White Exhaust Smoke (vapour) and Other Problems

[scarecrow]

Ok, so i've got a few mechanical problems with my FTO.

After changing the oil a month or so ago i began to notice white smoke puffing from the exhaust when revved (i noticed it because i started the car while standing outside of it, covered in oil). If i put a rag or a hand there it becomes wet

I think i'm losing coolant. Last time i checked the plastic reservoir near the windscreen i'm pretty certain it was over halfway between low and high. Now it's only a quarter.

The Petrol gauge swings as much as 1/8th randomly (ie. sometimes i'll look at it and its at half, sometimes i'll look at it and its just over 1/4).

When filling the petrol i have to do it very slowly otherwise the nozzle cuts out like its full (this happens at all garages).

I only got 380km out of the last tank, and i rarely see above 3000rpm (petrol light didn't come on but it was touching the empty line).

Oh god I think i'm going to cry
Any help on any of those matters would be much appreciated.

[scarecrow]

That was a great response Tanya, thanks!

It's up to 145000km's, i am assured by Voltaire (adriano) that the water pump was replaced at 100k but i'll get it looked into.

And you may be perfectly right about the nozzle, i haven't tried that, i just put it in like i do on our ford festiva and it doesn't seem to go in very far at all so angling it differently might be exactly what i need to do.

I'll dig up my petrol records and have a look at my km's. All the litre values below got the tank to "full" from sitting on "empty" except the first tank which already was showing 1/4 and didn't quite make it to full.

I put 30litres in at 145420 (didn't quite get to full)
45litres in at 145735 (315km's)
45litres in at 146116 (381km's)

When i refil when the gauge shows empty, it takes 45litres to get it to full. How much is the tank supposed to hold?? I've never let it go until the petrol lights came on only because i'm worried that the fuel gauge isn't actually showing a true representation of how much fuels in there.

The oil was recently replaced (well sort of... i'm redoing it on friday, i made a thread on it, it didn't go well) and looked perfectly fine. It's a GR. I'm going to mark the coolant level and see if it drops any further. I'm fairly sure it dropped from 3/4 to 1/4 but i'm not certain as i didn't pay too much attention to how much coolant was in it originally.

If i can get the white smoked checked out tomorrow i will (i think you can get the exhuast emisions analysed for presence of coolant or something). Getting the suspension raised (hopefully) after trying on tuesday but having to run around and get the locknuts removed as the key didn't seem to come with the car...

[scarecrow]

I just had a browse through www.ftooc.com and it seems that white smoke (steam) is perfectly normal, one of them described it as being like a kettle when the weather got cold.

http://www.ftooc.org/phpbb/viewtopic.ph ... hite+smoke

I'll monitor the coolant issue though. If it is dropping then i'll get it investigated.

[Supplanter]

The tank should hold 60L, although I have heard rumours that post 96 cars get a 70L tank

[scarecrow]

70L's, christ, thats quite excessive for a little car that prides itself on having relatively low weight and high maneouverability.

If i've got a 60 tank then that means when i'm on empty i've still got another 15L to go, which would get my kilometres over 400 easy.

[smorison]

The Petrol gauge swings as much as 1/8th randomly (ie. sometimes i'll look at it and its at half, sometimes i'll look at it and its just over 1/4).

When filling the petrol i have to do it very slowly otherwise the nozzle cuts out like its full (this happens at all garages).

does it have after market dials??? if so the fuel gauge dial may be loose...

wouldn't worry about this it happens to a lot of them its to do with pressure build up in the tank due to air not flowing out fast enough....

white smoke: the cars run rich most of the time if its cold don't worry about it... if its happening all the time its a problem

the tank near the windscreen is your coolant overflow its supposed to go up and down... the important bit is to check your radiator WHEN COLD and make sure its full.. don't fill up the overflow bottle. if after you fill it up it starts to get low again you may have a waterpump leak which is somewhat common...

fuel performance from one tank isn't an idication it could just be a bad batch of fuel... if its happening more and more then the car is probably running rich and could be a failing 02 sesnor around your cat (which could also explain the smoke)

start with the cheap stuff you can do yourself then move on...

who's your mechanic and what area are you in??? do they know fto's????

