Asbury030

Ok well i just took my car out for a drive and I havent drove it since tuesday. So when I start the car a big cloud of whit smoke came out of the exhaust and then while I am driving it I **** into 2nd and it backfires. Should I be worried about this or is this no big deal?

TwoToned306

White smoke usually means colant.

Asbury030

Ok so what should I do?

racingboy

I'd do an oil change and while you change the oil look for for coolant/water/anything else particles or otherwise in the oil.Put in a good brand of oil Royal Purple/Mobil 1/Lucas (I don't want to be a commercial bum, but if you use Lucas use the stabilizer)/whatever you use. See where you stand after the oil change. If you have coolant or something else in your oil it's not a good sign.

Asbury030

I have royal purple in there now but suppose there is water in the oil what could cause that?

samseed101

That's one sign of a head gasket leak / blowout. You experiencing any other issues?

Asbury030

well i did notice like some oil on the valve cover and i think i saw some on the radiator hoses.

samseed101

Here are some symptons to look for:

white smoke
rough idleor rough at low rpm
overheating
water in the oil
after driving, check the oil and see if it looks frothy (coolant in the oil)

Asbury030

Ok thanks guys. I really hope it isn't something too big I just got it running not to long ago.

samseed101

A blown head gasket isn't too bad. It's a pain in the *** if you can't change it yourself though because you have to rip everything apart just to get to it. If you can do it yourself then it only takes time. But if you have to take it to a garage, they're going to charge you up the **** for that time.