Wagon R, whitish smoke + water droplets from silencer

Rohit26 · 4th December 2009, 09:06

Totally confused:
Fed up from day to day manourvering safari in tight parking spots & narrow lanes,I brought 2001 model 48000 Kms driven wagon r LXI from my cousin.
Last 20 days back car flush water from radiator,pipe etc. & car was too hot .Next day local mechanic found fan was not working & said head phasing & head gasket need to be replaced.
After fan repairing car running fine but temperature used to remain high & some water oozes from silencer .
Last week car started emitting white or somewhat bluish smoke.
Took the vehicle to MASS ,after they opened radiator cap water was coming out like small fountain but they said engine is fine no problem.culprit was spark-plugs,injectors,throttle cleaned,radiator replaced(was choked in 8 years no cleaning etc. ).Regular service was also done.some valves were also changed.clutch was replaced.
took the vehicle delivery in 3 days yesterday but today in morning i noticed water droplest oozing out below the silencer & some whitish smoke..
Whats wrong?Is it normal with petrol cars?

Randhawa · 4th December 2009, 09:20

Don't worry it's just the condensation in the exhaust. It happens to all the petrol cars in the winter but due to your previous heating problem just check the coolant reservoir for any sign of oil. Also monitor the level of coolant for couple of days.

rr_zen · 4th December 2009, 09:40

Is the engine still overheating? Was the head gasket replaced along with the other items that you have mentioned above ? White smoke from the exhaust could be a sure sign of a blown head gasket. The following thread(albeit talks about coolant loss) could be a worthwhile read.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-engine-2.html

aaggoswami · 4th December 2009, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rohit26

took the vehicle delivery in 3 days yesterday but today in morning i noticed water droplest oozing out below the silencer & some whitish smoke..
Whats wrong?Is it normal with petrol cars?

Water coming out shows that your engine is in good health.
White smoke = gasket gone.

I dont know how the car was used, but considering that clutch had to replaced indicates a bit rough usage. Drive the car for a few more days and see if the white smoke continues or not. But dont worry about water droplets.

dhrishikesh · 4th December 2009, 13:40

Water coming out of the exhaust pipe shows that your engine is in very good shape along with proper tuning of your fuel pump controlled by ECu.
White smoke indicates that your gaskets are worn out & they needs a replacement.

Rohit26 · 4th December 2009, 14:54

Gasket was not replaced...But white smoke didn't appeared in front of MASS guys.They tried to produce white smoke for 3 days... Initially temp guage used to remain near "C" only temp used to rise little bit even after long drive.but now temp guage shows half..

Quote:

Originally Posted by rr_zen

Is the engine still overheating? Was the head gasket replaced along with the other items that you have mentioned above ? White smoke from the exhaust could be a sure sign of a blown head gasket. The following thread(albeit talks about coolant loss) could be a worthwhile read.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-engine-2.html

lancer&shogun · 4th December 2009, 15:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhrishikesh

White smoke indicates that your gaskets are worn out & they needs a replacement.

Rohit,
Also check your engine oil level whether it decreases or not. Whats your reading on your odo? If its above 1Lac do check your rings, that may be the cause for white smoke.

Cheers,
L&S

ImmortalZ · 4th December 2009, 19:16

Are you sure the whitish smoke isn't actually steam? The water is your catalytic converter doing it's job.

Actual white/blue smoke means your engine is burning oil, which is a Bad Thing(tm).

sumeethaldankar · 4th December 2009, 19:23

Whitish smoke when u start the car the first time in the morning is just water vapor which is quite normal.

sudharma · 5th December 2009, 06:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rohit26

today in morning i noticed water droplest oozing out below the silencer & some whitish smoke..
Whats wrong?Is it normal with petrol cars?

Nothing wrong with your car. Alls fine. The whitish smoke is just steam. The droplets are water, byproduct of good combustion.

You should be happy to see this.!

Rohit26 · 5th December 2009, 07:06

My odo reading is 58000 Km.Its appears to be white water vapours.
But surely going to keep watch on engine oil consumption + oil & coolant mixing .
But since last few days car is not starting in the morning.It gives "CLICK" sound when i try.My battery is 3yrs old & car headlights etc. runs fine.But after sometime it started today after several clicks..

ImmortalZ · 5th December 2009, 13:30

That's your battery giving you notice. It can no longer supply the current to run the starter.

Trust_In_Thrust · 5th December 2009, 16:07

Is the click sound from starter and after repeated attempts you are able to start.It can more be the starter solenoid not working properly.If you can use your headlights , music system , ac and also if you are able to start your car after using headlights for 30sec-1min then your battery is fine.
For checking battery use a hydrometer to check specific gravity it should be more than 11.5 if i remember correctly .
For checking solenoid you are already saying the symptoms.

MotoKris · 5th December 2009, 19:45

@Rohit bhai, water droplets from the exhaust of a petrol car is an indication that the engine is good in health.

Even some white smoke at a cold start is fine - vapours.

If the smoke comes in on a warm engine upon revving then get your head gasket checked. My car (Esteem VX MPFi 2001 77K KMs) is now in the same situation and somehow I am adamant on touching those original parts even for a head gasket change and clutch plate change. The car is still pulling damn well, returning a city mileage of 13-14 KMPL with a/c. Why I said all this - may be there is nothing wrong with your car or at least may be there is no immediate need to replace something.

Swapnil4585 · 23rd July 2020, 20:26

Bumping a very old thread.

My petrol Altis was parked since mid March. I could fill fuel and take it out only today. I have a few things on my to do list, one of which was flushing the radiator and refilling of new coolant. The radiator wasn't flushed since 2 years, so anyways it was due for a flush. I did not have any overheating / coolant leaking / coolant evaporating or any problems as such. Just the due service.

