Hey Guys....I have a 2000 F-150 4.6 manual....when it has set for more than two days...a cloud of white smoke will come from the exhaust when I first start the engine, it does not do it at any other time It does not do it when I drive it everyday or every other day. The truck runs fine & starts up fine It did it this morning, my truck has not been started since Friday. Is there any cause for alarm?????

 

If it's pretty heavy, and the coolant degasser tank is empty or is showing signs of losing antifreeze, it might be the sign of a bad head gasket or other internal problem. If it's just a little puff, it might be a sign of normal water condensation that has built up in the exhaust system while the truck was parked.

 

it's a good size puff...I saw it go by my window when I was in the truck...it had a gasoline type smell to it...but it only did it when it fired up...after that not any smoke came out....not at idle or when driving down the road. I just don't know if I should be worried

 

agree it sounds like the start of a head gasket problem. I would do a pressure check on the radiator, to see if it holds pressure. If it does not them there is a leak some where if it is not pressent out side the engine or near the inside by the heater core then it is internal in the engine. two choces put a type of sealer in it or do the job proper and do a head job.

lance

 

how come it does not smoke every time it starts up???

 

If it's condensation in the exhaust system, time is needed for the exhaust to cool and condensation to form. If it's a gasket issue, the defect may be small enough to require time for enough coolant to seep into the cylinder(s) to show up as a significant amount of steam when heated and forced through the exhaust system.

Two things I would suggest:

1. First thing in the morning, before the first start-up of the day (cold engine and coolant), check the antifreeze level in the tank. If it's below the marking for COLD, add a mix of 50% water/50% antifreeze until the correct level is attained. Drive the truck for the rest of the day, as you normally do. Next morning, again with a cold engine, review the coolant level. After only one day of driving under normal conditions, the level should appear to be exactly as it was the previous day. If it's down, the coolant is going somewhere, either as an external leak, or internal leak. If no external leak is indicated, then you could have a block or head gasket issue.

2. Same cold engine. Check the oil. Look for any evidence of water droplets on the dipstick, or a milky appearance to the oil. Either indicate the presence of water in the oil sump. While this can be demonstrated in an engine that isn't run a lot (condensation in the oil sump not being burned off because the oil never gets warm enough), the presence of water in the sump plus the white exhaust would have me thinking some very dark thoughts about the condition of the engine.

Now let me be a bit of an alarmist: If enough antifreeze leaks into a cylinder, and someone attempts to start the engine, a condition known as hydrostatic lock can occur. Basically, the piston moves up and attempts to compress the water against the cylinder head. Not good, as unlike the air/fuel mist that is usually inside the cylinder, water cannot be compressed. You can blow out the head gasket and/or bend the connecting rod for the piston in question. Expensive. If this was my truck, I would have it professionally examined immediately.

 

this sounds like a cavitation issue. it is common in modular engines when the coolant never gets changed. when was the last time the coolant was changed? it needs to be changed every 2 years or 24,000 miles

 

I believe it was last summer sometime

 

it's deffantly something not to take litely. You have many options to work with so pick some and try. If you don't have the radiator leak detector then deffanly do the checking thing every day.

Lance

 

but is it real smoke? or just steam?

 

it seems to be white smoke.....and when I saw it that morning it smelled like smoke. I would not think steam would have made it to the front of my truck unless it was in winter...but I 'm pretty sure it was smoke

 

This is a late posting for this but for anyone that has this same problem, this could possibly be your PCV Valve(a 3 dollar part that pops in the top of your valve manifold) that needs to be replaced. The manual says to replace these every 15,000 miles. I went a couple of oil changes, using a high grade oil, thinking that my truck was ready for a new engine. I actually pulled into a station and had to pour in 3 quarts of oil. Every time I started my truck this huge embarrassing cloud of white smoke would blast out my tail pipe. I also used one of those tune-up in a bottle (Valvoline type) and poured in my gas tank before the next fill-up. This got rid of any valve clatter that was going on. I'm not sure if they were both related problems or not. 10,000 miles later my truck runs great and is burning a quart every 2000 miles. My truck now has 145k and is running fine. Not sure if this is related to your problem, but it's a cheap alternative to try.

 

thanks for the info...I checked my antifreeze resevoir & it is not low from where i changed it from last year...it's still full

 

Prolly just a little oil getting by. I drove a delivery truck that did this every monday morning, by the time 3000 mi. came around, it was down a quart.

 

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