Ford Aerostar :: 1996 - Excessive Amount Of Steam / Smoke Coming From Exhaust
Nov 23, 2012
I've owned this vehicle since new and never overheated or had any major mechanical issues. It just hit 130,000 miles and recently completed a 1500 mile uneventful road trip running great.
The other day I noticed an excessive amount of steam/smoke coming from the exhaust while sitting at a stop light after recently starting the vehicle. Once the van was up to temperature the exhaust steam/smoke cleared up.
I checked the radiator level and found it was about a qt low, and did not seem to have any exhaust bubbling or fumes in the radiator.
Then, I pulled the dipstick and the freshly changed oil looked a bit cloudy (I got really nervous), I really can't say its milky colored because I can still see though the oil and see the cross hatches on the stick. But it doesn't look like new oil.
The engine seems to be running fine, no loss of power or missing. Starts and idles fine.
Talked with a mechanic friend and he immediately said blown head gasket or intake manifold was allowing water from one of the four corners where the gasket seals the water jacket, into a cylinder.
Since that first episode of excessive steam/smoke it hasn't reproduced the problem to that degree. It does start to steam out the exhaust after about 5 minutes of starting cold, but seems to dissipate after the engine warms.
The amount of smoke / steam in that first episode, I couldn't see the car behind me in the mirror ... I looked like a mosquito fogger.
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2007 F550 with the 6.0. About 2 months ago I replaced the EGR cooler with a Bulletproof cooler. Truck ran well for a few weeks. Then I started getting the "turbo fart". I stopped using the truck until I had an issue with another truck. I was stuck so I sent the 07 out without cleaning the turbo. This morning a decent amount of white smoke started coming out of the exhaust. The smoke would sometimes get a bit gray. Going up hill it didn't have much power at all.
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I'm losing coolant have, excessive white smoke coming from the exhaust, and rough idle. Doesn't over heat or even try to overheat. The oil fill cap looks brownish white. It drives fine other than extremely rough idle. I know how to check a blown head gasket with the combustion gas test.
From what I've read blown head gaskets on 4.6 fords are fairly uncommon but a blown intake gasket is fairly common. How can I tell the difference?
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Lately I have noticed a lot of blueish smoke coming from my exhaust at idle mostly while warming in the morning though it would do it if the truck idled for a few minutes. I took it to the dealer because I have fords ESP but the tech couldn't get the truck to smoke and wasn't getting any codes so he sent it back with a clean bill of health. After getting it back I noticed it smoking again so I picked up the egr valve kit pulled the valve and cleaned it as best I could and replaced the seals, that was last night. This morning it was blowing more smoke than it has before and has continued all day whether cold or warm. I just changed the oil last week and it's still full so it isn't burning any. Head gaskets were done along with studs last month, egr is obviously intact, cat is gone. I'm really at a loss for this, It's an 07 f350 scsb 6.0...
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I have a 2001 F-350 w/7.3. There was excessive smoke coming from the exhaust. So the first thing I did was to pull the glow plugs to see what they looked like. and while having them out I cranked the engine over. Upon doing so I noticed 1 cylinder putting fuel out of the hole. Meaning it was like you could put your hand about 6 inches above the hole and your hand would be wet from fuel. None of the other cylinders was like that. So what I did was pull the injector from the cylinder next to it and put it in to see if it was the injector failing. But it was still doing the same thing. What would cause this??
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I recently took my 2011 5.0L F-150 on a 1,000 mile round trip threw the mountains of New Mexico and back home. Upon arriving home the truck was pretty dirty so I decided to run it through the car wash real quick. This particular car wash was one of those without brushes, were it just sprays water and soap on the car the rinses it clean and blow drys it as you drive out.
I noticed that after a few seconds of water spraying on my hood there was the low rolling steam coming right out of the front grill. I quickly checked all my gauges and they showed that nothing was overheating or anything like that, but I still was worried. So when the wash was over I pulled into the parking lot and popped the hood. I also noticed that steam continued for a few seconds as rolled threw the parking lot, it however stopped before I was able to get out and open the hood so I was unable to locate its source.
