Coolant in Exhaust

CBASE · **Posted:** Mon Dec 06, 2010 2:18 pm

I just had the head gasket replaced and the car ran great for about a month. It started acting up again, lost glow plug 2 again and then started using water. This morning I started it and it is billowing white smoke. From last night when I drove then parked it the car emptied the coolant reservoir. The head was pressure tested and was found to be good. So I was wondering your guys thoughts on the problem. Is there anywhere else for water to get in the exhaust? Are cracks in the head hard to find and could a pressure test be wrong? Seems like it has a slight hiccup when it stats that went away after the head gasket but that is back now too. Other that this the car runs fine, got around 25mpg on the last tank.
Thoughts please
Thanks
Chris

MOSFET · **Joined:** Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:40 pm **Posts:** 295

Regarding only the coolant loss, check the EGR cooler tubes. If it tends to lose coolant only when running, then this could be one source of your leak.

CBASE · **Posted:** Tue Dec 07, 2010 2:06 pm

Could the egr tubes or cooler be leaking into the exhaust? I am kind of working off the assumption that the head is good if it got pressure tested and ran good for a month and that maybe coolant is leaking from somewhere else.

onthehunt · **Posted:** Tue Dec 07, 2010 2:48 pm

Since your ruling out the head, it could be from a piston sleeve or egr cooler. I'm guessing they didn't do the head gasket right... Whatever the problem is I would stop running it until it is fixed. Take it back to where it was repaired. Better yet,have them tow it back.

racertracer · **Posted:** Thu Dec 09, 2010 7:00 pm

CBase, what's the status on your vehicle?

CBASE · **Posted:** Sun Jan 09, 2011 11:51 pm

It seems that the smoke in the pictures is actually oil. I talk to the shop the other day and the intercooler was half full of oil. So the turbo seal is getting replace and the turbo is going to another shop to be check out and see if anything needs to be done to it. That is all I know for now. Said they pressure tested the cooling system three times and found no leaks and no pressure loss. So I will know more in a week or so.
Chris

Glend · **Posted:** Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:30 am

It should be possible to tell the difference between coolant vapor and oil vapor in the exhaust - by smell, and if its white is is more likely to be coolant based. As said above, it does sound like an EGR valve cooler leak. If its cracked it maybe leaking into the EGR and then into the intake body from where it goes into the cylinders to be burnt. It should be showing up in your oil as well (is your oil a milky brown colour)? Did they pressure test the cooling system with the Kj running?

As to an intercooler half full of oil? No Provent I bet. How many miles on this one? How's the compression? I'm thinking blowby mist going into the intercooler. At least two separate problems here. FIx the coolant leak first.

onthehunt · **Posted:** Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:31 am

Oil sample test will tell if it's coolant.

Coolant in Exhaust

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