How do I ascertain cause of occasional large puff of white smoke from exhaust pipe(very caustic sulphuric smell at start up of my 01 stang 6-cyl 3.8(?)? If someone ssees this on the street, they might want to call the"smog People" on me. I’m on fixed income,so I try to fix diy b4 I go to dealer or any reputable mechanic, Help!
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Are you sure its not just condensation from being started on a cold morning??If its white smoke with a blue tint its usually a sign of bad valve seals in a cylinder head or heads depending on whether you have single or dual exhaust pipes from the engine to the tailpipes and which pipe its coming from if youve got dual pipes.
If you’re burning oil and its exiting through the catalytic converters,this will also cause your symptom.Youll likely smell exhaust gases mixed in with the smoke.Your spark plugs may reveal the affected cylinder(s) if its oil.
Coolant leaking into the combustion chamber can also cause smoke,but if its a head gasket issue,there would be alot of smoke and it would be continuous.
On the right side of the screen there will be the date of the last time a thread was posted to. In this one it was April 2009 .
Ok gotcha.Thanks.Didnt know if that number meant the year or day.