White smoke, no leaks !

[hitpoint]

Hey people!


I have a BMW e92 325i auto (y2008, engine N53) with arond 140k km.
So, the problem started somewhere in September 2017. It began with white smoke when the car is idle (from its exhaust), 10 minutes after start, waiting on trafiklight etc. It wasnt so thick, but I could see it from my side mirror. In time I noticed (also on my side mirror) that I could see the smoke while I was driving too. There was more and more white smoke every day. Today, the smoke is still here, even more visiable and thicker maybe because it's pretty cold outside (I live in Sweden, -5C today). I also noticed that when I drive and I relase the gas pedal, I can't see the smoke on the mirror. So, maybe, much less smoke when releasing the gas pedal..
I ran a diagnostics at a proper mech and it showed nothing. NOTHING! The engine works perfectly, no sound, no oil leaks, no coolant leaks. The mech didn't know what to do, so we tried with an Acute Injector Cleaner. No luck at all of course. Before I go and pay just 100 euro for another diagnostics and a lot more for a repair (if there is a big problem with the engine) at a BMW specialised service, do you have any thoughts on this?

Thank you!

Deni

[Yellow14150]

Might sound obvious but are other people’s cars creating smoke/steam also? If it is that cold there is a high chance it is steam. However, major cause of consistant white smoke can be a blown head gasket. You can check that via a compression or leakdown test. You may be able to rent the tools for free. You may also see blue smoke. Other than that it would most likely throw a code. A friend of mine’s E36 M3 was doing this (during warm weather) and we did a compression check. He had low compression on cylinder’s 5-6. Oil was bypassing the piston ring creating blue smoke also. Yours is most likely caused by the weather though.

[hitpoint]

Might sound obvious but are other people’s cars creating smoke/steam also? If it is that cold there is a high chance it is steam. However, major cause of consistant white smoke can be a blown head gasket. You can check that via a compression or leakdown test. You may be able to rent the tools for free. You may also see blue smoke. Other than that it would most likely throw a code. A friend of mine’s E36 M3 was doing this (during warm weather) and we did a compression check. He had low compression on cylinder’s 5-6. Oil was bypassing the piston ring creating blue smoke also. Yours is most likely caused by the weather though.

It is not the weather. We have an older Mercedes (y2002) C klass, 220 kompressor. After a short ride or maybe 15 minutes the smoke stops. I have testet with both cars and the BMW def has a problem. I dont see any other cars with this problem when driving. Also, there is no loss of power. When I push the gas pedal the car goes off like a rocket But maybe it can be even faster with that problem solved
I will def do a compression test and look for shadow codes. First, I have to choose the mech .. thats the hardest part as I live in Sweden for only 1.5 years...

[Yellow14150]

Doing a compression test is actually a pretty easy job. You just need to pull the coils and spark plugs and then connect the compression tester and turn the car over. But a good shop should do it for pretty cheap. This could also be an exhaust issue, but it is most commonly caused by coolant entering the combustion chamber. Keep in mind that BMW's sometimes develop a leak between cylinders where two cylinders are leaking into each other between compression cycles. Head gasket issues are most common on inline six engines because of the length of block and sensitivity to overheating. Have you ever overheated the car? Or do you know if the previous owner did? As they say, one trip to the red and you're dead. The good news is that if you are capable of doing any car repairs yourself, the head gasket is do-able, but it does involve some serious work. It's about a $400 job if you do it yourself, including addition parts, or anywhere from $2000-4000 for a mechanic to do it. Good luck. Post back if you get any updates about what is wrong or PM me.

[hitpoint]

Today I get my salary Next week I am going to book a diagnostics at a proper BMW mech. About the overheating, the meter rarely even goes to the middle. So, no overheateing. When i push the gas pedal the car goes just fine. I cant feel any drawbacks or something like that.. No problems at all. But when I start the car, in the first 5-10 minutes there is no smoke, AT ALL. It's like the engine is off.. After 10 minutes the smoke comes. After maybe 20 minutes it reaches its ''peak''. When I park or wait at a trafik light, the smoke very often surrounds me... Does that mean anything?

[Sleepyhead97]

Watch the coolant. If it slowly but surely keeps dropping over a period of a few weeks--with no obvious signs of a leak-- its probably a head gasket. Before being convinced of HG be sure to Use UV dye in the coolant system see any EXTERNAL SIGNS of leaking.. IE hoses, heater core etc.. But just based on your description, its a headgasket --in my opinion.

[hitpoint]

Watch the coolant. If it slowly but surely keeps dropping over a period of a few weeks--with no obvious signs of a leak-- its probably a head gasket. Before being convinced of HG be sure to Use UV dye in the coolant system see any EXTERNAL SIGNS of leaking.. IE hoses, heater core etc.. But just based on your description, its a headgasket --in my opinion.

