Name that problem

[Ceeker]

I should also note that white smoke comes out of the muffler, pretty constant. And it has a fuel smell to it. Could this be part of the fuel pump or filter?

Thanks for the replies, i'll start checking some of the suggestions i've gotten here.

Cheers

white smoke could mean a couple things; typical for any e30 on start up until it warms up sufficiently. 2) running very lean, 3) could also be head gasket leak and coolant burning off in the combustion chamber. Highly doubt #3. :-)

I would honestly do what others had mentioned; going the cheapest way first. Check for vacuum leaks; or, break down - replace ALL vacuum hoses on the motor. Start from scratch. They should be replaced every 100k as they get brittle and crack. Also check the intake bellows.(boot) for cracks.

next clean ICV, and anything air/fuel related before spending on potentially big ticket items.

if you have earlier version car your cold start injector might be messing up.

[Jand3rson]

spray some brake cleaner on your intake manifold/vacuum lines/anywhere there could be a leak. But spray specific areas one at a time.

BRAKE CLEANER??? Ummmm, I hope you meant CARB cleaner...

[5ickride]

Thx for the input. I'm in the middle of a snowstorm here in the northeast so I have to wait till it calms down.

Creeker- how would #3 happen in the first place?

[5ickride]

Just went out back for the he'll of it, snow and all, to give it a look. How do I check for vacuum leaks if my engine keeps cutting off right after I start it? I did a visual inspection and nothing seemed out of place or damaged.

[328ijunkie]

Tps......

[CHIF8008]

also, aside from vac. leak- mine did this with bad fuel filter

[5ickride]

Tps......

?

[5ickride]

also, aside from vac. leak- mine did this with bad fuel filter

Ill add this to the list, thx

[5ickride]

Just to get some closure. It ended up being a knock sensor that cracked, a bad throttle position sensor and oil residue built up in the air meter. Oh yeah, and a small vacuum leak that was located with a smoke test. Parts + labor + tow= :(

[99em1]

Sounds exactly like when my icv fell out of the fitting on the intake manifold. Make sure that you dont have any bad vaccum leaks.

This. Peek through the holes in the manifold runners and get a good look at it, snake your arm under the rats nest and make sure its tight. Although if you haven't done anything around there like cleaning the ICV then it's less likely that it just came loose. But it's free and takes a minute.

Short of taking it to a shop for some smoke action, you gotta do a solid visual/feel check for tightness/leaks around the hoses you can get to. It's too unreliable to make guesses as to what it is without actual seeing it.

edit: nm you found it. sucks but glad you fixed it. where was the leak btw? bad tps's are always fun. especially in tight parking lots.