Billows of white smoke....

[terible1biker57]

So my car is pumping white smoke out of the exhaust on initial start. Its gotta be coolant right? Im thinking the head gasket is leaking but don't want to jump conclusions. So getting to the point, how difficult is it to replace. I have the Bentley manual and am pretty mechanically inclined. also why im at it, what would be good measure to replace while im in the engine so to speak.

[AnimalE30]

I really couldn't tell you about the cause. Did you check the oil dip stick to see if coolant mixed with the oil?

But, it's really not too hard. I snapped a rocker arm recently and replacing it was the first time I've ever really worked on a car. I didn't really need the manual till it came time to put things back together lol. Make sure you label the fuel lines (top/bottom) and just remember what coolant hoses connect to each other. Follow the torque specs and sequences for bolts.

Things to replace:
Timing belt, tensioner and tensioner spring.
Water pump and gasket.
Go with OEM goatzee head gasket.
I replaced my head studs with Metric blues (dont reuse the old ones) people don't seem to like these anymore tho.
Replace anything that is cracked.
I bought the victor renz set thing. A lot of random gaskets to replace.
Replace thermostat and temp sensor if you have the money.

Basically a lot of maintenance things can be down while everything is accessible.

[jlevie]

Does the engine run rough and miss until the smoke stops? That and the smoke could be evidence of a leaking head gasket that is allowing coolant into one or more cylinders when the engine is off. A further diagnostic would be the duplicate the conditions that result in the smoke, pull the plugs, and have someone crank over the engine. If coolant sprays out of spark plug holes the diagnosis is certain.

It isn't difficult to pull and replace the head. You should have the Bentley manual as it covers this quite well. Once the head is off you need to take it to a shop and have it checked for flatness (and surfaced if warped) and cracks. If the head is warped or cracked a new gasket won't fix the problem.

[terible1biker57]

Does the engine run rough and miss until the smoke stops? That and the smoke could be evidence of a leaking head gasket that is allowing coolant into one or more cylinders when the engine is off. A further diagnostic would be the duplicate the conditions that result in the smoke, pull the plugs, and have someone crank over the engine. If coolant sprays out of spark plug holes the diagnosis is certain.

It isn't difficult to pull and replace the head. You should have the Bentley manual as it covers this quite well. Once the head is off you need to take it to a shop and have it checked for flatness (and surfaced if warped) and cracks. If the head is warped or cracked a new gasket won't fix the problem.

Yep that's definitely it, It started running rough a couple months ago at start up. then when it gets warm it stops smoking and being rough. Ill do the test that you posted just to make sure but I think you got it!

Also I was thinking about replacing piston ring etc since I'm in the engine, How would I test to see if I need rings. Could I compression test it while it this condition, or is their an alternate test?

[jlevie]

A compression test and a leakdown test (dry and wet) will tell you a lot about the condition of the engine and head. Those tests can be run even with this leak. If the rings are worn, it would be a good bet that the cylinder are too. Depending on how bad the wear is, just doing rings might not make a lot of sense. In any case, to do rings you really need to pull and disassemble the engine. And if you do that the crank should be checked for wear, polished, and new bearings installed.

If the engine has over 150k on it, you should seriously consider having the head rebuilt while it is off, regardless of whether other work will be done to the engine.