The coolant level doesnt drop at all for more then 3 months now.. It was above the max level and I even had to take out a little. The oil level as I can see on the board its OK, it varies from the middle to the max. Nowadays stays on MAX. I check those two things every 2-3 days... Thats why this is strange...

[Sleepyhead97]

Lets assume that you are not burning coolant or oil. Another thing it could be is fuel. Have you changed fueling stations? Maybe the one you are using has alot of water/condensation in the tank.

Lets assume the oil and coolant are not getting burned, and the fuel is okay.... do you take long trips, or short drives? Maybe condensation in the engine? (I am reaching here)

Is the coolant system pressurized when engine is cold?
has Any coolant ever spewed out of the reservoir cap?
Do you need to add oil? before the oil-change interval?

[jackkowloon]

Hey people!


I have a BMW e92 325i auto (y2008, engine N53) with arond 140k km.
So, the problem started somewhere in September 2017. It began with white smoke when the car is idle (from its exhaust), 10 minutes after start, waiting on trafiklight etc. It wasnt so thick, but I could see it from my side mirror. In time I noticed (also on my side mirror) that I could see the smoke while I was driving too. There was more and more white smoke every day. Today, the smoke is still here, even more visiable and thicker maybe because it's pretty cold outside (I live in Sweden, -5C today). I also noticed that when I drive and I relase the gas pedal, I can't see the smoke on the mirror. So, maybe, much less smoke when releasing the gas pedal..
I ran a diagnostics at a proper mech and it showed nothing. NOTHING! The engine works perfectly, no sound, no oil leaks, no coolant leaks. The mech didn't know what to do, so we tried with an Acute Injector Cleaner. No luck at all of course. Before I go and pay just 100 euro for another diagnostics and a lot more for a repair (if there is a big problem with the engine) at a BMW specialised service, do you have any thoughts on this?

Thank you!

Deni

To my knowledge, no problem at all. A good engine will emit white smoke for a couple minutes after you starting your car in the morning


從我的iPhone使用Tapatalk 發送

[Codes2]

White 'smoke' after a long drive (as reported) when no other car shows the same (even at that medium temp) is not right.

Either it's steam or it's other.
If no fluids go down after 3 months (as reported) then it's gotta be steam.

If you're smoking, you're burning... something.

I feel we're missing detail/fact.

[hitpoint]

- I have 3 gas station that I use. Mostly 2 of them and sometimes the third one.
- My trips are 10-15 kilometers in the morning and 10-15 kilometers after work I drive around 100 kilometers once per week too.
- When the engine is running, removing the OIL cap feels like decompressing, like the vacuum is lost. I havent tried removing the COOLANT cap while the engine is cold and working. What should I expect then?
- No coolat drops around the cap. The engine is pretty clean on the outside.
- No need to add or change the oil according to a mech I visited, a general mech, not specilised in BMW. He couldn't find out what the problem is. He said that it is very weird situation...

My friend talked to a BMW mech who said that this can happen due to some membrane fault in the engine. So, when the oil warms up a little (after those first 5-10mins) , the smoke from the oil goes in the exhaust system or something. He didn't really understand .. :/

I don't know what I can be missing... I dont know if this can be steam because I dont see it at any other cars... There is only 1 BMW service in about 45km from where I live. Authorised sale and service for BMW and Mini. They are the most expensive ones. But hey, what other choice do I have ...

[Sleepyhead97]

White 'smoke' after a long drive (as reported) when no other car shows the same (even at that medium temp) is not right.

Either it's steam or it's other.
If no fluids go down after 3 months (as reported) then it's gotta be steam.

If you're smoking, you're burning... something.

I feel we're missing detail/fact.

Nailed it

[Codes2]

Was watching my car this morning.
30 minute drive at -15c.
Pull into the parking lot, engine at full temp, I still have steam out the pipe.
I noticed that it happened most just after pulling into the parking lot, but the it mostly subsided.

Maybe some car makes/models steam more than others?

[hitpoint]

White 'smoke' after a long drive (as reported) when no other car shows the same (even at that medium temp) is not right.

Either it's steam or it's other.
If no fluids go down after 3 months (as reported) then it's gotta be steam.

If you're smoking, you're burning... something.

I feel we're missing detail/fact.

I honestly dont know.. Im waiting for a price for diagnostics so that I can begin with testing the car.
Steam is the last thing that I think is the problem. I dont know what I could be missing.. Any other way to measure the oil level than that e-dip?
I read that some membrane can be broken (oil separator)...

and @Codes2, I would say that my car has a lot of steam on -2C

But hey, I will record the car after a longer drive with the hood opened so that you guys can hear the sound of the machine also. I will do that as soon as possible and post a YouTube link here.