Upon opening the hood I found nothing that looked outta place or anything like that, abiet the engine itself was a little dusty, but that was all. Could it just have been water touching the cold manifold or something? Overall the truck hasn't been driving any differently, so that eases my mind a little.
This is cause for a little bit of concern for me, as I have never had this happen with either of the two Trucks I owned before this one. For the record my truck now has 7,000 miles on the dot on it.
Here's a Video clip of an Ecoboost F-150 ''Not My Truck'' doing the excat same thing that mine did.
2011 Ford F150 EcoBoost Looks Like Its On Fire - YouTube .....
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I have a 2004 Camry that I purchased used 8/2006 with 20,400 miles on it. It now has 83,000 miles on it. I’ve changed the oil and filter every 3,000 miles, and I’ve never had to add oil between changes. I’ve also replaced the antifreeze on time, using 5 yr/150,000 mile antifreeze. The only time I’ve had to add antifreeze was 4/23/13, to top off the overflow reservoir. Saturday I did my annual tune-up (plugs, air filter and fuel injector cleaner added to the gas). Plugs looked normal. Last week the car sat for several days, no issue on start-up.
Yesterday afternoon I started the car after it sat for two days. A huge amount of white smoke came out of the exhaust. It ran fine. I mentioned this to my wife, she said that about two weeks ago she saw a lot of black smoke (she thinks black) when she started the car and that it ran rough for about the first 4 miles and then started running ok. It has the 2AZFE engine, and I’ve read a TSB (TSB 1507) “It has been reported that stripped head bolt threads have been found on some of these engines during tear down. When the two rear head bolts lose their clamping ability they allow coolant to seep out at the rear of the cylinder head.” Could that be the problem?
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I have a 1996 subaru impreza outback. It is now dead. Billowing white smoke, coolant coming out of the tailpipe, terrible rocky idle and some smoke coming from the exhaust at the manifold. (assuming it cracked from the harsh idle) I'm pretty good with cars but I've never taken on a head gasket problem myself. I have time to fix it, I just don't really know if it will be worth it. Should i just replace the motor w/ a scrapyard motor? Should I take this opportunity to rebuild and upgrade? I have a crappy chevy to get me around in the meantime. Should I give it a try or just scrap it. I paid 800 bucks for this car and it has 220k miles. No major problems until now. New alt a few months back. Previous two(only two) didn't have any problems at all. I feel like it would be worth it.
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How steamy the exhaust is right after a cold start? I have always noticed it in my passenger mirror, but yesterday I decided to stand behind the car and watch it right after starting it up, and I actually saw a few puffs of black smoke coming out with the steam. I'm not losing any coolant, so I think all of this must be caused by the engine running extremely rich when cold, the fumes were pretty bad too. Once the idle settles down the black puffs go away, but the steam lasts a good while. I have never had a newer car run so rich that it caused black sooty smoke.
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I have an option to buy a e450 with a 6.0, 100k mi, with a utility body. I have the same thing but an 03 with a 7.3. this van has some known issues, biggest being it sat for a year and a half. it was parked due to excessive smoke out the exhaust. Ford shop diagnosed it as bad head gaskets, personally I am not believing it. There is no evidence of puking on the degas cap, and someone removed the band clamp from the down pipe and there is nothing but a little soot, so I don't really think a turbo seal either. The batteries were dead tonight so I am going to take a set of batteries down and see what happens. he is only asking 6000 as is. I am thinking probably egr cooler, egr valve or injector problem. If I buy it I am going to install a new oil cooler, blue spring, clean the turbo and delete the egr. Late 2004 engine btw.
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So for the first time in a while I started my truck when it was cold outside, 33 degrees according to the truck. It didn't do this at initial startup but when i started driving there was what i think steam coming from the exhaust because it dissipated fairly fast. It steamed slightly until i went to pull out of my neighborhood and got on it to get up to speed which was only 45mph. The oil temp was in the 90s at that point but when i got on the pedal the truck just started pouring white steam out of the exhaust.
Over time the truck warmed up and the steam stopped and everything was fine. Even when its warm outside the truck blows something when its not at operating temp but when its warm I can only see it at night when there's headlights behind me. Since I've had the truck the only thing that I've had to replace was the radiator because it was leaking coolant and even after that i still smell burning coolant occasionally and sometimes when i check my tank its low and then sometimes it never changes. Its very inconsistent.
