codes. Haven’t directly looked into them but the error codes pop up even after clearing.
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u/stompy11 Oct 04 '21
Do you remember what the codes were and do you have access to a scanner that can read live data
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21
I don’t remember the codes, I just got it scanned at autozone
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u/ease78 Oct 05 '21
Next time ask for a print out. IMO O’riley’s has a waaaaay better printed report with potential fixes and their mathematical likelihood of being the correct part.
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u/Rocky762 Oct 05 '21
O2 sensor codes doesn't always mean the sensors are bad. It will throw codes if the sensors aren't seeing the right numbers(02 level in exhaust gas in this case)
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u/Rocky762 Oct 05 '21
I'd say get a better mechanic. There are those who would look at an o2 sensor code, goes straight to replacing o2 sensors and then shrug while muttering dumb shit like "couldn't find anything wrong" when that doesn't fix the problem, and then there are those who'd see the same code and take it as a clue to actually track down the cause. We call the former "parts swappers" where I'm from bc that's all they're fucking good for.
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
I’ve been going to this mechanic for years on years. Always does honest work. He said he couldn’t get the same codes to pop up for him after he cleared them while testing the vehicle.
And this mechanic has had our service for over 30 years. If you tell him you want an oil change, you’re gonna get an oil change, not a mechanic telling you that “the blinker fluid is empty” and shit like that. He is the farthest thing from a part swapper.
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u/Rocky762 Oct 05 '21
I'm a diagnosis tech for Volvo. I know when I see an old mechanic who doesn't actually understand modern electricals nor willing to study it, or simply never had access to proper education in the matter, which is majority of small shop mechanics out there. Got nothing to do with him being honest or not.
All I'm saying is sometimes obd2 codes don't lead you to straight answers and to figure shit out in those times you need someone who knows how to.
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
I get it, there’s plenty of old timers out there stuck in the 1960s worth of car parts. But I gotta give it to him, he reprogrammed my entire 2021 ram 2500 relay system for the fuel system. I’ll get the exact codes tomorrow
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Oct 05 '21
This guy gets it. Beware of that mechanic OP
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
I trust this guy with all my vehicles. Anywhere from my 1964 el Camino, to my 2021 Dodge Ram 2500, he has always been honest and isn’t fucking his customers
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21
Just got back into contact with the mechanic who worked on it. He said it’s not a blown head gasket but an oil consumption problem
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u/greenskeeper-carl Oct 05 '21
PCV valves?
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
That’s my first thing to replace tomorrow. I’m guessing that might be it
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u/HanzG Oct 05 '21
I've had vehicles accidentally fueled with diesel that smoked like this.
Perhaps drain the fuel tank if opening the PCV system doesn't help.
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u/outlier74 Oct 04 '21
I’ve got a car with a bad downstream 02 sensor that is doing something similar with the same kind of smell. The car has 275k on it. From what I read, if the 02 sensor is bad the car will run really rich.
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u/greenskeeper-carl Oct 04 '21
Correct. Every time that’s happened on one of my vehicles, I could smell it on cold starts.
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u/NolaV Oct 04 '21
I would say your cave guide seals have gone bad. Obviously not a head gasket since it dissipates after some running.
All these keyboard mechanics shouting head gasket on every post think the 2 fast 2 furious movies are real and Supra’s come from the factory with 1,000hp. Please stop saying everything is a head gasket! I know it’s the only car part you all know but unless you own a crappy mopar product that’s not the case 9.9/10 times
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21
Cave guide seal, never heard of that part. I’ll look into it. I was going to replace my PVC valve first and see if that helps
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u/NolaV Oct 04 '21
Sorry Valve guide seals* usually only noticeable smoke on startup and acceleration from stops.
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u/Eslayer12 Oct 05 '21
Typically that needs the head taken off and disassembled to replace them right? Or can you just so it while its still on the engine
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u/Hondanazi Oct 04 '21
Doesn’t look like oil….btw, mineral or normal oil (non synthetic) usually burns blue whereas synthetic does not. Despite your overflow reservoir being low (not a big deal unless it keeps emptying) your rad looks fine and your oil cap is not showing signs of water in the oil (same as your dipstick)…..hope it helps
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u/north42g Oct 05 '21
Stuck open fuel injector
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u/ff0000_ Oct 05 '21
Why do you think that? I’m running into an intermittent issue that looks like this about once a month and will just spit gas out the exhaust.
The only code I have got was low fuel pressure but clearly it wasn’t.
