White smoke on starting, soon you’ll be parting Blown head gasket a common cause
DEAR CAR TALK: When starting my Camry cold, white smoke billows from the rear tailpipe. What is this? — Sherry
This is the universal sign to grab a new autoloan application, Sherry.
That white smoke usually is caused by vaporized coolant, often the result of a blown head gasket.
Within the engine you have the cylinders, which combust gasoline and air. All around those cylinders are coolant passages to keep the cylinders from overheating. Coolant should stay outside the cylinders, and the combustion materials stay inside.
But when there’s a breach — like a blown head gasket — the coolant will seep into one or more of the cylinders after you turn off the engine. Then, when you restart the engine, that coolant gets combusted along with the gasoline and air, making white smoke.
So, the first thing to do is ask your mechanic to do a head-gasket test. If he believes the head gasket is bad, then you’ll have to decide whether to put $1,000-plus into the car.
That’ll depend on how old the car is, what kind of shape it’s in, and how much credit is available on your home-equity line.
Of course, once he opens up the engine, he might find that it’s worse than a blown head gasket: that it’s a cracked head block — which are way more expensive. So be aware that there’s some uncertainty going into any such operation.
And depending how close the call is regarding whether to fix the car or dump it, you may want to issue a DNR in case the mechanic discovers a crack in the head or block.
Dear Car Talk: I have a VW convertible that I leave garaged in Florida for eight months. Is it best to leave the top up when I’m gone? — Frances
Gee, Frances, I’m trying to figure out why you’d want to leave the top down. Maybe to keep the car aired out? So it’ll smell musty, like your garage, when you get back?
The top is designed to keep things out of the car — not just rain, but dust, debris and the occasional rodent. So I’d be inclined to secure the top and let it do its job.
Got a question about cars for Ray Magliozzi? Email the Car Talk website at www.cartalk.com.