White Smoke?

[CivicSi]

Hey Guys,

I drive an EH9 Civic, with a D16A8 engine. I've got a problem with white smoke coming out the exhaust... It's less noticeable in daily (low rev) driving, but when it goes anywhere past about 4500rpm it becomes pretty obvious.

The smoke is white, smells a bit 'petroly' and i have no idea what to do to make it stop!

I've tried replacing the spark plugs, replacing oil and filter, using octane booster/engine cleaner in my last 7 fill ups but none of these have helped fix the problem.

Have any of you had this issue or does anyone know what it would be and how to fix it?

Cheers :wave:

[IZY-10]

white smoke usually means you are burning oil. check the colour of your coolant and just check your head gasket

[vinnY]

i believe white smoke means you're burning coolant
if you were burning oil you'd be seeing blue smoke
and if its black smoke its probably running rich(excessive amounts of petrol)

could it be just the cold weather causing it to have smoke?
either way if its white smoke the head gaskets probably done, check your coolant and see what colour it is
if its sort of milky then its probably the HG

[Phuong1987]

white smoke usually means you are burning oil. check the colour of your coolant and just check your head gasket

Black smoke means your burning oil

[1996ek1]

Black smoke means your burning oil

No, blue smoke is oil....

[OMG.JAI xD]

ok all the above might have confused you.


white smoke can mean you are burning oil or burning too much fuel.
blue smoke mostly happens during reverse and that has something to do with the reverse sensors, as to, the fan turns on when going reverse and changes fuel settings or w.e.
black smoke usually means youre burning something OTHER than fuel or oil or the exhaust itself is eating itself.

reason you might have white smoke is this.
if you have a full exhaust system from headers to the cannon bit that can be one.
another is IF in taht system you have a high flow cat, that is one common problem. because high flow cats tend to not burn excess fuel and just let it out, inturn, making a white smoke. mostly on cold days.

if you have none of that (as in running stock), then you might have an engine problem.
petrol injection might b off, or (if carby) the fuel float, idle timing, jets etc etc needs to be adjusted.

i recommend checking oil level, if its to high drain a little.
check fuel system.
check engine timing, 1-2 gears off might cause miss fire, but unnoticeable by normal ears.
check your catalytic converter (wheter stock or aftermarket).
if after all that your engine is still producing white smoke, maybe wait till summer and see if it still does it.
maybe it just cause its cold :/ lol

well goodluck manz.
all the best

[ACTI0NMAN-1]

is the smoke lingering?
evaperating/dispersing a few seconds after reaching the air?
or evaperating/disbersing almost instantly?

[CivicSi]

Thanks heaps for all this info guys, all really really helpful... gonna pull the head off and have a look at the hg this weekend.

ACTIONMAN, the smoke takes off and disperses rather quickly, but it's not steam!

Cheers!!!

[Encor3]

Black smoke means your burning oil

black smoke isn't oil. blue smoke is.

[destrukshn]

ok all the above might have confused you.


white smoke can mean you are burning oil or burning too much fuel.
blue smoke mostly happens during reverse and that has something to do with the reverse sensors, as to, the fan turns on when going reverse and changes fuel settings or w.e.
black smoke usually means youre burning something OTHER than fuel or oil or the exhaust itself is eating itself.

reason you might have white smoke is this.
if you have a full exhaust system from headers to the cannon bit that can be one.
another is IF in taht system you have a high flow cat, that is one common problem. because high flow cats tend to not burn excess fuel and just let it out, inturn, making a white smoke. mostly on cold days.

if you have none of that (as in running stock), then you might have an engine problem.
petrol injection might b off, or (if carby) the fuel float, idle timing, jets etc etc needs to be adjusted.

i recommend checking oil level, if its to high drain a little.
check fuel system.
check engine timing, 1-2 gears off might cause miss fire, but unnoticeable by normal ears.
check your catalytic converter (wheter stock or aftermarket).
if after all that your engine is still producing white smoke, maybe wait till summer and see if it still does it.
maybe it just cause its cold :/ lol

well goodluck manz.
all the best
pardon?
white smoke is usually coolant or water
blue is oil
and black is fuel.
how many kms on your car?

[Setanta]

pardon?
white smoke is usually coolant or water
blue is oil
and black is fuel.
how many kms on your car?

Correct

Most likely head gasket although it could also be a hairline fracture of the head. Either way, it's most likely coolent in the system. Check your radiator cap for traces of fuel and your oil cap for emulsified oil (thick creamy substance).

Best bet is to head straight to a mechanic and get them to do a gas leakdown check on the radiator. It takes 5 min to do and what they do is a check for impurities that have blown into the cooling system.

[Setanta]

ok all the above might have confused you.


white smoke can mean you are burning oil or burning too much fuel.

