leblanc1

iTrader: (2)

Lately these hard starts with lots of white smoke have gotten worse. I don't appear to be losing coolant from my radiator, but I do appear to be losing coolant from my Magnusson super charger reservoir. I've done a pressure test on both systems and they both have slight leakdowns. I've discovered loose hose clamps on my radiator hoses. I can't find any external leaks for the supercharger cooling system.

The smoke smells extremely rich and not of coolant at all. The plugs are all dry and darker in color...not black or fouled looking. Also there is no water residue on the oil fill cap or dipstick and I see no evidence of oil in the radiator.

Someone has suggested one or more possible sticking fuel injectors. I did borescope the cylinders and I can't seem to identify anything out of the ordinary.

I have a theory that maybe the intercooler is leaking into the heads, but I'm wanting to be more exact before I start pulling the engine apart.

Take a look at the video below to see what I'm dealing with. After the car warms up...there's no smoke and it starts just fine...until it's cold again.

G Atsma

Looks like a lot of it is steam, but mixed with white smoke. If there are leak(s) in the cooling system(s), see if you can resolve them first. The pressure tests showed a problem in that area. Then see what happens. Once any leakage is fixed, at least part of the problem should go away. THEN tackle any tuning problem there might be.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Do I see soot build up on the bumper, just above the tail pipes?

Andrew

leblanc1

iTrader: (2)

Yes, that is soot on the bumper above the tailpipes.

leblanc1

iTrader: (2)

So, even though I checked my fuel pressure earlier this year at 65psi....today it's 52 psi. Would it be reasonable to suspect that this pressure is too low and a probably culprit?

brandon6.0

iTrader: (32)

Let it sit a few days and thin pull supercharger and inspect intake valves etc. Looks like coolant smoke to me. Might be a bad head gasket as well. Do a compression test first.

leblanc1

iTrader: (2)

What would I be looking at on the intake valves?

brandon6.0

iTrader: (32)

Water puddled up. Rust. Oil etc.

Compression test should be done first.

1989GTA

Have you pulled any spark plugs? If so what color are they?

LLLosingit

iTrader: (4)

It's going to be hard to tell how much of that is smoke/steam due to a engine problem or just the fact that it's obviously cold/snowing in the video. All my vehicles put out quite a bit of vapor when it's cold out until the engine is up to temperature. (Vapor is a normal part of combustion process)
Is it smoke or steam? If you can heat the garage then start the car you'll be able to tell pretty easily.
If it's blue smoke it could be valve guides/seals, And depending on who did your tune the cold start problem could be an issue of not getting enough fuel enrichment on a cold start, The colder it gets makes the problem worse.

Gasoholic

iTrader: (1)

Was thinking about this one,
I've got a truck at work that has a bad headgasket. E-450 chassis V-10 Ford. It's really pumping the coolant in there.
Thing is while its obvious it has a problem, it still starts right up. Runs a bit rough till it starts to warm up, but it starts and runs on its own.
Your car fires then quits. Crank it again it sort of fires then quits. After a few tries it finally fires and stays running.
I think your problem is fuel.
Try this, if you haven't already. Try priming the fuel pump by cycling the ignition on and off every 10 seconds or so. Theory is if your dropping fuel pressure cycling the ignition switch should prime the system. Do that like 4 to 6 times before you actually crank it over and see if the car starts easier.
Could be the "smoke" is actually from some other factor.

Just trying to help

DaddySS

I would start with the basics; you've got something entering the combustion chamber creating the smoke along with the steam - find out whether it's coolant or oil first, then we can go from there. Put a clean white rag over the exhaust or however you want capture it and analyze the type of fluid we're dealing with.