mattk

Ran to Lowes this morning and when i came out of Lowes and started up my Runner i had a ton of white smoke just pouring out of the exhaust pipe. It cleared up then when i went down the road i was just pouring out of the tailpie for about 5 minutes then it went away. Temp was ok everything else seemed ok and it was running perfectly fine. Any suggestions from anyone on what this could be????? Its a '98 with 91000 miles. Any help would be great!!! Thanks guys

AgRunner06

moisture

Pitbull

Sounds like a head gasket leak. The white smoke is from the water vaporizing. Check your oil and see if it looks milky. If it does you have a big problem, don't drive it unless you are taking it in to have it fixed.

86toyota

Sounds like one of cylinders filled up with some antifreeze from a new problem. When you fired it up , it took awhile to get rid of it, then the compression probably stopped any more from getting in while it was running; or its still leaking very small while driving that you can't notice it. If it happens again after sitting, smell the exhaust cloud to see if its antifreeze or oil burning smoke. Check your oil and antifreeze for mixing. Hopefully it's nothing serious thou.

mattk

My first thought was the head gasket but i was trying to not think about that....lol i just got done doing the headgasket on my '95 Runner. Hopefully its something else but with my luck its probably the head gasket. thanks for the replies guys and i will let you know what i find out.

yigo65

The smoke, although looks white to your eye, maybe be a bit bluish if you look hard enough. If thats the case it's probably a little oil seeping down. This is not uncommon for enignes that get alot of wear. The reason it's going away is because your engine warms up the the seals expand preventing the seepage. Watch it for awhile and see if it only happens after it sits all night.

Pitbull

He stated he had already driven to Lowes and that the smoke was white and it poured out and this condition lasted for around 5 minutes. That is antifreeze from a bad head gasket. If that antifreeze mixes with his engine oil he might as well buy a new engine/4runner, antifreeze and engine oil screws up bearing real fast

AgRunner06

I still think it was moisture from the tailpipe. I guess we need more info. Did you smell the smoke? How long was it sitting at Lowes before you started it up again?

I've heard of a few headgaskets blowing without any other problems but I highly doubt this is what the problem is. Also, the recall on the '96 and '97 HG was for an external leak rather than an internal leak like the 3.slow. Because of this, I don't think he has a blown HG. I'm not saying that it can't have an internal failure. I just don't think this is the case.

He's only got 91K miles. Rarely have I heard of a 3.4L HG blowing on this board. Not to say it doesn't happen, but that it just doesn't happen very often.

I think you are ok. Just watch it and smell it. Then let us know what you find.

User 051420

My 4runner steams plumes when it's COLD outside, and I first start it up. Not after driving. Doesn't sound normal to me.

Call Toyota ASAP about the HG recall.

Shane

First things first, check your coolant and see if you're missing any. If not, then just keep an eye on the level and watch for any more signs of smoke.

Shane

IIRC, the 3.4 headgasket problem was an external leak which would not result in smoke from the exhaust.

Chi_San

I'm going with a bit of knowledge gained from Subarus here, but sometimes you can blow a head gasket and the engine won't 'overheat'. I blew a HG on my Subaru and the temp gauge never moved, didn't bake the engine into a puddle of slag either. But, that might be a problem with the Subaru temperature monitor probe, and probably doesn't apply to a 4Runner.

I'd suggest checking the Vaccume hoses. I know that when using seafoam to clear carbon deposits out of the hoses/engine, it will do this. You might want to give it a try. Otherwise, check to make sure nobody played a practical joke on you and put a tampon in your fuel tank, check to make sure you don't have water or other stuff getting into your engine or fuel, and make sure your vaccume hoses are all up to snuff.

mattk

Man i love this site!!!!! So much info here. Anyway checked my coolant level and it was ok right where it has been since i have had this Runner. Checked my oil level and it seemed to be about a half quart low and it never is low even when its time for a change which i do every 3000 miles. My wife drives this Runner the most and she said it did the same thing about a week ago when she drove it. So its happened twice now and the temp outside has been in the 80's. It doesnt do it when sitting from overnite. When it happened to me i had been driving it for about 45 minutes then went to Lowes and it sat for about 45 minutes and thats when it did it. The smell was funky smelling not like coolant or oil. Never smelled this before. Im gonna keep an eye out and see if i can come up with anything. Keep the suggestions coming guys. You guys are so helpful and ill let you now if i find anything. Thanks again!!!

Pitbull

Buy a new 4th generation 4runner with the awsome V8 and trade your 4runner in.

MxPx_Reaver

I had a '90 4runner and one day when coming home from school I had the exact same problem. How much that comes out can not be described in words! Im surprised the fire department didnt come to my house. Well, the problem with mine was a blown headgasket. That is probably your same problem. Anyways good luck with it.

(i now have a 99 tacoma)

Shane

Keep an eye on the levels of both, check them regularly such as every morning before you start it. Checking at random times like one day morning and the next day evening after having driven may give different readings so be religous about this.

When it next "smokes" get out and hold your hand in the exhaust for 10 seconds or so, then smell and feel to see if your hand is oily or smells like coolant. Remember Toyota red coolant doesn't smell like your usual green antifreeze so if you're still using red keep this in mind. This could be something as simple as a bad PCV valve.

mattk

Thanks man did not think about the red coolant not smelling the same, and it does have red coolant. I have been watching the oil and will continue to do that and hopefully i can come to a conclusion on what it is. I will keep you guys up to date.

Grim13

If you VERY recently done your head gasket, I think the white smoke is normal. It'll smoke for about a week and go away.

mattk

Ok guys wanted to give you an update. Im still confused on whats going on and hopefully this was just a fluke thing. I have been watching the oil and coolant and everything has stayed normal. No loss in either one. So......i guess i will keep an eye on things and see what happens. Thanks for all your suggestions and help. I will let you know if anything else happens

My99

Smoke gone away?