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I was out the other night and was beating on the car and overheated it, I got the car home and figured I had not changed the thermostat in a while (since the build 7 year ago or so) so I changed to a new LPE 160 degree thermostat and changed the coolant and all seems to be well (no leaks). Started the car up and let it run for a little and notice there was white smoke, checked the oil (Edit oil looks like there is coolant in potos) and everything seems to be ok so took it for a little drive (down the street) seemed to be still smoking. Wondering if I should try and let the coolant burn off or if maybe a blew a head gasket or something else?
At this point I'm pretty sure I blew a head gasket, guess I'll have to do a pressure test
Last edited by lbm13186; Apr 29, 2019 at 06:27 PM.
Steam would be coolant loss from a blown head gasket.
WHITE smoke could just be burning carbon out of the chambers which might have loosened when a little "extra warm".
If it's BLUE, it's oil.
BLACK, running rich. I doubt you have a real problem.
WHITE smoke could just be burning carbon out of the chambers which might have loosened when a little "extra warm".
I've been wrenching on cars for over 35yrs and this is the first time I've ever heard this. Carbon doesn't burn, It may pass thru the exhaust though.
From the looks of that oil my guess if head gasket and possibly warped head. I've had people think it's ok to drive home even though the engine was overheating and don't understand how much more damage they caused.
If I had the car brought to me I would be a pressure test and a leak down test.
Once I got into an older ladies car and drove it hard on a freeway onramp. She had driven it EASY most of its life. When I looked in the mirror I was blowing VERY light gray smoke out the pipe. I suspected carbon buildup burning off, but I may be wrong on this. I have since seen this with other cars that led a sedentary life when driven hard for the first time in awhile.
Carbon DOES combine with oxygen to make CO and CO2. I would call that burning. The white smoke might have been incomplete combustion.
Once I got into an older ladies car and drove it hard on a freeway onramp. She had driven it EASY most of its life. When I looked in the mirror I was blowing VERY light gray smoke out the pipe. I suspected carbon buildup burning off, but I may be wrong on this. I have since seen this with other cars that led a sedentary life when driven hard for the first time in awhile.
Carbon DOES combine with oxygen to make CO and CO2. I would call that burning. The white smoke might have been incomplete combustion.
Carbon soot will burn but hard carbon deposits usually just exits the exhaust in little flakes and it usually takes high temperature steam to dislodge them and even then it was almost always steam out of the exhaust not smoke.
Have you needed to add any coolant? if not I would just change oil and run it for a bit.
Also a blown HG will almost always pressurize the cooling system so you should be able to tell fairly quickly after cranking it. Especially if its leaking enough to be causing white smoke
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White smoke 