The only other bad thing that's happened to the truck happened after i got my oil changed for the first and last time at NTB. They replaced the filter when they changed the oil but didn't pull the old gasket off when they put the new filter on and long story short i lost about a gallon within 30 minutes because of that and had my truck towed home. My engine light never came on or anything. I fixed the problem, added new oil and that was it. The reason I bring up the radiator, the coolant, and the oil is because i don't know if that could have anything to do with the steam.
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Got my joe z exhaust put in today. After getting it installed i was obviously getting on the car to see how it sounds.. I came to a stop and smelled that sulfur smell that people normally do when getting on their engines but also noticed some smoke/steam seeping out from under the back of my hood. No overheating though. Immediately got alarmed and shut off the car. Popped the hood and everything was fine. No smoke at all. Turned it back on and all was normal and drove the car again and there was nothing.
What could this be? something serious i hope not. i do not drive me car hard at all. its got almost 14k and changed the oil at 10k. this has never happened before. It was hot today though like 90+ ... Maybe it was just from driving it hard?
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So the wife's 08 Mountaineer 4.6 likes coolant. None in the crank case. I suspect head gasket, since I can smell it a bit in the exhaust, but I have also noticed steam coming from the drivers side firewall area, but can't see anything. If it is head gaskets, am I pulling the engine? If I have to pull the engine.
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1993 3.0 .... My son's van. He complained of fluctuating and mostly high idle, black smoke from exhaust and stalling at stoplights. He has other wheels so I've had it for several months until I could check it.
I started it every few weeks, it started easily. Have not seen smoke but it did idle high and rough. Yesterday I started it to warm it up to finally pull codes. Temp needle barely moved and upper radiator hose did not get very warm but I pulled codes with engine off anyway and got 116, 10, 111.
Today i got a little smarter and noted that the upper hose began to get warm right after startup. Suspecting a bad thermostat I blocked the radiator as well as I could and it warmed up much more, though still not near the middle of the temp gauge. Shut engine off and pulled codes again and this time got 111,10, 111.
With engine running, got 6, only-- and there's no code 6 in the code reader book. Jabbing gas pedal in neutral it nearly dies, jabbing gas in D and it dies and will not restart until cooled down.
Finally, checked again with engine off and got 111, 10, 110, 10. I think the ETC is OK since I didn't get 116 again but it still idles fast, speeds up and down erratically, and dies. Where do I go from here?
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My car was starting to over heat and I wasn't getting any heat thru the vents. Thermostat was replaced and so was the radiator cap. The coolant reservoir is still topped off, and doesn't seem to be getting sucked thru to the radiator. If I pour coolant directly into the radiator, car temp stays even, and heat eventually does come thru vents, better while driving. But, I still get steam/smoke coming from radiator cap. I cannot be buying and pouring coolant into the radiator everyday. I have a 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse with approx 140xxx miles...
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So for the past week or so, I've been having problems with my cooling system. (May or may not be related to my air valve stuck open code, just thought I'd mention it.) First thing that drew my attention to the problem was smoke (or steam) coming from under the hood, I let the car cool off, and drove home. During this time I also noticed the heat stopped working. I went to get some coolant in another car and filled it up. Smoke went away, and heat started working again.
Later the same day I checked the reservoir and it looked low so I figured the radiator sucked all the coolant up, so I refilled the resivoir tank. I spilled a nice amount when doing that, and the steam came back. It cooled down again and no more steam, figured it burnt off. The next few mornings on my first drive of the day ONLY, I saw steam. Thought it was the condensation mixing with the leftover coolant that I spilled since it didn't happen at all until the next morning.
Today was the first time it started steaming at night, and the heat stopped working again, even though the reservoir level was mostly full. I let the car cool down, and then I added more coolant and the heat started working again, no more steam either. Looked under the hood once I got home, abt a 20 min drive, resivoir was nearly empty even though car was still warm. No visible leaks on the smaller reservoir hose but there are puddles under the hood.
