Slight puff of smoke – 95Q

[Sideways_8]

Last night, I was on my way back home from Christmas shopping with the wife. She was following in her Blazer when she noticed that I was sending out a “puff” of white smoke on HEAVY acceleration. (Traffic was terrible and I had to fight for a position in the turning lane) It doesn’t appear to be smoking all the time, just on rapid application of the accelerator to WOT. If she had not seen it, I would still not know it was happening. Needless to say, I don’t know how long this has been going on. The car does not appear to be loosing any oil between regular 3k or 3 month oil changes. Could this be seepage past the valves? Is this to be expected for a 1995 Q with 114K? Can someone give me the run down on the most typical (probable) causes for this on a Q? I’m worried now that I have signed up for a 3k plus mile trip to Virginia and back for the holidays (hate driving the Blazer). I do tend to run the car for extended periods at or near 100 mph on the open highway. All regular scheduled maintenance has been performed and the car is in good shape otherwise. I just had the plugs changed a week ago and the Infiniti dealership asked me why I wanted to change the spark plugs. Evidently they looked almost new so it doesn’t appear to be detectable by reading the plugs……yet.

My personal driving habits can be summed up as gentle until provoked. The car was purchased by me with 99k and the previous owners driving habits are unknown. Maintenance records show that he followed most of the scheduled maintenance. The car lives in Texas now but the previous owner took it to New York for 3 years.

Maintenance/Repairs completed in the past 10 Months:Trans flush with filter swap (Mobil 1)Radiator flush (green)Differential oil flushPower Steering flush (Mobil 1)New A/C compressorNew A/C dryerNew A/C condenserA/C flush of courseNew PlugsNew oil sending unitFuel Injector Rail flushThrottle Body cleaningAll new front end partsFresh Spark PlugsNew BeltsNew Fuel PumpNew Fuel FilterPorterfield BrakesTires

[greg_atlanta]

Only thing I can think of is the MAF (mass air flow sensor, just inward of airbox on intake). It's the only time I had smokey exhaust on my '92 Q. Very common problem around the 100K mark.

The unit itself is probably OK, it's just the connection or harness that gets corroded or goes bad.

Usual symtom is rough idle. Might just be beginning.

Others can elaborate, but pretty simple fix (appx. $100).

[911/Q45]

If it was cold and damp out it could just be moisture, as WOT is a pretty rich mixture. I was pretty concerned when I saw that under those conditions. If it was an engine problem, it would be more likely to show up on a hot day under WOT.

[Q451990]

You might also check to see if the exhaust was a bluish-white smoke, or more black. Sometimes when you punch the Q from a cruise to WOT the injectors will dump a lot of fuel in the cylinders, causing some black smoke... in that case the smoke is not buring oil, but fuel - like starting a flooded car. If you aren't seeing oil consumption, I'd say it's harmless...

Heath

[Sideways_8]

Thanks for all the info. I'll check the harness for corrosion tomorrow. If that’s not it then it sounds like it might not be a big deal.

[landtodd]

Yes, I don't mean to dimisnish your wife's powers of observation, but given the lighting conditions (almost dark?) is she really sure of the color of the smoke?