[Slick]

Hello guys,
I have a 2001 Esteem VXI, Its a MPFI engine.Everything is stock.

I got her 3 months back, I am totally satisfied with the performance and smoothness.
The problem is whenever I cold start her she gives out white smoke for around 3-5 seconds,
This has started since the past 1 month. I had to change her engine oil then.
Also she has given starting problems on 2 occasions, both after the white smoke started.

The battery is in prime condition (Headlamps & horn wrk full blast)
I consulted my mechanic and he said it is due the excess engine oil which burns on start and that it is not a reason to worry.

Kindly help on the issue, I am worried that everytime I drive her I might be damaging the engine.

HELP

[amitpunjani]

HI slick

Kindly check the coolant in the radiator. Normally white smoke is due to the coolant leak into the cylinder.


Amit

[DirtyDan]

The white smoke on a DIESEL is usually unburned fuel blown out of the tailpipe on start up. If you get a smell of it you can confirm whether it smells pretty bad. If so, it is unburned fuel. If it only lasts a couple of seconds and your car runs good otherwise then I would not worry about it. This probably has nothing to do with your oil change unless they put in the wrong oil. I hope that upon start up you are not pumping the throttle and you are letting the ECU determine how much fuel to give it?

You may want to keep your eye on things for awhile. The worst case scenario is that you have a bad injector that is leaking fuel into the motor oil. This can cause loss of lubricity and engine damage. Keep checking your oil to see if it smells like diesel fuel. However, I suspect that you have some questionable programming in your ECU or perhaps the ECU is faulty. This is more common. Let us know what the problem is, if there is a problem, 'ay?

[DirtyDan]

Excuse me, not a diesel. Its coolant probably like he said.

[sukiwa]

Do you face any other problems like high engine temp. if you drive for long duration.

[DirtyDan]

Now that I am more awake, what the devil does he mean excess engine oil? Where did it come from? Worst case scenario, and its bad, is that you have a head gasket leak. This means the seal between your upper valves and lower engine is warped or leaking causing coolant that is supposed to be circulating in your engine jacket to leak into the cylinders and inner workings of your engine itself. This will soon destroy your engine. Have someone look at it VERY soon like today or tomorrow. Try to find out if you have coolant in your motor oil. This is one tell tale symptom of a head gasket leak. If you have such a leak your coolant level may go noticeably down and your engine oil level may go up since it is now full of coolant. Check both levels now and often since you have these symptoms. This is expensive to fix, I am sorry to say.

[dadu]

And this might help for self inspection.

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

Now that I am more awake, what the devil does he mean excess engine oil? Where did it come from? Worst case scenario, and its bad, is that you have a head gasket leak. This means the seal between your upper valves and lower engine is warped or leaking causing coolant that is supposed to be circulating in your engine jacket to leak into the cylinders and inner workings of your engine itself. This will soon destroy your engine. Have someone look at it VERY soon like today or tomorrow. Try to find out if you have coolant in your motor oil. This is one tell tale symptom of a head gasket leak. If you have such a leak your coolant level may go noticeably down and your engine oil level may go up since it is now full of coolant. Check both levels now and often since you have these symptoms. This is expensive to fix, I am sorry to say.

[Jaggu]

get a good mech to your car in the morning and show him the symptom. can be oil or coolant seeping in over extended rest, or as simple as condensation at tail pipe (hope you ruled that out).

[amitpunjani]

A simple test would conclude whether the coolant is leaking into the engine or not.

In the morning or whenever the engine is cold, open the radiator cap and check if there is any oil floating on top of the coolant or not.

Amit

[Slick]

Originally Posted by amitpunjani

A simple test would conclude whether the coolant is leaking into the engine or not.

In the morning or whenever the engine is cold, open the radiator cap and check if there is any oil floating on top of the coolant or not.

Amit

Thanks Amit
Sure thing,
M in night shift now, Will do first thing after I go home and let you know by evening.

Also I read a similar thread for a Baleno, he changed the Valve stem seal and it worked.(oil was leaking in that case)

How bad is it affecting the engine, any ideas?

Originally Posted by dadu

And this might help for self inspection.

Hey Dadu,
Thanks a million, My car does have heating problems.
I took it to lonavla with my brothers zen and though the zen did not heat up, mine did a little. (I attributed it to my driving habits).

I'll take her to my mechanic today itself and ask him to check as you said.
The link is excellent.
Thanks to D dan as well.