So as some of you know I couldn't get my car to start. I went through the procedure to start a flooded car, and well she sprung back to life.... but my worst fears have come true.... After I got her started again white smoke came up the passenger side of the engine and also out of the tail pipe smelled like burning coolant. So from searching on this forum and the "other" forum I have come to realize that I probably have a bad coolant seal in the engine. Is this a reasonable conclusion?

I took her for a quick spin after she completely warmed up; at that point the smoke wasn't too bad and I thought maybe it was just some burning off after I had filled up my coolant... As I was coming back after a 10 minute drive she really started to heat up and get near overheating (grant it, I was measuring the Temp on the stock gauge so she was probably overheating seeing as how everyone has told me how inaccurate the gauge is) Anyway the idle was better than it had been before but still rough and the smoke got worse after I let her sit.

So what I'm asking is am I right with my conclusion? The engine does have 95k on it so I knew I'd have to rebuild soon I was just hoping it wouldn't be this soon after getting it. I checked my coolant lines I'd taken off to do the vac job and they were all replaced and fastened. Aside from that I just wanted to thank the guys that helped me to get her running again. This forum has been nothing but help to me and all the members that have taken the time to answer even the dumbest of my questions have been nothing but a vast library of help. Thanks guys, oh yeah and let me know what you think.

 

It doesn't sound good. Take off the cap on the coolant filler neck, warm the car up, and look for a bunch of little bubbles. Also, smell the exhaust for that signature sweet smell. Make sure there isn't a bubble in the cooling system, preventing the therostat from opening. Cars smoke after being flooded, but it normally burns off after a drive.

 

yeah I agree with P'cola FD.Something tells me your going to need a rebuild.And on a FD they don't come cheap.

 

After replacing my vacuum hoses and fixing a fuel leak I had a similiar problem. Excefpt I decided to change the oil and antifreezr while I had everything all apart. To make a long story short I 2 finally got my car started and it smoked so much I thought the neoghbors would come running outside thinking their house was on fire. Rough idle almost like something was broke smoothed out after letting it warm up. After I took it for a drive all is well. Most people I talk 2 have the same problem. When the car is first started it smokes until it is driven. Take off your rad. cap and squeeze the lower rad. hose to try and purge the system. You might also want to check and make sure you didnt forget to plug something back in like fans, temperature sending unit etc. Good luck!!

 

Thanks guys.... I'll double check everything, and try burping the coolant system, but as I said the smoke only got worse after the drive so since the car/engine have 95k on them already I wouldn't be surprised if it's the seals and the engine needs a rebuild..... luckily I have money set aside just for that. If after trying the burp and rechecking all the connections if it doesn't fix it I guess my motor is off to Pineapple for a rebuild and street port. Thanks again guys!

-Nic