Hello guys, and Happy New Year!
I own a 94 Toyota Pickup with 265000 on it. And I have a question. It blows white smoke but ONLY when the engine is cold. Is this something major? Or can I ignore it?
Most cars will exhaust white “smoke” when started up in cold weather, some vehicles more than others. You are actually seeing water vapor that is condensing in the cold air.
Generally this is considered normal and harmless. An excessive amount may indicate a plugged drain hole in the muffler, which is also not serious.
If this symptom persists after the car warms up you may have a serious problem. If it clears up quickly however, you may safely ignore it.
As Steve has said…and this is the key…AFTER the car and exhaust system are FULLY warmed up…you should NOT have any white steam…or “smoke”…if you do its a head gasket…and you should literally be able to smell the coolant burning in the “smoke”.
Depending on how you plan to fix it…depends on what to do next… A bottle of Blue Devil will fix it permanently…HOWEVER IF you are planning to do the head gasket the proper way…SKIP the $60 Blue Devil and proceed with your mechanical/proper Head gasket repair…
If you were going to give up on the truck and engine then by all means Blue Devil it…you will be impressed, I assure you. Follow the instructions to the T…AND it helps to do a full water flush of your cooling system before you Blue Dev it…
Blackbird