Blowing White Smoke???

[stevenrossi]

Hey guys, this is concerning my 1994 Golf 1.9L IDI TD >>> 210 000KM.

I've noticed that since it's gotten cloder i've been blowing a heck of a lot of white smoke while driving. I always let the car warm up but for the 1st 10 or so minutes of driving it (even while warm) it still blows nothing but pure white smoke. My friend told me to change my glow plugs, but I worry that it may be burning coolant.

Any suggestions? This happens for only a while, then it stops. The glow plugs are o.k and it never studders on cold start up. One other suggestion to see if it's burning coolant that i've gotten is this

"after a long drive, pop the cap off the resevior and if it sprays all over the place, you've got a bad head gasket" --- sounds ok.

What should I do?

[mcd96]

Steve

Here is some advice I sourced out on TDIclub.com in regards to your concern(the quote below was directed at a T/D, not a TDI).

"white smoke on a diesel is indicative of incomplete burn. Common to get a puff on a cold start, and maybe a tiny bit for a small period while warming up when cold, that's it."

Since this may not be the issue for your vehicle, I would suggest registering yourself into the forum (for all I know you may be a member already), then type "white smoke" into the forum's search engine.

http://www.tdiclub.com/

Hope that helps

Marc

[jtanguay]

i'd say its rare that your head gasket is gone, but it could be a possibility.  Maybe its running too rich???  My 1.6 TD IDI makes a bit of smoke, but thats common for winter.  Does it blow white smoke after its been warmed up? Take it for a highway drive and then check for smoke after that.  If lots of thick white smoke still come out, then it could be coolant.

Another rare problem would be that your crankcase has too much oil in it.  Does your car have a catalytic converter?  If it does then the cat (when hot) will start to burn the oil coming through the breather and voila a nice white thick cloud.

[jtanguay]

reason i say too much oil is because my dads vw gasser has a catalytic converter, and when the oil light came on i decided to put more oil in.  The dipstick was broken so I added a full litre thinking the oil buzzer wasnt going to lie to me (silly me! i should have known better.  and yes the car is now fixed, dipstick and all) not even a km down the road, the car was leaving a white smoke screen LOL... it was so bad I couldnt even see the car behind me!!! or on the other lane...  But I see what you are saying tho, excess oil should burn in the engine if its a diesel.  Is there any way that excess oil could somehow go to the catalytic converter and do its little thing there?

But I'm sure your right about the timing/leaking injector.  Makes sense just thought I'd add one of my funny encounters...  

[Peter]

two of my injectors were not working properly, and I never noticed anything different until the cold weather came...I changed back to the older ones and the white smoke disappeared...hopefully it is not a slow leaking headgasket or weak compression

[stevenrossi]

Ohh boy! here we go :cry: . It drives great. I'm sure it's not a headgasket...I haven't lost an ounce of coolant since I got the car and the pressure isn't high at all, after I had driven it for about 25KM, I poped the cap off the resevior and a LITTLE bit sprayed out, nothing serious at all. I just had my timing belt / tensioner done @ the dealership and then 're-checked' to make sure that the timing was SPOT on, aparently it was. But I have read somewhere that you should always re-check the timing about a month later because it tends to change a bit right after its been replaced.

My buddy says that white smoke is just unburnt diesel --- should I change my glow plugs? The thing is that I don't want to run around crazy here to try to solve this problem...can anyone list what I should check in order from most important / probable to least? I'd imagine it'd go something like this.

A) Check Timing
B) Change Glow Plugs ($12/E)
C) Change Injectors


...Its VERY cold here (-5 to -20) now so I wont think much of it, but I've lost about 150KM to a tank since I've gotten the car back from the stealership...it's also leaking a tonne of OIL  :x...basically the car's turning into a HUGE can of worms, but I really want to stay ontop of the problems so I can get another few years out of the TD.

...any suggestions?

P.S does anyone know wher I can get a new Oil Filter Housing + Injectors for my TD?

BEST & Happy Holidays!

SR

[srivett]

Mine is making white smoke too.  When it was -20 or warmer it would stop smoking the second the glow plugs turned off (right about when I hit the highway).  Now that it's -35 it keeps on smoking.  I doubt it's a big deal as all of the transports smoke when it's cold.  You can see the smoke as they are coming and smell it after they are gone.  I'll have to ask my brother about his...it stinks like oil when it's idling.   :?  

When a headgasket is bad you usually get the boiling over thing the second you start the car.  ie.  You fill up the rad, start the car, and coolant goes flying while you see/hear bubbles.  That's what my piece of crap 350 diesel did.

Steve

[stevenrossi]

Hopefully my injector pump is ok --- the injectors themselves look terrible, rusty...etc. I'll look into getting them either rebuilt or just right-out replaced. While i'm at it i'll have to fix all my oil leaks so I can judge if i'm actually losing oil elsewhere (buring it)...thanks guys...i'll look into it now.

Happy Holidays!

SR

[stevenrossi]

Revelation...I think its burning oil...had a smell of the smoke comming out of it this morning and it was for sure the smell of Motor Oil...Its just started buring it recently too...after I got it back from the stealership...they wont believe me tho.... :x