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u/north42g Oct 05 '21
White smoke, fuel smell is indicative of a leaking or stuck open injector could be the problem. A Low pressure at the rail DTC is in line with this. Have you tested the pressure or read the mvbs to confirm?
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u/ff0000_ Oct 05 '21
Not yet, it happened 3 times over the past couple months and this last time caught the code for low fuel pressure and misfire on 5.
I’m a newb on diagnosing and working on cars in general so I’ll run out and get a fuel pressure test to check it out.
And I’m not sure what mvbs is, is that another test I can do?
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u/Ok-Leave-7842 Oct 05 '21
First you will need an OBDII Scanner, guessing the cause only makes it worse. Could be something as worse as the catalytic coverter to somethingas little as changing O2 sensor
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21
The main thing I love about cars is the fact that multiple problems can show the same symptoms. I’m getting a mixed response of blown/ leaking head gasket or exhaust leak haha. I don’t really know which to go for first
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u/mikeabuck Oct 04 '21
If your coolant and oil levels are stable then I wouldn’t go with head gasket just yet. Replace your O2 sensors and see if that has any impact. Occam’s razor.
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21
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u/mikeabuck Oct 04 '21
There’s like zero coolant in there lol yeah you might have a head gasket replacement on your hands.
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
Wdym? The coolant is above the max line?
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u/mikeabuck Oct 05 '21
Oh I guess there is. Was kind of hard to tell if that was coolant or a shadow or something. Ignore me.
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u/TraceDV Oct 04 '21
I’ll buy it from you 1000$
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21
I got it for 2500$ with 116,000 miles. I put 1000$ into repairs on the wheel system. Good offer tho
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Oct 04 '21
If it’s cold outside that is normal for diesels. Nothing to worry about it will turn into black smoke in a little bit
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u/Hondanazi Oct 04 '21
Is this on start up? Does it go away when warmed up or is it a lot less? Often water will condense in the exhaust system after it cools down and will burn/boil/evaporate when you start up.. it looks worse at the beginning so that’s what is suspect. Your oil looks clean so no leak there, coolant would be constantly going down despite adding more and also you would probably have excessive pressure in the cooling system due to the engine compression leaking into the cooling system. The anti - freeze would probably be overflowing (if full) in time with the engine running. Since your coolant looks ok then a compression test would start to give you answers as it would be a lot lower in 1 or more of the cylinders. Hope this helps….good luck!
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 04 '21
This is after a 10 mile drive and startup. It does this only when it starts
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u/jjbourne712 Oct 05 '21
I’ve blown a head gasket in my old truck. It looks very very similar to this. Did the temperature every run high or was the radiator recently replaced?
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u/Barba-the-Barbarian Oct 05 '21
Could be a simple as wrong fuel
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
It’s using the recommended fuel
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u/Barba-the-Barbarian Oct 05 '21
Then you may have a bigger problem. Like previously mention Oil burning isn't a great sign.
What's the car? Model etc. What fuel are you using?
Another alternative is contaminated fuel.
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
2008 Nissan Quest SL 3.5L v6 —- using 89
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u/Barba-the-Barbarian Oct 05 '21
I would suggest switching to either E10 Ethanol or 95/98RON. 89 is absolute rubbish. It's the worst thing you could so to your car.
In a saying that, that smoke could be something else. Without being there I can't really smell what's coming out.
There is a reason why the 95/98 is more expensive. In the long run it saves you money as it keeps the engine in optimal condition!
A prime example is if you eat McDonalds everyday, you'll eventually get sick! It won't happen straight away but you kill your self. Eating healthy is the key. Same for the engine. Feed it right. This car or next.
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u/p38fln Oct 05 '21
89 (R+M) in America is equivalent to 94-95 RON, and is frequently E15 but almost always at least E10. 87 (R+M) is 91-92 and is almost always E10. 91 (R+M) is 95-99 RON and will either be E10 or E0 depending on how much extra you pay. E0 costs significantly more.
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u/OutlandishnessNo9356 Oct 05 '21
Car seems to have cancer in his lungs quick take him to the doctecanic...
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u/MyBellyHurtsITry Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
The cars I work on that's usually oil separator failure. Not all cars have oil separators though. If this is in fact the issue, there's a chance that you can remove the oil cap and there's full engine vacuum in the crankcase. Not all bad separators do that, but its an easy diagnosis
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u/MyBellyHurtsITry Oct 05 '21
If its not coolant it's probably not a head gasket. What car is it?
