# HELP...CAR BLOWS WHITE SMOKE ON START UP



## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

92 brougham, fuel injected, 5.0 liter, v8, 305. when i start the car white smoke blows out the tail pipe. nothing leakin under the car any where. i know white smoke is suppose to be burning coolant, and blue smoke is suppose to be burning oil. theres no lights on, like service engine or anything. 

but heres the catch, my coolant levels are fine, but i checked my oil last night and the shit was almost empty. 

my cadillac book for the car and my Haynes manual say the car takes 4 qt.s 5-w30. i did a oil change on her like a month and a half ago. also new rotor, cap , plugs, wires, air filter, and fuel filter.

ANY IDEAS?? im kinda thinkin head gaskets..


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## Pitbullx (Jul 27, 2005)

305s need 5qts of oil


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## corndawg (Jul 17, 2003)

x2........and its probably is just a little oil smoke from leaky valve seals...any gm with a few miles on it has that problem...wont hurt anything other than it bugging you


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## jayoldschool (Jan 18, 2006)

In case you missed it on the other site:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm thinking it is grey smoke, not white. That means burning oil. The cloud at startup tells me that oil is leaking past the valve seals. It does this slowly while the car is running, so you don't notice it being burned off. However, when you shut off the car, all that oil that is up on top of the head around the rockers/springs begins to seep past the worn valve seals. It trickles down the valves, and onto the pistons. Then, when you start the car, it is burned off quickly producing a big puff.

How to fix? You need a spring compressor, a set of valve seals, two valve cover gaskets, and the ability to put the engine at TDC. Cost if you do it yourself will be under 50 bucks.


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by jayoldschool_@Jun 15 2008, 07:50 PM~10875413
> *In case you missed it on the other site:
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ...


whats TDC? the smoke is indeed white. and my cadilac books say 4 qts. and 4 qts makes the dip stick say full.


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Pitbullx_@Jun 15 2008, 04:43 PM~10874588
> *305s need 5qts of oil
> *


 my cadillac book for the car and my Haynes book says 4 qts. when i did my oil change 4 qts made the dip stick read full.


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by corndawg_@Jun 15 2008, 05:24 PM~10874777
> *x2........and its probably is just a little oil smoke from leaky valve seals...any gm with a few miles on it has that problem...wont hurt anything other than it bugging you
> *


but im burning oil apperantly as when i checked it it was almost empty


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

WHAT MAKES U GUYS THINK ITS NOT HEAD GASKETS??


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## jayoldschool (Jan 18, 2006)

> _Originally posted by shorty rocks_@Jun 16 2008, 02:12 PM~10880484
> *WHAT MAKES U GUYS THINK ITS NOT HEAD GASKETS??
> *


Because you are burning oil, not coolant.


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by jayoldschool_@Jun 16 2008, 03:57 PM~10881281
> *Because you are burning oil, not coolant.
> *


got ya. thankx for the help man. gotta another question for ya. how hard is it to change em yourself in a driveway? i looked in the Haynes manual , and it looks like a pain in the ass. said u gotta stuff the cylinders with rage and use air so the valves dont fall in, and also said u gota turn the motor as u change them. is there any way to do it with out turning the motor, etc??? thanks for ur help by the way.. :biggrin:


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## excalibur (Mar 8, 2006)

> _Originally posted by jayoldschool_@Jun 16 2008, 04:57 PM~10881281
> *Because you are burning oil, not coolant.
> *


no he's burning coolant, not oil. blue smoke is oil, white smoke is coolant burning.

I wouldnt be suprised if the LOWER INTAKE GASKET is leaking. :0


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## excalibur (Mar 8, 2006)

hey shorty rocks, 

where do you live? somewhere cold or hot? 
does it only smoke on a COLD START (llike in the morning for the first time), or does it always smoke? uffin:


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## Joker808 (May 29, 2002)

Top Dead Center 




> _Originally posted by shorty rocks_@Jun 16 2008, 01:51 PM~10880324
> *whats TDC? the smoke is indeed white. and my cadilac books say 4 qts. and 4 qts makes the dip stick say full.
> *


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by excalibur_@Jun 16 2008, 10:42 PM~10884641
> *hey shorty rocks,
> 
> where do you live?  somewhere cold or hot?
> ...


 im in NY, it smokes when i start it, white smoke. my coolant is fine, my oil level drops.


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by jayoldschool_@Jun 16 2008, 03:57 PM~10881281
> *Because you are burning oil, not coolant.
> *


got ya. thankx for the help man. gotta another question for ya. how hard is it to change em yourself in a driveway? i looked in the Haynes manual , and it looks like a pain in the ass. said u gotta stuff the cylinders with rage and use air so the valves dont fall in, and also said u gota turn the motor as u change them. is there any way to do it with out turning the motor, etc??? thanks for ur help by the way..


