white smoke coming from behind the engine?

[bdown62007]

like the post said its a white smoking that comes from under my hood after about 5 mins or so of driving. so i took it to a mechanic yesterday and he said it might be that i need to change the oil so he did. then it went away for about 20 mins then started up again...does anyone kno what this could be. i hope its nothing serious because im a student with very little dispensable cash

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[SouthernBoy]

Oil generally emits a light blue smoke when coming from the engine. But you said behind your engine which sounds more like it's coming from the exhaust system (main cat perhaps). While tends to indicate coolant. I'm not sure what the power steering fluid color would be when burning. Do you notice an odor?

[KzooTL]

Had the powersteering hose recall done?

When its smoking pop the hood and see where its coming from.

[bdown62007]

the mechanic said it smelled like out. and its a light white color. i havent had the recall done i believe. and when i popped the hood it was coming from behind the engine on the passengers side

[Opel]

Originally Posted by bdown62007

the mechanic said it smelled like out. and its a light white color. i havent had the recall done i believe. and when i popped the hood it was coming from behind the engine on the passengers side

what kinda fucking mechanic can't look and find out where smoke is coming from? i mean damn....thats like saying "i think smoke's coming from the fire"
so he just assumes shit like that....it can also be oil from valve cover, PS fluid,
you could have a coolant leak....and it could be burning off from the cat just like Southernboy said.

[shftl]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy

I'm not sure what the power steering fluid color would be when burning.

I am. It's white. The smoke that came up behind the engine from a power steering hose leak, that sprayed hydraulic fluid on the exhaust manifold of my 89 Sable, was pure white. The flames that followed, and consumed the front half of the car, were orange. Has your car had the PS hose recall work done?

You've got a potentially catastrophic situation on your hands, if that's what it is. Take your car immediately to an Acura service department.

[SouthernBoy]

Originally Posted by shftl

I am. It's white. The smoke that came up behind the engine from a power steering hose leak, that sprayed hydraulic fluid on the exhaust manifold of my 89 Sable, was pure white. The flames that followed, and consumed the front half of the car, were orange. Has your car had the PS hose recall work done?

You've got a potentially catastrophic situation on your hands, if that's what it is. Take your car immediately to an Acura service department.

Thank you.

Let me guess how your Sable's PS line failed. It was a metallic line and was routed very close to one of the head pipes. The natural vibration and movement of the engine caused the flange from either the head pipe or the exhaust manifold to rub against the line until it penetrated the line and fluid spewed forth. Want to bet this is what happened? And was your Sable built in Mexico or in the Atlanta plant? I would wager Mexico.

We bought a 1990 Taurus for my wife and this is what happened to her's, though fortunately, no fire. And it was made in Mexico. In fourteen months, it had twelve trips to the dealer for warranty work, some rather serious.

You're right to advice the OP to get that car in quickly and have it checked.

[xxbiggie]

I had smoke coming from the engine as well a month or so ago. The leak was from the power steering hose, and it was behind the engine on the passenger side. You might wanna take a look there.

Mine had a pinhole where the hose has the rubber mount around it. See if its coming from there.

Took it to the dealership for the recall, and now all is good.

[shftl]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy

Thank you.

Let me guess how your Sable's PS line failed. It was a metallic line and was routed very close to one of the head pipes. The natural vibration and movement of the engine caused the flange from either the head pipe or the exhaust manifold to rub against the line until it penetrated the line and fluid spewed forth. Want to bet this is what happened? And was your Sable built in Mexico or in the Atlanta plant? I would wager Mexico.

We bought a 1990 Taurus for my wife and this is what happened to her's, though fortunately, no fire. And it was made in Mexico. In fourteen months, it had twelve trips to the dealer for warranty work, some rather serious.

You're right to advice the OP to get that car in quickly and have it checked.

I think you're right. The Sable developed a power steering hose leak that caused plentiful white smoke. I had the hose replaced, and about a week later, when I made a hard right turn I heard something pop and the power steering died. A couple of minutes later there were cheerful flames coming up through the cowl. It's pretty clear that either the new hose had a flaw in the neoprene or the metal end at the steering rack came unswaged. Anyway, bdown is driving a time bomb and needs to get the recall fixes done.

[bdown62007]

well it was the power steering hose. i took it to the dealer and its all taken car of now free of charge...thanks everyone for their help

[lazytik]

Hi guys.

I just read this yesterday and lo and behold today I smelled the smells and saw the sights of this issue.

I didn't drive it tonight and am going to get it towed to the nearest dealership tomorrow and have them do the hose replacement. However, I checked the records on my car, and it already had this recall done once....

bdown: how long did it take? Would I need to arrange for another car?

[LoveMyTL-S]

I think it only takes about an hour to replace the hose.