WHITE SMOKE

[initial_jc]

I need to travel up the grapevine mountain pass whenever I go back to school.Its not a very steep grade, but every time i go up the grapevine in my automatic 97 kouki i get a very big cloud of white smoke that i can see in my rearview mirror. I'm not leaking oil or coolant. Is there any suggestions on what to check? I have asked my friend, who drives an automatic Zenki and he has the same problem. I dont have any problems when I am driving on a flat surface.

[VRoy]

Might be oil leaking from the valve cover gasket? I could see how the U shaped dips in the head might leak more then normal on a steep grade w/ a older gasket. I had a Isuzu Rodeo that did something similar when 4 wheeling.

[liquid_cool]

hows your fuel consumption?...im thinking your not burning your fuel compleately ..after you stated.."your not loosing coolant or oil"...im actually supprised its not coolant...but check your plugs to see if there black as night..if they are..thats a sign your not burning fuel properly.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Sometimes blue can look white. Its hard to say. Check compression first, coolant has been boiling, getting low at all? Any sweet smells from the tail pipe? Intermix at all?

[initial_jc]

I'll do a visual check tommorow morning and I'll look at the plugs after work.

Thanks for the ideas

I knew I would get more help in here

[initial_jc]

I looked at the coolant and its full. It hasn't overheated recently.

The valve cover gasket is also in good condition, no visual leaks. I have yet to check rear portion of the gasket.

I will look at the spark plugs tonight, and i am very interested to see their condition. ( maybe that may also help me increase my mpg)

Is there any KOUKI owners that have ran into this problem? I ran into an old thread that hasn't been updated, maybe that person can tell me if they ever fixed it.

[s13_maJiK]

hows your fuel consumption?...im thinking your not burning your fuel compleately ..after you stated.."your not loosing coolant or oil"...im actually supprised its not coolant...but check your plugs to see if there black as night..if they are..thats a sign your not burning fuel properly.

+1 check the plugs, also do you smell fuel at all?

[uber240times2]

I'm dealing with a similar problem, I'm low on coolant for now but now that I read the thread I'll add some. If that doesn't help, I do smell fuel sometimes when I corner a little harder, what does that mean? My car smokes on flat surfaces as well.

[initial_jc]

I do smell fuel sometimes when I corner a little harder, what does that mean?

If you smell it in the car then it may be your fuel pump gasket.

I have not looked at the plugs because I cant find a socket for them.

tonight tho i dont have to take the gf out today

[uber240times2]

Thank you, I'm also assuming that would lower MPG? I'm not sure about everyone else and I know there's a thread about it, but I have to fill up every week. I only drive to school really, and that's about a 7 minute drive. I haven't checked my spark plugs yet. Thanks again for the help with the fuel pump gasket.

[initial_jc]

I found out the reason for the smoke at least in my case

It was due to a bad oil seal on the front end of the crankshaft