White Smoke on start up?

RawGtPower · 07-26-2009, 12:47 PM

Ive finally got a new battery into the stang this weekend, and ran it for the first time this year. It started up fine and ran alrighht. After shutting it down, and starting it back up when the engine is already warmed up, i get a big puff of white smoke. Any ideas on what could be going wrong? I also get excessive crank pressure that keeps blowing my dipstick out of the tube. I understand this could be PCV related, but ive replaced the PCV and checked the screen and everything is clear.

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mustangsneverdie · 07-26-2009, 01:59 PM

you could be losing compression from a broken ring and you could also be losing coolant through a leaky head gasket you don't have any overheating problems do you?

RawGtPower · 07-26-2009, 02:26 PM

Only gets hot, if im sitting in traffic. Runs normal when im getting air through the radiator.

jkrum10238 · 07-26-2009, 09:41 PM

any bubbles in the radiator white smoke is coolant is any leaking onto the exhaust that happened to me it was seeping in threw the flange and blowing white smoke out the tail pipes

Genhero · 07-27-2009, 06:24 AM

White smoke is definitely coolant. Do a radiator leak down test to see if exhaust gases are being released in the cooling system. It will tell you if you have a blown head gasket.

If you replaced the PCV I would say try using a compression gauge to check the piston rings. Like mustangsneverdie said, you might have a bad piston ring and getting excessive blowby.

decipha · 07-27-2009, 08:26 AM

sounds like my 351w after i did the engine swap it was pretty bad the smoke used to bellow out the exhaust and valve covers.

i discovered my smoking problem was due to a blown head gasket, she never ran hot though

rbinck · 07-27-2009, 08:41 AM

Are you getting any coolant in the oil? I used a product called Thermagasket on a 5.0 once with great results. It costs about $100 and may be worth a try if it turns out to be a head gasket. The other option would be to replace the gasket. I'd also eliminate a ring issue with a compression or leak down test as well since you are getting high crankcase pressure.

My 5.0 in my Falcon uses a Lincoln Towncar A/C condenser and a '89 Mustang radiator and here in Houston in 100 degree temps with the a/c going full blast does not get hot at idle in traffic at all. I'm running a Flex-A-Lite black magic fan, but a stock Mustang fan should provide similar air flow, so you should not be getting hot at all I wouldn't think.

Does your coolant look good? If exhaust is getting in there it usually will turn kinda brownish and will gunk up in the bottom of the radiator over time. Try draining some to check. The engine I had the trouble with had gunked up the bottom so bad it would not drain and it still didn't overheat!