Also, the engine health has been good, since the droplets of water would be seen on the floor every morning.

Now today, after the old coolant was drained, the radiator was flushed clean and new coolant was filled, I started the car. It started emitting little white smoke (like every petrol emits on early cold mornings). It continued to do so for a couple of minutes. Then I revved the engine. The proportion of smoke increased. Then I turned off the engine and started it back after a couple of minutes. There was no smoke. I drove the car home and there wasn't any smoke in between. I will check it in the morning and over the weekend.

Do I need to worry?

4th December 2009, 09:06	#1
Rohit26 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Ghaziabad U.P Posts: 43 Thanked: Once	Wagon R, whitish smoke + water droplets from silencer Totally confused: Fed up from day to day manourvering safari in tight parking spots & narrow lanes,I brought 2001 model 48000 Kms driven wagon r LXI from my cousin. Last 20 days back car flush water from radiator,pipe etc. & car was too hot .Next day local mechanic found fan was not working & said head phasing & head gasket need to be replaced. After fan repairing car running fine but temperature used to remain high & some water oozes from silencer . Last week car started emitting white or somewhat bluish smoke. Took the vehicle to MASS ,after they opened radiator cap water was coming out like small fountain but they said engine is fine no problem.culprit was spark-plugs,injectors,throttle cleaned,radiator replaced(was choked in 8 years no cleaning etc. ).Regular service was also done.some valves were also changed.clutch was replaced. took the vehicle delivery in 3 days yesterday but today in morning i noticed water droplest oozing out below the silencer & some whitish smoke.. Whats wrong?Is it normal with petrol cars?
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 09:20	#2
Randhawa Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Brighton Posts: 1,203 Thanked: 361 Times	Don't worry it's just the condensation in the exhaust. It happens to all the petrol cars in the winter but due to your previous heating problem just check the coolant reservoir for any sign of oil. Also monitor the level of coolant for couple of days.
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 09:40	#3
rr_zen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 1,810 Thanked: 423 Times View My Garage	Is the engine still overheating? Was the head gasket replaced along with the other items that you have mentioned above ? White smoke from the exhaust could be a sure sign of a blown head gasket. The following thread(albeit talks about coolant loss) could be a worthwhile read. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-engine-2.html
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 13:40	#5
dhrishikesh BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mumbai / Pune B Posts: 806 Thanked: 241 Times	Water coming out of the exhaust pipe shows that your engine is in very good shape along with proper tuning of your fuel pump controlled by ECu. White smoke indicates that your gaskets are worn out & they needs a replacement.
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 19:16	#8
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,192 Thanked: 601 Times View My Garage	Are you sure the whitish smoke isn't actually steam? The water is your catalytic converter doing it's job. Actual white/blue smoke means your engine is burning oil, which is a Bad Thing(tm).
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 19:23	#9
sumeethaldankar Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,149 Thanked: 3,676 Times View My Garage	Whitish smoke when u start the car the first time in the morning is just water vapor which is quite normal.
	() Thanks

5th December 2009, 07:06	#11
Rohit26 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Ghaziabad U.P Posts: 43 Thanked: Once	My odo reading is 58000 Km.Its appears to be white water vapours. But surely going to keep watch on engine oil consumption + oil & coolant mixing . But since last few days car is not starting in the morning.It gives "CLICK" sound when i try.My battery is 3yrs old & car headlights etc. runs fine.But after sometime it started today after several clicks..
	() Thanks

5th December 2009, 13:30	#12
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,192 Thanked: 601 Times View My Garage	That's your battery giving you notice. It can no longer supply the current to run the starter.
	() Thanks

5th December 2009, 16:07	#13
Trust_In_Thrust BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 768 Thanked: 350 Times	Is the click sound from starter and after repeated attempts you are able to start.It can more be the starter solenoid not working properly.If you can use your headlights , music system , ac and also if you are able to start your car after using headlights for 30sec-1min then your battery is fine. For checking battery use a hydrometer to check specific gravity it should be more than 11.5 if i remember correctly . For checking solenoid you are already saying the symptoms.
	() Thanks

5th December 2009, 19:45	#14
MotoKris BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 81 Thanked: 17 Times	@Rohit bhai, water droplets from the exhaust of a petrol car is an indication that the engine is good in health. Even some white smoke at a cold start is fine - vapours. If the smoke comes in on a warm engine upon revving then get your head gasket checked. My car (Esteem VX MPFi 2001 77K KMs) is now in the same situation and somehow I am adamant on touching those original parts even for a head gasket change and clutch plate change. The car is still pulling damn well, returning a city mileage of 13-14 KMPL with a/c. Why I said all this - may be there is nothing wrong with your car or at least may be there is no immediate need to replace something.
	() Thanks

23rd July 2020, 20:26	#15
Swapnil4585 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Pothole Town Posts: 547 Thanked: 376 Times	Re: Wagon R, whitish smoke + water droplets from silencer Bumping a very old thread. My petrol Altis was parked since mid March. I could fill fuel and take it out only today. I have a few things on my to do list, one of which was flushing the radiator and refilling of new coolant. The radiator wasn't flushed since 2 years, so anyways it was due for a flush. I did not have any overheating / coolant leaking / coolant evaporating or any problems as such. Just the due service. Also, the engine health has been good, since the droplets of water would be seen on the floor every morning. Now today, after the old coolant was drained, the radiator was flushed clean and new coolant was filled, I started the car. It started emitting little white smoke (like every petrol emits on early cold mornings). It continued to do so for a couple of minutes. Then I revved the engine. The proportion of smoke increased. Then I turned off the engine and started it back after a couple of minutes. There was no smoke. I drove the car home and there wasn't any smoke in between. I will check it in the morning and over the weekend. Do I need to worry?
	() Thanks