Wrong - oil is blue, excess fuel is black (stand out the back of my EH with the choke on full and you'll see what I mean.


blue smoke mostly happens during reverse and that has something to do with the reverse sensors, as to, the fan turns on when going reverse and changes fuel settings

Rubbish. Complete and utter rubbish. It has nothing to do with reverse sensors, nothing to do with fans and nothing to do with going in reverse. It's oil burning.



black smoke usually means youre burning something OTHER than fuel or oil or the exhaust itself is eating itself.

As above - this is complete and utter bullshit. Black = overfuel issues or a terminal motor. Choke an engine as I said and you'll see it.


reason you might have white smoke is this.
if you have a full exhaust system from headers to the cannon bit that can be one.
another is IF in taht system you have a high flow cat, that is one common problem.

Rubbish, it's nothing to do with the cat - you can run IHE plus HF cat and only see this problem when condensation forms (see below)



because high flow cats tend to not burn excess fuel and just let it out, inturn, making a white smoke. mostly on cold days.

Cold days are all about condensation forming. It's basic science. Cats cool down from high temperatures, as does the muffler (who the f*ck has riceboi cannons anymore?) as do the pipes. As they cool down, condensation forms in the pipes (this is why people with money run stainless steel exhausts, to reduce rusting) which sits there and converts to steam when the exhaust system next heats up. This doesn't require a cat as you imply, I don't run a cat on my EH but do on my GTi. Both blow white smoke for a few min on startup on a cold day.


if you have none of that (as in running stock), then you might have an engine problem.
petrol injection might b off, or (if carby) the fuel float, idle timing, jets etc etc needs to be adjusted.

Yawn, this is getting boring. Once again you have NFI. It is none of the above, but if you want to lean out a carby or f*ck with the timing and burn valves etc, more power to you.


i recommend checking oil level, if its to high drain a little.
check fuel system.

Over pressuring the oil return line puts oil into your motor - blue smoke, not white. How do you check your fuel and what are you looking for? Black smoke is unburnt carbon particles - we are talking white. Leaning out a system might give you blue as you burn the valves out, but that's it.


check engine timing, 1-2 gears off might cause miss fire, but unnoticeable by normal ears.

Yeah right. These are 4 pots we're talking about. 1/4 of the motor is missing and you don't notice? Who are you trying to kid and what has it to do with white smoke (other than water coming into the jackets and quenching the plugs leading to moisture going out the tailpipe)?


check your catalytic converter (wheter stock or aftermarket).
if after all that your engine is still producing white smoke, maybe wait till summer and see if it still does it.

Yeah, open up the inspection panel on your cat (sarcasm) and check it out, only to find it isn't the problem.

So the sum total of your mechanical knowledge base is to ignore it and hope it goes away? Good work!!!! I know mechanics like you, most are called Guido.



maybe it just cause its cold :/ lol Maybe what you are really saying is that you've read a few magazines and have NFI :? lol


well goodluck manz.
all the best

He's going to need it if he believes 1/1000 of what you have said :thumbdwn:

[XP02ED]

white smoke is fine warming you car up though right?

i get a shit load in the morning when warming up me ride?

[Setanta]

white smoke is fine warming you car up though right?

i get a shit load in the morning when warming up me ride?

It's fine as long as it isn't caused by water leaking into the cylinders. If it's just condensation which would take up to 10 min to clear then it's fine.

If in doubt, get a gas check done on the radiator as it detects gas blowing into the water jackets as the water goes into the cylinders.

BTW: If your radiator is empty and there is white smoke coming out the tailpipe you know it's a leak. I blew a head about 17 years ago on a 130 bhp 1st gen in spectacular style (aka 8000+ rpm :D ). Smoke everywhere and massive overheating :P

[IZY-10]

white smoke is fine warming you car up though right?

i get a shit load in the morning when warming up me ride?

Yes its just condensation

[jazcivic]

Dear Setanta,

I think OMG.JAI xD is smoking something else thus
adding all this white smoke to the environment !

[XP02ED]

ah alright thanks! i wanted to double check! yeh its only on startup and goes after 5-10 minutes depending on weather..

[Setanta]

Dear Setanta,

I think OMG.JAI xD is smoking something else thus
adding all this white smoke to the environment !

I wasn't going to lower myself by implying this* :D















*I was too busy having a field day with all his other bullshit!!!!

[Tholakan]

The main problem is that it is a d series engine

[destrukshn]

The main problem is that it is a d series engine
so what if it's a d series motor?
lol.

