You tell me, blowing oil, or condensation?

[Rc 415]

What do you think?

[lurch115]

from those pics its hard to tell....if its oil the cloud will have a blue tint to it...if its water it will be white

[Russell]

Our exhaust looks like that 8 months of the year, nothing to be worried about

[Srubydo1986]

loooks like to me just a truck tha sat for some time and may have gotten a bit of moisture in the pipes drive it for a bit it will go away.

[bigtruck81]

condensation. oil smoke will hang around and not dissipate like that did.

[Donnylee]

Looks like condensation to me..If you look at the picture of your exhaust pipe you can see a puddle of moisture laying at the bottom... The real quesion is how much oil are you using? I agree with Russell and Lurch..........Pretty common in good old Oregon where I live

[Zilverado]

I agree - I think it's condensation. Looks a little too "light" (as in not heavy) to be oil. You should also be able to smell the difference. Does it do this just for a while at start-up or all the time? Heavier under excelleration?

[Rc 415]

Originally Posted by Donnylee

Looks like condensation to me..If you look at the picture of your exhaust pipe you can see a puddle of moisture laying at the bottom... The real quesion is how much oil are you using? I agree with Russell and Lurch..........Pretty common in good old Oregon where I live

What do you mean how much oil am I using? How many quarts i have in it?

[Rc 415]

Originally Posted by Zilverado

I agree - I think it's condensation. Looks a little too "light" (as in not heavy) to be oil. You should also be able to smell the difference. Does it do this just for a while at start-up or all the time? Heavier under excelleration?

It does have a smell to it, and it does it for a few minutes after startup, and after I accelerated and let off the gas.

[Zilverado]

Originally Posted by Rc 415

What do you mean how much oil am I using? How many quarts i have in it?

What he is asking is how much oil (if any) does the engine burn? Do you need to add oil between changes to keep it on the "full" line on the dipstick? If so, and it is not leaking oil, that means you could be burning it - - possibly bad piston rings...

[Zilverado]

Originally Posted by Rc 415

It does have a smell to it, and it does it for a few minutes after startup, and after I accelerated and let off the gas.

What is the smell like? Burning oil smells just like that - burning oil. A "sweet" smell indicates burning coolant (antifreeze). Burning coolant could be a result of a broken head gasket - allowing coolant from the engine's water jacket into one or more cylinders, where it gets burned by the engine combustion. Do you ever notice your radiator coolant level dropping?

As for the acceleration point I asked about - - engines with bad rings will smoke (burn oil) under heavy acceleration.

I'm thinking you could be burning engine coolant.

[Rc 415]

Originally Posted by Zilverado

What he is asking is how much oil (if any) does the engine burn? Do you need to add oil between changes to keep it on the "full" line on the dipstick? If so, and it is not leaking oil, that means you could be burning it - - possibly bad piston rings...

The oil level has never dropped on my, guess that means I'm good there.

[Rc 415]

Originally Posted by Zilverado

What is the smell like? Burning oil smells just like that - burning oil. A "sweet" smell indicates burning coolant (antifreeze). Burning coolant could be a result of a broken head gasket - allowing coolant from the engine's water jacket into one or more cylinders, where it gets burned by the engine combustion. Do you ever notice your radiator coolant level dropping?

As for the acceleration point I asked about - - engines with bad rings will smoke (burn oil) under heavy acceleration.

I'm thinking you could be burning engine coolant.

Well, I've never smelt burning oil, but this doesnt smell bad really, I wouldnt really say it smells sweet though, but mabye thats what it is. I havent checked the radiator coolant level in a while, I'll do that tomorrow.

[Srubydo1986]

If hes gets water into the combustion chamber that would cause for some water/coolant to get into the block, correct?

And if thats happens there would be water in the oil so if he were to pull the dipstick there would be a brown foam like stuff on the stick or under the valve cover cap.

Iv had it under the cap alot in all my cars, What it was in mine was just mosture from sitting. Because im lazy and it was in my chevelle at the time i would drive the car to school take cap of and when i got back in the car put cap back on. allowing mosture to excape the engine.

In your case if it more green then brown id say blown head gasket but the smoke would be more white right?

[Zilverado]

Originally Posted by Srubydo1986

If hes gets water into the combustion chamber that would cause for some water/coolant to get into the block, correct?

And if thats happens there would be water in the oil so if he were to pull the dipstick there would be a brown foam like stuff on the stick or under the valve cover cap...

Fortunately, in my 20+ years of vehicle ownership, I have never had (to my knowledge) a blown head gasket, and I am not a mechanic by trade - so I am speaking more from what I've heard and read.

I don't know if water/coolant in the oil would be an absolute definite result of a broken gasket. I would think that the water could possibly get into the cylinder only - to get burned - and not into the crank case. But if it does get into the oil, yes, it will cause the oil to foam and the underside fo the cap will usually show the brown foam as you indicated.

I guess another way that water could get in is a cracked block or head itself. In the case of the block, this would most likely lead to water in the oil.

Yes, burning water/coolant will result in white smoke. Burning oil is usually more blue.

[Donnylee]

My bet is its nothing more then moisture in the exhaust. If it is a cool morning when you start it up its very normal occurance. If you can breath out through your mouth and see what looks like steam its kind of the same phenomina with hot warm exhaust. I see cars steaming out the pipes all the time in the mornings at stoplights! Its mainly because of the hot warm exhaust escaping into the cool moist air. If your not using oil and your not loosing coolant I think you can relax. There is probably nothing wrong with your truck.

[Zilverado]

Originally Posted by Donnylee

My bet is its nothing more then moisture in the exhaust. If it is a cool morning when you start it up its very normal occurance. If you can breath out through your mouth and see what looks like steam its kind of the same phenomina with hot warm exhaust. I see cars steaming out the pipes all the time in the mornings at stoplights! Its mainly because of the hot warm exhaust escaping into the cool moist air. If your not using oil and your not loosing coolant I think you can relax. There is probably nothing wrong with your truck.

I certainly agree with you - - depending on the conditions outside.

[Rc 415]

It is cool in the mornings, high 40's. But, It also happens in the afternoons. See, I only start the car for a few minutes once a day, and its usually in the afternoon when I get home from school.

Also, one of the exhause pipes got bent pretty bad somehow, can that be part of the problem?

[MylilBowTie]

It may need a good run to fully warm up of driving 30 minutes to an hour. So the extra moisture that it has in the engine can release. Its not getting warm enough starting a few minutes a day. That will tell you a little more of what its doing. If its just the extra moisture (most likely) or if its something more serious.