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## kandylac (Apr 15, 2007)

> _Originally posted by excalibur_@Jun 16 2008, 08:42 PM~10884641
> *hey shorty rocks,
> 
> where do you live?   somewhere cold or hot?
> ...


I KNOW WHAT HE'S THINKIN: IF ONLY IN THE MORNING, ITS CONDENSATION/MOISTURE IN THE EXHAUST AND WILL BURN OFF AS THE VEHICLE WARMS UP, NORMAL. NOW IF YOU THINK YOU STILL HAVE A HEAD GASKET ISSUE JUST DO A BLOCK TEST AND THAT WILL LET YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE GETTING COMBUSTIBLES INTO YOU COOLING SYSTEM. P.S. IF YOU ARE BURNING COOLANT THE EXHAUST WILL HAVE A SWEET COOLANT SMELL. good luck. :biggrin:


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by kandylac_@Jun 17 2008, 09:19 PM~10892075
> *I KNOW WHAT HE'S THINKIN: IF ONLY IN THE MORNING, ITS CONDENSATION/MOISTURE IN THE EXHAUST AND WILL BURN OFF AS THE VEHICLE WARMS UP, NORMAL. NOW IF YOU THINK YOU STILL HAVE A HEAD GASKET ISSUE JUST DO A BLOCK TEST AND THAT WILL LET YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE GETTING COMBUSTIBLES INTO YOU COOLING SYSTEM. P.S. IF YOU ARE BURNING COOLANT THE EXHAUST WILL HAVE A SWEET COOLANT SMELL. good luck.  :biggrin:
> *


i dont think coolant, my colant level is fine, im not loosing. im loosing oil. and no oil leaks. so it gotta be burning.


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## L0_RYDER69 (Apr 30, 2007)

> _Originally posted by shorty rocks_@Jun 17 2008, 04:07 PM~10889495
> *got ya. thankx for the help man. gotta another question for ya. how hard is it to change em yourself in a driveway? i looked in the Haynes manual , and it looks like a pain in the ass. said u gotta stuff the cylinders with rags and use air so the valves dont fall in, and also said u gota turn the motor as u change them. is there any way to do it with out turning the motor, etc??? thanks for ur help by the way..
> *


if you can go without the car for a few days (taking into consideration, you may not have some things you need & have to run out to get them), you can do it in your driveway. it cant be done without turning the motor. it has to be turned because each cylinder has to be at TDC on the compression stroke. thats done so the pushrod isnt putting pressure on the rocker arms or valves(so you can work on both intake & exhaust valves without interference). cant have pressure on them because when you torque the rockers back down, ull get a false reading & thats just askin for trouble. 


i dont know if haynes tells you wat tools you need but you might need... 
valve holder (spark plug hole air fitting), 
compressed air, 
torque wrench, 
valve spring compressor to remove the valve keepers, 
magnet (just in case u drop a keeper)

i might be forgetting sumthings but you get the idea.

hope this helps


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by L0_RYDER69_@Jun 18 2008, 11:39 AM~10896476
> *if you can go without the car for a few days (taking into consideration, you may not have some things you need & have to run out to get them), you can do it in your driveway. it cant be done without turning the motor. it has to be turned because each cylinder has to be at TDC on the compression stroke. thats done so the pushrod isnt putting pressure on the rocker arms or valves(so you can work on both intake & exhaust valves without interference). cant have pressure on them because when you torque the rockers back down, ull get a false reading & thats just askin for trouble.
> i dont know if haynes tells you wat tools you need but you might need...
> valve holder (spark plug hole air fitting),
> ...


i can get it done for $210, with my wholesale accounts parts will only be $12 for valve cover gaskets and $8 for valve seal kit. that seems to be a good price right?


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## L0_RYDER69 (Apr 30, 2007)

$230 + it'll be done in a couple hours... 
labor rate at some places is around $85/hour, you'd be payin for roughly 2 1/2 hours labor.
sounds good to me :thumbsup: go for it


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by L0_RYDER69_@Jun 18 2008, 10:06 PM~10901657
> *$230 + it'll be done in a couple hours...
> labor rate at some places is around $85/hour, you'd be payin for roughly 2 1/2 hours labor.
> sounds good to me :thumbsup: go for it
> *


word. my guy is $60 a hour. others are up to $70.


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## shorty rocks (Feb 28, 2008)

> _Originally posted by shorty rocks_@Jun 19 2008, 12:14 AM~10902789
> *word. my guy is $60 a hour. others are up to $70.
> *


 all is well. thats what it was. car runs great


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