Natalya[AF]

2006 V6

Over the weekend I went away for a couple days and left the car at home. On Monday when I started it up the engine sounded funny (like it wasn't at the right speed or something, but I forgot to check the tach) and I noticed white smoke come out the the back when I backed up. I put it into park and ran the engine for a while, the smoke was gone after only a minute and it sounded normal again.

Elsewhere online I saw people mentioning that the head gasket might have a coolant leak into one of the cylinders. They suggested checking the dipstick to see if it had any kind of white-ish or creamy stuff, but the oil looked fine to me and didn't smell like coolant.

But, the coolant seems to be leaking out somewhere. I visually inspected the radiator (I have had radiator problems before and replaced it a few times) but I didn't see any leaks on it or the hoses.

Is there a better way to determine if there is a coolant leak into the engine, or could it be somewhere else?

Also, I should mention there were no DTC's.

wardNM05

check your coolant tank 2 make sure there is no oil in there....also replace the radiator cap back when i had a 06 v6 mustang my radiator cap went bad and it was spewing out of it its what i would do

Bitter

If the problem is a coolant leak, the first thing to check is the plastic thermostat housing. Cracked housings are a chronic problem with the S197's.

A one time occurrence of white smoke is something that should raise eyebrows but I would not suspect the worst. A symptom of a blown head gasket can be oil that has the appearance of chocolate milk, but not always. If the problem repeats itself, and you want to rule out the head gasket, this kit is one of the best tests I'm aware of.

jz78817

there are different ways a head gasket can fail:

1) between an oil and a coolant passage. This leads to either milky oil or muddy looking coolant (or both)
2) between the cylinder and a coolant passage. this leads to lower compression, overheating, coolant burning (white smoke,) and potential hydrostatic lock if the leak is bad enough.
3)between two cylinders. this leads to compression loss between the adjacent cylinders.
4) external, usually oil. either the oil feed to the head or the drain-back passages will seep oil to the outside of the engine.

2010sunsetgoldv6

Sounds like valve seals failed, allowing oil into cylinders, which burns causing smoke at acceleration.


QUOTE='Natalya[AF];8435794']2006 V6

Over the weekend I went away for a couple days and left the car at home. On Monday when I started it up the engine sounded funny (like it wasn't at the right speed or something, but I forgot to check the tach) and I noticed white smoke come out the the back when I backed up. I put it into park and ran the engine for a while, the smoke was gone after only a minute and it sounded normal again.

Elsewhere online I saw people mentioning that the head gasket might have a coolant leak into one of the cylinders. They suggested checking the dipstick to see if it had any kind of white-ish or creamy stuff, but the oil looked fine to me and didn't smell like coolant.

But, the coolant seems to be leaking out somewhere. I visually inspected the radiator (I have had radiator problems before and replaced it a few times) but I didn't see any leaks on it or the hoses.

Is there a better way to determine if there is a coolant leak into the engine, or could it be somewhere else?

Also, I should mention there were no DTC's.[/QUOTE]

Derf00

old dead thread... white smoke is usually coolant, not oil.

2010sunsetgoldv6

I know what I mean because I had a 93 4.6L, that gave white smoke on startup and every acceleration because of bad valve seals.
oil leaked past into the cylinders and burned causing the smoke

artsvettes73

Yes oil leaking into the cylinders will smoke, but it won't be white smoke.

Derf00

http://www.nctcog.org/trans/air/smoking/causes.asp
https://www.freeasestudyguides.com/exhaust-color.html

imp

Interesting discussion. I might add regarding valve stem seal leakage: Only intake valves are a problem for leaks, as the clearance between the valve stem and guide is exposed to vacuum, thus allowing oil to be sucked down through that clearance and it gets burned in the cylinder. Furthermore, the leakage is worst when vacuum is highest: at idle speed. The oil during idle collects largely unburned in the cylinder for a short time, then when the engine rpms rise, a cloud of blue smoke results.


Leaking exhaust valve stem seals are a lesser problem, as the stems are not exposed to vacuum, but rather exhaust port gas pressure, which is not very high. So, leaking exhaust stem seals might actually allow exhaust gases in small quantity to reach the inside of the rocker covers, where it will eventually be drawn back into the intake via the PCV valve, and burned without detection at all. imp