[afterburner]

My car is a 97, and the most fuel I've ever put in it is 54 litres.

[scarecrow]

I'm close to unique auto, but there expensive, so i've been going to R. W. Browns Automotive in Parramatta who seem to know there stuff, they weren't fazed at all when they saw the FTO so i get the impression they've worked on them before. There great auto electricians (thats there speciality) and they do pinkslips. Today there doing my suspension work aswell. So yeah, i recommend them if you ever have a electrical problem.

Oh and yeah, my exhaust will sometimes smell really strong of petrol (especially when i start her up) so I think it's running pretty rich. Once i get a CAI properly done i'll try and get my hands on an Apexi SAFC and have it tuned..

The white smoke doesn't "cloud" or "billow" out, it merely "wisps" into the air and disapears less then 2 feet from the exit, plus it's extremely moist. It happens most when i cold start her, once i've been for a good drive (over 20mins) and come back it won't be doing it anymore.

Oh and the GPvR is the lightweight version so they may well have kept the 60 in that one.

[Luca]

Hey scarecrow,

My car does the same thing. I wouldn't call the smoke moist, but there is certainly whisps of smoke and vapour present. This is the car running rich (well on mine anyway). I would say that Stephen is right and that this is likely to be your car running rich Especially if you use the 98 RON.

Also remember that when you start the car, it runs itself richer until it reaches operating temp. This compounds the problem when cold.

As for water, check your radiator levels, if your losing coolant it will be noticable over a short period of time.

If you were burning significant amounts of oil, it would smell different, look more pronounced and you would notice it in your oil levels. Eg: series 1 Monaro's.

But anyway ... definitely check all the things that Stephen mentioned, cheapest to most expensive. But I don't think you should be too worried just yet.

Let us know how you go

Luca

[mrx]

From what I understand, white smoke is water vapour, not caused by running rich. This could be where your coolant is disappearing too - head gasket seeping under compression possibly. Get a compression test done to find out. This can also be caused by condensation in your exhaust which can accumulate overnight, but if it is happening constantly then it is some cause for concern.

If the car is running rich, then you get black exhaust gases. Blue smoke is oil.

[RichardH]

If i've got a 60 tank then that means when i'm on empty i've still got another 15L to go, which would get my kilometres over 400 easy.

I just got 540km from 47 litres. And that's with the amps/sub in the boot! That's what driving like a granny will do for ya!!

- Rich

[Luca]

From what I understand, white smoke is water vapour, not caused by running rich. This could be where your coolant is disappearing too - head gasket seeping under compression possibly. Get a compression test done to find out. This can also be caused by condensation in your exhaust which can accumulate overnight, but if it is happening constantly then it is some cause for concern.

If the car is running rich, then you get black exhaust gases. Blue smoke is oil.

Lol ... I think we're just using different colours to describe the same thing. I know my dad's Monaro was burning oil until Holden rebuilt the engine, I'd call the colour white ... but I can see how blue would also make sence

Scarecrow ... can you confirm that you are in fact loosing coolant. It is still undecided if this is even an issue. Certainly do this before anything as dramatic as a compression test.

MRX is certainly right about the condensation though, this is quite obvious in Winter.

Basically ... you're best off checking the cheap things yourself, and please do post your investigation results on the forum, we can give you more pointers then. But I do recommend you go to an expert if, after this you are still worried, because without seeing the car, we can only advise you so much... and even then we are likely to be wrong

Cheers mate.
Luca

[payaya]

Its bloody water vapour! IF the colour is a more white with blue tinge then ya got problems. Does the smoke stop after about 5 minutes of driving? If so its obviously water vapour.

Also the reason why cars smell like petrol or some people think their engines are running rich during startup is because the engine is cold and the cat is cold. Cold cat means all toxins arent burning up in the cat, thats the smell you can smell.


Was coolant recently changed too? If so you could have no bleed your cooling system enough which is why you dont have a coolant reserves in the overflow tank when you previously looked.

