I was considering getting a keyless start to preclude the considerable stinky smoke that occurs upon start up in the winter mornings. But it does this in the summer mornings too? How do you know if a keyless start would prevent this from happening?
View 3 RepliesFirst some background. The vehicle is a 2003 Expedition with rear AC. The 5.4L engine has been replaced with a 4BT Cummins (DD since 2010), but the AC system is not altered-- other than the compressor being mounted to a different engine. The intercooler is in front of the condenser, which hurts efficiency of the AC system, but it seems to work fine in our climate.
My AC system quit cooling one day, and the problem was a hole in one of the low-side tubes from rubbing on the turbo-to-intercooler tube. I repaired this by aluminum brazing. The system held 120 psi on nitrogen for one hour. So I pumped it down overnight to 27 inches of Hg and made an appointment with the AC shop to get it recharged. I could not get an appointment for several weeks, so I continued to drive it with no AC, thinking it should be no problem since there is no pressure in the system.
I was on a road trip when all of a sudden, there was a huge stinky cloud of blue smoke billowing out from behind the truck. I pulled over and the AC clutch and pulley was smoking hot. I shut it down and cooled it off slowly with squirts from a water bottle.
So my clutch is shot but I'm not sure what caused it to fry. Is there a typical mechanical failure where the friction material can be chewed up by the pulley-hub? Or is it possible that somehow the controller commanded the clutch to engage without pressure in the system?
I think it would be prudent to replace the compressor, since there may be some bearing or housing damage from the clutch failure, so that is in the plan. I have read that when ever the system is open, the drier should be changed too. I want to do this right rather than do it again on another day.
One concern I have is that if when the clutch was failing and it managed to turn the compressor-- could there be pieces of compressor in the tube runs that I need to clean out? Other than a visual inspection of the open tube ends, is there another test or things to look for?
Like the title states my 04 egg has a sour smell when i first turn on the a/c. could this be mildew if so from where, are there fresh air filters in these? i already am not overly fond of this vehicle.
View 3 RepliesOk I thought I remembered reading about this in the past. This morning I detailed the V8 T (19K miles) and started it to back it out of the garage. Got a big puff of blue/white smoke out the back. I searched but found nothing. Should I finally run to the nearest BMW dealer for an X5?
View 24 RepliesKnow it's fairly common for AC air to smell moldy, due to moisture on the evaporator. What brand of disinfectant spray Volkswagen uses to spray into the cowl vents? I've heard that some manufacturers use Ultra Shield, and some sites say Lysol spray is okay, too. Just wondered if VW uses something else.
View 5 RepliesI have a 2007 Nissan Murano. When I first get into my car after it is sitting the smell of garbage is overwhelming! Once I start to drive it, the smell begins to disappear. The longer the car is sitting turned off the stronger the smell when I get into it. We have searched the vehicle inside and out for signs of food, although the car is extremely clean. We have also searched for reminants of a dead animal as well as moisture but have found nothing. Where to look next?
View 6 RepliesI suspect there are very stinky mushrooms growing in the debris inside the ventilation system. We live in Florida and the van sits outside in an area in our yard where stinky mushrooms grow at certain times of the year. I have tried spraying Lysol in the outside vent with the fan on full. That seems to have worked over time but can I dump some vinegar in there without harming anything?
View 1 RepliesHaving issues with a stinky steering wheel? sometimes, i notice a unpleasant smell from it, especially when the car has been in the sun. when it's cold enough, it doesn't seem to smell at all. i know this is due to buildup of oils and whatnot from my hands.
I occasionally clean the wheel with baby wipes. that just minimizes the smell. And yes, I do wash my hands several times a day. I don't think i have particularly sweaty palms. I drive and '05 with no accessories on the steering wheel.
My husband drives a 97 Toyota Corolla. Great little car with one problem, it stinks. It smells like gasoline after its started. I never smell it from inside the car, just after its run when I exit the car. Took to a mechanic.... they couldn't find a leak and of course they didn't smell anything. He told me the LEFT OUTPUT SHAFT SEAL needs to be replaced but wasn't very positive that had anything to do with the gasoline smell. He only suggested replacing the gas cap, again, not with much confidence. Should I take it back, take somewhere else, anyway of narrowing down the possible leak areas myself or other suggested areas for them to look for the leak???
