This is what my wifes car looks like during startup. Each photo is 2 seconds apart, at least that is what the timeline on Quicktime movie I exported these from said.












And then nothing the rest of the day.......

Thanks, just wanted to see if I could post the pictures neatly, and been watching the olympics too long.

looks white to me.

Does it smell like burning oil or the sickly sweet smell of anti-freeze?
I call blue though. If it is the valve guides it's not like there's anything you're really going to do about it, other than check your oil a tad more often than before. You've got a long ways to go before it would make sense to have your head overhauled.

How many miles? White or "steam" is a leaky head gasket allowing the water jacket to leak into the cylinder. Our Saab 99 turned into a steammobile. Leaky fuel injectors drip into the cylinders and upon startup cause grey smoke. Injection cleaner like "tectron" can help here. You need to give more info...

Have someone start the car while you hold a 4X6 Index card against the exhaust pipe.
Blue smoke will show an oil film, white will be clear and wet.

BGnR

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"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

There was a recent segment on Car Talk on the subject...

[cartalk.com]

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M>B>
There was a recent segment on Car Talk on the subject...

[cartalk.com]

A direct link to the content in question would be much more helpful.

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It is what it is.

Helpful information would b the miles on th car and service intervals. Smoke on startup can be from clogged oil return holes in the cylinder head causing oil to leak past the valve seals.

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If it is white, and disappears immediately, as he's said, it's coolant.
Condensation lasts much longer in the exhaust because of the rapid
cooling that occurs, which is why you see it still coming out in the car
in front of you, down the road.

Coolant isn't going through your valves. Oil is on an overhead cam.

I'm VERY surprised by this on a Toyota. My only reaction would be that you've had
an overheat in the past... and the aluminum head warped ever so slightly.

Again, I'd not bother doing ANYTHING about it, other than to be sure what it is.

If you don't know what the smell of coolant is for certain, take a capful and drop it on a hot
part of your engine. It's not strong or murderous. You'll identify that sweet smell and start
noticing it on other people's cars right away afterwards... forever.

If it's oil, and you DO have a clogged oil port.... that's bad. Next oil change, do it yourself
and substitute a quart of tranny fluid for a quart of oil. The detergents in tranny fluid
help remove sludging (again, caused by over-heating, most often).

Clear "Gunk" engine cleaner will NOT ... REPEAT, NOT do the job on sludge. (in the oil section
in a silver can, for engine cleaning from the INSIDE)

AND.... if you use Gunk on an engine with 90k, you'll likely just remove the varnishes
that are on the rings, etc., over time, that have formed and are now part of your cylinder
compression.

As for valve seals - that's going to be all oil. If you have a timing belt maintenance
coming up - and you have an extra $350-500 (depending on where you are), then
let them replace them, level your head and put a new head gasket on.

Problem solved.

That engine is a 300,000 mile engine. The car looks great, that model is probably the
best looking of all Camry models (especially in that color and XLE trim), and at 100k,
amounts to a single car payment.

I'd do it if the maintenance was scheduled - AND they have to already do HALF the work
to do the timing belt, that they would have to do in order to change remove the head.

It's like surgery. "Doc... if you have to remove the penis... could you add in a 3" section
while you're in there, before you sew it back on?"

Yes it's annoying (both the white cloud and the healing after the 3" section is added), and
especially so, if the section is black and you're white (insert joke here....), but, Toyotas
hold their value SO WELL, and whether that is a 4 cyl or a 6, you'll get your money out
of it in miles and mileage.

You get it going that far... you might want to price a new (or junkyard, low low miles)
exhaust manifold, with good catalyst. I don't know much about California emissons
and passing, but sometimes those manifolds crack... and you'd be back up to spec.

Also -- someone pointed out some good points for you to examine in the previous thread.

Check your PCV value. Sometimes installed backwards or needing a new hose that
houses it (as does mine now - they are spongey/flexible) is a simple job.

In addition.... spend $17 and get yourself the Chilton or the Haynes manual for this car.

Just READING IT, leisurely, will teach you more about your vehicle than you could possiblly
imagine. I used to know a guy who did body work when I was 18. He gave me the
"crash guide" (an old one) that included my car, so I could look at how the entire damn
car was assembled. Between that and learning what I did on a Mitsubishi 2.6, and rebuilding
it twice, (and loading it up with all kinds of racing toys back then...because it was the
most popular truck engine in early 80s, and the dual carbs, cam, headers, turbo, etc.,
all fit on my engine in the car....), made a real difference in what I know now.

Not suggesting you need to go that far - but one thing you'll learn quick - is that the next
time some bozo wants to charge you $300 to unscrew an oxygen sensor and install it,
you can easily test it yourself, and you can also easily DO IT yourself. It's a ratchet
and one or two wires on a plug. Either it works or it doesn't!

You go in armed with engine codes specific to a problem they state, and ask why you
didn't get a check engine light.... and whip out your $20 code reader, you'll suddenly
find mechanics at the dealership and otherwise who won't be looking for the "sucker"
tattoo on your forehead.

j


btw... I sure am annoying, aren't I???

It looks to me like just first start condensation-especially if it disappears for the rest of the day. In other words, nothing to worry about.

Quote
Jimmypoo




It's like surgery. "Doc... if you have to remove the penis... could you add in a 3" section
while you're in there, before you sew it back on?"

you prefer a long thow to a short throw and 5 or 4 speeds ?