With the petrol problem dont stick the nozzle completly into your pretrol hole. Seriously stick nozzle in just a tad and make sure fillter is pointed lower down, so bascially the tigger is almost touching the part of the exterior body just below the filler hole. Problem solved. I cant fill up my car by having nozzle completely in filler hold or it clicks as well.

Also ive had my petrol guage run below the E line by about 2-3 mm. I get anywhere from 500-600 a tank peak hour crap no freeway crap.

[scarecrow]

Well i'll mark my coolant levels and see if it's dropping. Should i mark the overflow res early in the morning when the cars definetly at its coldest??? If i open the radiator cap it's always full, so i assume i can only gauge loss via the overflow tank...

Oil change is done, haven't checked for white smoke in a few weeks, i'll have a look today. And it is definetly very moist when it happens, ie. if i stick a rag just out side of the tip it will become pretty damp pretty fast. I'm not sure how long it lasts for though, when i go for a drive later i'll check it when i get back in.

If it is leaking it's definetly not leaking into the oil, changed my oil today and it came out nice and golden. The leak, if indeed there is one, is very slow, which is a good thing.

I'll fill her up on monday and try various nozzle sticking in techniques until i get one that will allow me to fill without clicks. I'll fill her right up and reset the trip meter and see how far i can get. My driving style always depends on my mood, sometimes i'll be in 5th going 50km/h, others i'll be roaring along in 1st (for a GR with stock intake it still makes an awesome sound ). I'll attempt to drive averagely for the duration of my next tank and i'll wait till the light comes on before i fill up again.

Could always just be just the heavy people i drive around At one point a couple of weeks ago i was driving around with 3 other males, all over 6 foot, one weighing in at like 130 and the others at about 100. The two in the back had a shocking time going over speedhumps

[BuCkEt]

I had one tall passenger of mine ask me to open the sunroof so that he could sit up properly.


We got to our destination and he goes "my head's cold!"


As for petrol......lowest I've gotten it down to is 3L's left in the tank. My needle can sit above the E and the light only just starts to come on. I believe that the fuel level sensor is at the front of the tank as when I'm going up a hill I'll be fine but heading back down a hill the fuel light will come on!

[scarecrow]

Bah, double post, sorry.

[scarecrow]

3- Filling up at the petrol station, I find that I cannot put the nozzle in as you normally would.... I angle it so that the bit where the petrol comes out is pointing to the back of the car

That worked perfectly!!! Thanks Tanya, thats one problem solved. It only took a minute or so to fill up this time, usually it would take nearly 5 because i'd have to do it very slowly.

Oh and i'm using 12.5L per 100km by my calculations. From what i hear i should be using about 10L per 100km.

[kni8ht]

The white smoke doesn't "cloud" or "billow" out, it merely "wisps" into the air and disapears less then 2 feet from the exit, plus it's extremely moist. It happens most when i cold start her, once i've been for a good drive (over 20mins) and come back it won't be doing it anymore.

I think my "cloud" out, I mainly notice it went I got home around 1am in the morning, that's normally after 30min of driving. I run on 98ron, I can't tell if the car is running rich or there maybe problem with the car....

[poster]

hey guys
it was very interesting to read all that!!!!! but i really dont understand some of the terms.....

however i do have the same problem !!....with my GPX 95
im a noob with the car..i only just got in to the sports car circle.

my problems are:
lossing petrol ( i need to calculate the amount im using then poster it again..)

have the smoke and the smell of petrol

im the morning when i start the engin the ravs is high ( at about 2500 r/m ) and it will not go down for a long time....

and i just checked the coolant level, i think its very low. where should it be up to ? ? ? ? ?

what is " running rich" means ?

and where is a good car workshop to go for FTO in East Melbourne

please guys i need some of your answer....
thank u !!

[Digital_Import]

ive noticed if i dont drive my car for a long time ill get a startup thats rich and you will get some smoke out the back but this is only short and once the engine is warm its fine. Also during the colder seasons at nite you will have moisture build up on the car and in the exhaust, this will cause vapour to come out the back. I leave my car outside a lot so it always gets moisture build up. Hope your problems are just these and nothing serious, better to be safe and get it checked out properly.