View 10 RepliesWe recently took our 2001 VW Jetta TDI in to a body shop to have a dent in our fender repaired that occurred the day after. The body shop we selected quoted us 5 days to repair the dent. Little did we know they'd also drop a toxic chemical bomb on the car's leather and vinyl interior as a courtesy.
When I picked the vehicle up I was greeted by the manager who told me the four-month-old, battery recently installed by one of Michigan's two trusted TDI specialists was dead (it wasn't). He told me I should just head over to the VW dealer to get it looked at (he said there had been an issue with the battery since I dropped it off a week earlier... when I questioned why he was just now telling me about this issue, he said he "just found out about it." Needless to say we got off on the wrong foot. I then noticed there were scuffs all along the bumper from the wax not being rubbed in properly and the red paint they'd sprayed on the repaired (and poorly reassembled) fender has also sprayed onto the black plastic below the bumper. But none of this matters compared to the significant loss of brain cells due to the chemical odor that my husband and I, as grad students, simply could not afford to lose.
As I was driving the vehicle the two miles back home, I noticed a strong smell that was not your typical "new/clean car" smell. While I got a little light headed, I didn't think much of it. Until the next day, after the car had been sitting in the sun, when I got in the vehicle to go grocery shopping and I noticed our beautiful, shiny black leather and vinyl had a white-ish residue that had dripped, smudged, smeared dried and crusted all over it. Further, I couldn't drive the car without the windows completely open without my eyes burning and throat getting sore and a severe headache.
I asked my husband to call the manager (he and I were already not on good terms). After convincing the manager the smell was definitely not from bike grease, the manager conceded that "MAYBE his new cleaning crew had used the wrong chemical when wiping down the interior of the car." Because the vinyl is now sticky and tacky, we were pretty sure it was a pretty strong solvent. The manager agreed to "go above and beyond and clean the car" himself - which he did attempt to do - and when I picked it up he did show me the solvent he thinks his cleaning crew used. Unfortunately, while much of the staining is now reduced, the smell is still very strong and is not only in the cabin but also very strongly permeated throughout the trunk.
It's been about a month and we've tried scattering baking soda throughout the trunk to no avail; I'm about to go to an auto parts store and see if there's anything else we can get to clean it out.
I just purchased an '06 V10 a couple weeks ago. Today, I was about 11miles into my 15mile commute when I noticed A LOT of white smoke coming out of the back. The only time I'd seen smoke like that before was just before my old Ford Explorer caught fire. I immediately pulled over and took a look. White smoke (maybe steam?) was billowing out of the exhaust.
I say steam, because it didn't have the strong diesel smell I would've expected. I decided I couldn't sit there parked by the highway, so I got back in the car, checked warning lights and pulled out. Within 1/2 mile, it was gone. Nothing. No more problems the rest of the way. What this might have been? I have 1100 miles on the vehicle and this is the first time it's happened.
2007 V10 TDI... I am experiencing periodic exhaust smoke. It lasts for a minute or so and goes away for a couple of weeks. It's not using oil. The dealer doesn't know but is checking with the factory rep. Any clues?
View 11 RepliesV8, approx. 12 K miles. Noticed lately that after the car sits overnight or maybe 2 days overnight, that when I start the car in the morning, there is significant smoke, actually a cloud. Value seals? How do I get VW to fix this problem? I am thinking about bringing a picture to the dealer when I start the car?
View 5 RepliesWhen I turn off the car I can smell some paraffin-like fume and sometimes also even see a white-blue smoke coming from under the engine. This only happens now when the outer temperatures have fallen here to Zero Celsius. I didn't see anything similar earlier when it was warmer!
I also can hear some weird buzzing sound for about 2 minutes coming from the areas of the left and right front wheels. I've put on winter tires yesterday and found nothing wrong there in wheels area. I am thinking about a fuel pump/pipe or perhaps something with AC/heating, or oil burning... Or is that OK?
Or is this something releated to the diesel particulate filter? I was driving just some short city distances last days....
Where exactly is located the particulate filter?