I've read it could be a leak of course, but also the Cap could be preventing the right pressure to suck fluid back in radiator after expanding into the surge tank, or something causing the tank to boil over....
Car is a 2013 Chevy Sonic with 68,000 miles. Coolant has never been drained/refilled since I bought the car new in 2013.
[IMG] ....
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Having an intermittent strange sound coming from the fuel pump from its normal whine at start up to a gurgling sound almost like you are blowing back through the fuel line back into the tank. Going on a 300 mile trip, should I hold off?
Btw: it's a 1996 Aerostar 3.0L
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Was driving my 1992, 3.0 and all of a sudden noticed temperature gauge go to extreme hot, steam from hood and engine stalls. Upon inspection, the heater hose blew out, and van does not start even the next day, plus I think the starter sound different (faster). Saw spark at plug wire, smell gas, and did a quick compression with my thumb on #1, and felt air.
Towed it to the mechanic and within 5-10 minutes told me it was a cracked engine, I was not there but he stated he did a compression test. Is he correct, or can it be a timing chain problem?
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Had numerous problems the last 9 months, and we've replaced the thermostat, water pump, clutch fan, flushed radiator. Last week we thought the heater core had died (air blowing cold, but gauge not indicating any overheating). But it just need flushing, had a clog. Has been kicking out the heat ever since.
What is bothering me though is that the temp gauge always seems to be right at the C, even after driving for a while. Before the van had issues, it stayed right between N and O.
Then this morning, I hear a loud pop, smell horrible burning antifreeze and smoke/steam pouring out from the hood (I managed to park it immediately, had just dropped son off at school). After I'm parked, all the antifreeze puddles underneath.
So hubby comes, and we see that the top radiator hose has blown, with a lovely crack/hole from one side to the other. Now, that hose was old, and probably was a big part of the problem.
We fixed it, and I just drove it again, but I am watching the gauge. And the van is blowing nice, HOT air from the heater. But the gauge is staying right at the C. Used to run between N and O. It is jumpy...not jumping towards hot, but little jumps...below the C, above the C, up to the N, back down to C...it just seems strange to me; it doesn't go past the N at all and spends most of its time at or below the C.
I guess I am wondering if there is any other reason why the hose could've blown this morning besides it being old and worn out....for example, excess heat and pressure building up that for some reason is not registering on the temp gauge? It's making me nervous. Is there something else besides the thermostat that could cause erratic temp gauge or cause gauge not to show me the true engine temp?
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2005 6.0 & noticed on Friday there was white smoke coming from exhaust that started when I'd turn on truck then aster 1st light or stop sign it would be a cloud of white smoke. Once I start to drive it stopped & I didn't see it again that day. I noticed the same thing again on Saturday & Sunday but the smoke was thicker on these days but would stop like the day before.
I had a code come up a month ago which I believe was P404 but read something about EGR valve. So I replaced the EGR valve 3 weeks ago & light never came back.
Today I had a Dr's Appointment and had usual white smoke in morning but once I got to the Dr's appointment the truck sounded like the turbo got louder then usual and started to see cloud of white smoke again. While sitting in parking lot I check to see any codes but nothing came up but the cloud of smoke started.
When I left my appointment, the turbo sounded louder still and noticed white smoke every single time I stopped at a light or stop sign.. Then the coolant level was high with the engine giving me the warning of over heating coolant or something like that.
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I have 93 Explorer 4.0 that seems to be blowing a massive amount of smoke out the tailpipe. This smoke is not an oil burning smoke, its a coolant smoke I am pretty sure (smells very sweet like antifreeze). So after reading about common problems on the frist gen 4.0 I thought the issue may be a lower intake manifold leak caused by loose bolts. So I tightened them down and sure enough, problem solved, I thought. About 4 days goes by and BAM the problem is back. My questions is
Can the lower intake manifold gasket cause the white smoke issue? This rig is also not running so great either. Rough idle, and surging, also seems to have a dead spot in the RPM range at about 3K. Oil looks and smells fine and no signs point to a head gasket other then the smoke? I swear the problem with the white smoke went away for a few days after tightening down the lower intake manifold bolts but its back again. What does everyone thing?
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