[baeshin]

wat do u mean by running rich in fuel shoots black? lol like if u fill up full tank is that running rich??


i shoot white smoke at high revs then after all this dust n crap on my rear bumper.. gay
comes in good use wen someones tailgating you .. jus go higher revs n shoot a cloud of white smoke their way lmaoo

[Setanta]

wat do u mean by running rich in fuel shoots black? lol like if u fill up full tank is that running rich??


i shoot white smoke at high revs then after all this dust n crap on my rear bumper.. gay
comes in good use wen someones tailgating you .. jus go higher revs n shoot a cloud of white smoke their way lmaoo

No wai. U hav 2 fill ur tank to 3/4 2 lol like get it 2 run rich an shootz black. Rooly kewl when u have ur ghetto ricer kannon zorst shitz 4 shootin pplz like the noob u r.*





























*This is sarcasm. What I meant to say is:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~setanta/misc/englishmofo.gif

[Tholakan]

Check your plugs and see if they're dirty. If so clean them and that will make a difference. If the smoking decreases when your oil level decreases then you are burning oil.

[EG30]

the blue smoke we mentioned can look white ie grayish-white cloud of smoke with a tinge of blue ( esp from your rear view mirror ); instead of the cookie monster blue people often expect to see.

[Setanta]

If the smoking decreases when your oil level decreases then you are burning oil.

I'm of the opinion that you have been smoking too much :D

[180sex]

thats exactly what I want to say. couldnt keep myself laughing at all his bullshit comments as if he knows everything!!
and also for those who dont know what "running rich" means, it's nth to do with how many fuel in your fuel tank, it's sth to do with the air fuel mixture ratio. when you are running rich it means that for the given amount of air intake, due to some reasons (mostly due to mods) the ecu transmitted a signal to send more fuel into the combustion chamber. and now since the fuel is more than the stock / optimal amount, the unburnt fuel will go directly into the exhaust, and in worst case producing some "popping" sound in the exhaust becoz they are exploded due to the high temperature and of coz thats why your rear bumper became black! so if its black smoke, IT ISNT OIL it is due to overfueling thus it is black.
hope that explains clear enough.


Wrong - oil is blue, excess fuel is black (stand out the back of my EH with the choke on full and you'll see what I mean.



Rubbish. Complete and utter rubbish. It has nothing to do with reverse sensors, nothing to do with fans and nothing to do with going in reverse. It's oil burning.



As above - this is complete and utter bullshit. Black = overfuel issues or a terminal motor. Choke an engine as I said and you'll see it.



Rubbish, it's nothing to do with the cat - you can run IHE plus HF cat and only see this problem when condensation forms (see below)



Cold days are all about condensation forming. It's basic science. Cats cool down from high temperatures, as does the muffler (who the f*ck has riceboi cannons anymore?) as do the pipes. As they cool down, condensation forms in the pipes (this is why people with money run stainless steel exhausts, to reduce rusting) which sits there and converts to steam when the exhaust system next heats up. This doesn't require a cat as you imply, I don't run a cat on my EH but do on my GTi. Both blow white smoke for a few min on startup on a cold day.



Yawn, this is getting boring. Once again you have NFI. It is none of the above, but if you want to lean out a carby or f*ck with the timing and burn valves etc, more power to you.



Over pressuring the oil return line puts oil into your motor - blue smoke, not white. How do you check your fuel and what are you looking for? Black smoke is unburnt carbon particles - we are talking white. Leaning out a system might give you blue as you burn the valves out, but that's it.



Yeah right. These are 4 pots we're talking about. 1/4 of the motor is missing and you don't notice? Who are you trying to kid and what has it to do with white smoke (other than water coming into the jackets and quenching the plugs leading to moisture going out the tailpipe)?



Yeah, open up the inspection panel on your cat (sarcasm) and check it out, only to find it isn't the problem.

So the sum total of your mechanical knowledge base is to ignore it and hope it goes away? Good work!!!! I know mechanics like you, most are called Guido.

Maybe what you are really saying is that you've read a few magazines and have NFI :? lol



He's going to need it if he believes 1/1000 of what you have said :thumbdwn:

[disappointed]

Oh boy, This is very funny. No wonder the world is in the state that it is. Take note of Setanta, he actually knows what hes talking about. It's been said by a few. White is condensation or coolant. Black is only unburned fuel. Blue is oil. I know because my gen 7 still burns up to 850 mls per 1000 kms What a POS, and i'm a mechanic. Good luck you lot.

[mania]

sounds to me like a valve stem seal leak or the oil rings.hope this helps

[disappointed]

Valve stem seals have been done 8000km ago. No diff. Engine rebuilt by Honda 6000 km ago, including hone and new rings and a head reco. Still no diff. Car to go in for another oil consumption test next week. Hondas, who'd have one?....

[dsp26]

there are people in this thread who have posted good INFORMATION... but there is a lot of bullshit.

i'm gonna say something completely irrelevant to this thread but this is currently the best place to address it.

- If you don't know what your talking about don't post anything at all. n00bs won't know any better and follow the smell of bullshit thinking its hot chocolate.
- If your going to SUGGEST a possible cause, at least justify it with intelligible logic as to why something is a probable cause or solution