When I drive home from work at night I see a thin white smoke come from the right side on my hood. (Headlight area) I open the hood and I can't pin point it....smells vaguely on burnt rubber. I am new to a TDI so maybe I'm just being an idiot, but what is it? I drive spirited on the way home, but dont floor it. I do have one hill thats pretty steep I usually charge up...(fun to burn the rice rockets who struggle!) I thought maybe parking brake? Its only got 750 miles on it, so maybe its oil burning? 2006 v10
View 24 RepliesTruck: 1999 Ford Truck F 350 4WD Super Duty V8-7.3L DSL Turbo VIN F
Problem: Especially when it is cold outside . . . The truck takes forever to start and while doing so a ton of white/grey smoke comes out of the exhaust.
My starting schema: Turn the key on have the gas pedal pushed to the floor until the "wait to start" light goes out. Then, I turn the key off and back on while still pressing the gas pedal all the way down. When the "wait to start" light goes out again I remove my foot from the pedal and try to start it. I never leave it cranking for more than 5-7 seconds. If, after trying this process several times I will not push the pedal in at all. Also, sometimes I will leave the pedal pushed in while I am cranking it over.
The truck used to start after a couple of tries but lately it won't start at all, even after 20 tries. Sometimes it will spin up for a second as if the engine gets going but then just doesn't continue running. When it is warm out it will usually start after a few tries but doesn't seem normal to me. After I first bought the truck(used) it would start up within half a second after turning the key.This all started after I had to fix an o-ring that was damaged on the top/back of the motor that was dumping all my oil out of the top/back of the motor.
At cold start (car sitting at least 8 hours), and the first block or so of driving, I have been getting smoke from the exhaust. I am not 100% certain whether to describe it as black or blue. If I start and idle the car, the smoke continues until I start driving.
After warming the car up, I have tried letting the car sit and idle for an extended period (over 5 minutes), and the smoke does not reappear.
Background;
- APR Stage 3 car, 17,700 miles
- On a particularly cold night this winter, the BFI clean catch did freeze up, and the car started blowing smoke. I removed it for winter and re-installed recently.
- Oil change with Rotella T6 and Mann filter 700 miles ago; the level when warm is at Max level
During the winter, it is hard to say whether this issue was happening. I noticed the issue some time after changing the oil, so I am wondering if the oil level may be slightly high. I changed the oil around the time the weather started consistently staying above 40F, though, so it could be coincidence.
I tried to come up with what the cause could be. What I was thinking (in order of easy to difficult);
- It's normal! The weather is warm, and the fuel trims have not adjusted yet, so it's running rich at start-up.
- It's normal! Typical 2.0T stuff.
- It's a catch can problem. Troubleshoot by removing it and seeing if the smoking stops.
---> Catch can is NOT full. I check it at least once per week.
- It's a turbo problem. The catch can freezing overpressurized the turbo lines and blew a seal
---> Although my experience has been that idling the car should bring the smoke back in this case, which I haven't gotten it to do.
- It's an engine problem.
I have a 07 camry 4 cylinder with about 80k miles on it. Now on cold starts i started to notice that it will have a puff of blue smoke out the exhaust then it will go away right away and when i drive it there is no smoke and the car drives fine.
I did some research and Im thinking that it is the valve seals. Now my question has tried to sea foam it and then run thicker oil to see it it will stop the smoking? or will i just have to replace the valve seals?
99 1500 2wd 5.7 burb
Out of the blue I started old red up yesterday (after charging the dead battery) and got a huge cloud of white smoke. Smells of coolant so Im thinking oh great a head gasket. The thing is, I can see no trace of coolant in oil or vice versa. I started it up with radiator cap off, while cranking I got a little fluid spit out the neck but once it started it was not gushing or bubbling at all.
02 camry, 128 K miles, 4cyl.
Since I started using castrol titanium full syn oil, I have noticed increased blue smoke on initial start up, usually after overnight.
Time for another oil change, what OIL to go with? I was thinking back to Valvoline maxlife dino oil.
So I'm trying to figure out the issue with my girls car, upon cold start sometimes a cloud of white smoke will come out of the tail pipe but not all the times, sometimes the oil level slowly drops but again not all the time, coolant doesn't look mixed but I'm not 100% sure. The car is the pzev 2.0.
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