White smoke on startup?

[dbrufus1234]

after my car sits for a day or so and i start it up it blows some white smoke out of the exhaust. the car runs good after it blow white smoke out i figured it was just condensation and i just wanted to make sure is wasent anything else and if it happens to anyone else?

 

[Art161]

A certain amount of steam (or what looks like white smoke) is normal for a cold start on a cool or cold day. It is, as you suggest, likely to be condensation. If there's a LOT of smoke, then there could be a problem.

Observe other cars, if you can, when they start up cold and compare what is coming out of their tail pipes to what is coming out of your car's tail pipes.

 

[dbrufus1234]

yeah but its smoke not steam...like it doesnt just dissopate when it comes out of the exhaust it stays in the air, unlike the steam thats comes out when its cold outside and just goes away

 

[Art161]

Well, if it's not steam from condensation, then it would seem that something is burning, and it's not gasoline.

Coolant level okay?

Oil on the dipstick look okay?

Try smelling the smoke and see if you can discern what the fluid might be.

 

[dbrufus1234]

yeah all my fluids are full and oil is clean. ill try to smell it next time it happens

 

[LV51FER]

Steam hangs in the air too. It'll be water but obviously mixed with your exhaust gases. I wouldn't worry about it unless it's blue.

 

[Stang_It]

Check out my exhaust clip and see if this is what you're experiencing. If your answer is "yes", then don't worry about it, it's perfectly normal. This is how your exhaust should look like at cold temperatures with relatively high humidity.

 

[PUNISHER RACING]

both our cars do it its blue oil smoke if you let them sit for a couple days and go out to the garage and fire em'

 

[ski]

Mine blows out oil smoke whenever the engine was run for only a minute or less on the previous startup. But the oil always remains at the full mark. Nothing to worry about.

 

[JTGrant]

If your coolant level is good then I wouldn't worry about it. Like Art161 said, try and smell it, coolant has a very unique smell.

 

[Fourth Horseman]

My Marauder's 32v 4.6 does the same thing once in a while. Probably only seen it two or three times in the five years I've had the car. I've seen my Mustang do it once. Seems to be common with these Ford OHC engines.

 

[dbrufus1234]

thanks for all the input, and forth horseman, are those GT500 rim on your stang??