hey guys looking for a little input. my 96 blazer (180k miles) upon start up every morning will emit white smoke at fairly steady pace. if i rev the engine it will get much worse and create a nice plume. after driving for about a minute or two,the white smoke will cease. if i let the truck sit for several hrs or overnite before start ups the same thing will happen again. no noticeable smoke after sitting a few hrs. is this a possible gasket leak somewhere and am i running on borrowed time before something major happens.other than this the truck runs fine.was getting misfire codes but had a tuneup (cap,plugs,rotor and wires) and replaced ckp sensor about 2 weeks ago and so far no more codes. replaced in the last year fuel pump,spider,maf and map sensors,egr and fuel filter.i might add that the smoking issue has been around for awhile,just more noticeable when its cold out. the white smoke also seems to smell a little rich and be full of condensation at the tail pipe. sometimes i think i can notice a sweet smell as well. getting a marble sound from engine sometime when accellerating,is this sound from something burning off. it doesnt overheat or run hot at all,nor can i see any evidence of any type of leak from under the hood,on the ground or inside the truck. oil is changed every 3mos and other than being a little dirty it is fine for 3 mo old oil. getting very concerned. any ideas!!!

 

Have you checked your oil level? You could be burning oil past your rings.

Also, have you checked your coolant level or put your hand over the exhaust emitting from the tail pipe and see if your hand gets wet? If so, you could be burning coolant.

 

oil level ok. 180k miles, so the truck does need a qt added every month. would burning oil cause the white smoke. i always thought oil would produce blue/black smoke. hand does get wet when over tail pipe. if its coolant burning off,then why!!!

 

My first thought would be a head gasket. Pull the spark plugs and see if any of them are white (not discolored). If so, they are being 'cleaned' by the coolant getting into the combustion chamber.

 

the smoking tailpipe problem has been present for the past several months now. like i mentioned, plugs were changed abt 2 weeks ago and were normal looking for plugs that had several thousand miles on them.they did not look at all as if they were being cleaned. whats next or what are my options.

 

Can you get ahold of a compression tester (gauge)? this will tell you where you may have an issue. Could also be valve guide seals. You just never know. I would check compression and if it's low on a cylinder or two, squirt some engine oil innthem through the plug hole and try it again. If you get the same readings then your rings are probably OK and I would then look for the valve guide seals. If you have a vacuum gauge (a Mity-Vac will work fine) check the vacuum and how the gauge acts. It's kind of a lost art but it will help you determinethe cause of many problems. I know the Mity-Vac has a pretty good explanation of the readings you get.
Food for thought.
Oil does make whitish blue smoke (more white more oil) when an engine burns it.

 

By all means check it out, but I think that you might be looking for a problem that is not there. I have had my truck a little over four years now and has done exactly what you describe every since I bought it. I never have to add oil, nor do I ever need to top up the coolant.

In my case it is nothing more than condensation in the exhaust. After driving for 10 to 15 minutes the exhaust gets warmed up and the "white smoke" (steam) stops.

 

agree on the upper post too, but possibly if your smelling coolant it may be an intake gasket leaking

 

you know das, adding your location would be a great help too (still don't know why so many members don't include it). it's Winter, and vehicles in colder climates will emit "white smoke" from the tailpipe on a cold start.

the few vehicles that i've owned that burned oil, it became more blue/grey as it got worse.

 

Actually, more oil=more blue. White is coolant.

x2.