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
2008 Nissan Quest 3.5L v6. Head gaskets were inspected and tested, none are blown or leaking.
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u/MyBellyHurtsITry Oct 05 '21
Looks like oil man. I don't know anything about Nissans, been a tech for one manufacturer all my life and it isn't Nissan. But check out if your car has oil separators or see what kind of oil vapor recovery it has (like PCV valve maybe)
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u/Vikinglordjim Oct 05 '21
Head gasket homie. Get it fixed before the head warps.
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
Mechanic said there was nothing wrong with the head gasket. This is a text from him an hour ago “No it's not a blown head gasket it's oil consumption most likely”
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u/Individual-Swing-808 Oct 05 '21
It's cold outside?
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u/Duderpher Oct 05 '21
It’s smoke, with steam in it…
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
I got a group of friends to blow a bunch of vape clouds into a pipe and posted this video right after
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u/ranjit121 Oct 05 '21
You are burning oil my friend Or i had the same kindaa issue Be ready to spend quite a bit of money
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u/Technical-Purpose-12 Oct 05 '21
What did you have to replace?
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u/ranjit121 Oct 05 '21
The thing with my case was i didnt oil it up before and had some rattling noises come because of it And this white smoke started to come after the oil top up so it something like oil burning in the chamber. Yours looks like the same and check this video out https://youtu.be/u6UeJXkzDW8 Im for sure its something is getting mixed with gas
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u/Sir-Belledontis Oct 05 '21
If you want to know if it’s a head gasket get the blue exhaust indicator fluid test for your radiator. That will tell you if there is exhaust gasses escaping into your radiator fluid from the combustion chamber.
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u/RCfoo Oct 05 '21
I had this exact thing happen on my bmw and it was bad fuel Injectors. It also had a rich mixture code but no light. Have you driven the car while it does this? If so, does it feel underpowered? If it’s a head gasket or ring like these ppl say, you’d be losing compression and therefore a LOT of power and the car would feel very sluggish. If it feels normal powerwise though, I’d say it’s your fuel injectors.
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u/MagicPlasma Oct 05 '21
Here's some things you should do to help diagnosis: first pull the spark plugs and check em. Super easy to find pics of what it should and shouldn't look like on Google. Second is do compression and maybe a leak down test if you feel like it. A lot of people are saying blown head and believe it or not they have a test kit for that. It's called either a head gasket tester or combustion leak tester.
I see mention of a bad O2 sensor and there's a quick way you can check that, although it's not 100% accurate. Swap the pre and post cat o2s and if that fixes it, well there you go. If it doesn't but your code goes away at least you figured out one issue. If it doesn't go away you could have some messed up wires or another issue although depending on the code.
There's more stuff, but I think this would be a good start.
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u/j2787 Oct 05 '21
Lol most likely blowby. O-rings on your pistons are failing. But if there is excessive liquid coming out of the exhaust then it is most likely head-gasket
P.s blue smoke means oil and are the O-rings
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u/unemotional_mess Oct 05 '21
I would say all you need to do is, and it's very simple, but a new engine 😁 /s
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u/AutoBach Oct 05 '21
Does your engine oil smell like gasoline? Also, is the level high? If so, it's a stuck injector.
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u/MountainGunner307 Oct 05 '21
Have you tried talking to your car about the harmful effects of smoking? To not only itself, but to others around? Maybe suggest Chantix or the gum; I hear they have good results!
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u/Financial-Title-1639 Oct 05 '21
White smoke = burning oil black smoke = unburnt fuel
Sweet smoke = uh oh head gasket go bye bye
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u/Ewaryst Oct 05 '21
It turned into hybrid and now it's burning both petrol and oil. Head gasket is my guess.
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u/Jackielegz8689 Oct 05 '21
Yea that doesn’t look like regular water vapour. Might be a bad head gasket. Better to just check it out before it gets worse
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u/Intelligent_Ask_6337 Oct 05 '21
Flux capacitor. Classic case. I have seen it a thousand times. I got a friend that knows a guy. He specializes in flux capacitors.
Let me know.
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u/misfit0513 Oct 05 '21
Check your oil, if its too high it could be the head gaskets or it could be a negligent oil change tech overfilling the oil.
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u/Insenstivedepression Feb 07 '22
Hahaha my SC300 use to spit out smoke like that, I blew my headgasket. Upon rebuilding the motor I found a good amount of chocy milk in cylinder 1.
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u/Impossible-Scar-7226 Oct 04 '21
Does it smell sweet? If so you're burning coolant.