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        General >> Problems >> White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the hood
        
(Message started by: Chaoslord on Oct 28^th, 2006, 8:58pm)

Title: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the hood
Post by Chaoslord on Oct 28^th, 2006, 8:58pm

Help!
We had been driving for about an hour today in our '96 Scorpio 2.3 stationwagon when suddenly I see white smoke in the rearview, so i pull over. When the car stops, white smoke is pouring out from under the hood.
I dont know if it was smoke or vapor, but it was white and cold and it seemed to me that it was coming from the left hand side of the engine, but i'm not sure it was coming from the engine itself. The rescue guy came, and he said it might be the top gascet had sprung a leak.
I'm not so sure about that, because the smoke was cold. I would think the smoke would be warm if it came from the engine.

Could anyone shed some light on this one?
Thx

Andy

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by scorpio_man on Oct 28^th, 2006, 9:05pm

hi there

have you lost any water?

hth

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by taliban on Oct 28^th, 2006, 9:06pm

smoke lingers, vapour doesnt, smoke also cools down very quickly...

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Chaoslord on Oct 28^th, 2006, 9:14pm

Sorry forgot to say that i dont have AC.
The smoke/vapour did dissipate fast, so i'm going with vapour from now ;)
Not sure about the water though. Forgot to check, and the car is an hours drive away (if i had a car the is)

Andy

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Spannerdemon on Oct 28^th, 2006, 9:18pm

OK Air conditioning gas is obviously out, which really now means steam.

Did you have to have the car recovered, or were you able to continue under your own steam ;D (That's a dreadful pun) Sorry!!

It now suggests a burst component on your cooling/heating system, which would certainly give such symptoms, because when running, your water is very hot, and will show up as steam if released. On a cold day steam will not feel particularly warm unless you are right on top of it (not recommended for safety reasons).

Again, on a cold day, the water will cool rapidly, and once it reaches a lower temperature, will not produce steam anymore (which ties in with what you are saying about the steam/vapour stopping quite quickly.

Did you notice any water underneath your car?

Before running the car again, I'd check all water hoses very carefully. You MAY have got away without damaging anything if you stopped quickly, and switched off.

Were there any other symptoms of this breakdown? Smells, noises, vibrations etc etc?

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Chaoslord on Oct 28^th, 2006, 9:32pm

It was cold today, about 2-3 deg. C.
I did notice some wetness underneath the car after the rescue guy had moved the car.
It certainly seemed to me that as the engine cooled down, the steam (thanks for giving me yet another option :P) did diminish. When I said earlier that it dissipated quickly, i meant that the steam got about a meter away from the car before it dissolved into thin air.
I did not poke around to close to what i percieved as the source of the steam, but it felt cool about 50cm from the source.
The engine did not stop, and I am pretty sure i could get it running again, but i didnt dare try, so the rescue guy drove off with it.

Andy

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Spannerdemon on Oct 28^th, 2006, 9:55pm

Quote:

I did notice some wetness underneath the car after the rescue guy had moved the car.

My advice would be DON'T try to start it again until you have checked out your cooling system. I reckon you've got a burst hose somewhere. let's hope it's not anything more expensive. Get your garage to fill the car with water again, and then pressure test the system for you, it's a fairly simple job, and will hopefully, pinpoint your leak.

A burst hose/water pipe can throw out an awful lot of steam, and look pretty dramatic, but so long as you stopped quickly, you should be OK.

It's when you DON'T notice that things overheat, and continue driving....... then it gets expensive!!

If there are no accompanying mechanical noises, then keep your fingers crossed. :)

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Chaoslord on Oct 28^th, 2006, 9:59pm

I'm definately crossing all my fingers.
Thanks for all your help guys.
Hopefully i will get the car back tomorrow, so i can inspect it myself before taking it to the garage.

Andy

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Spannerdemon on Oct 28^th, 2006, 10:11pm

Quote:

I did not poke around to close to what i percieved as the source of the steam,

That would be MY first area of investigation tomorrow!!
With the engine cold.
It could be you'll pinpoint the problem immediately.

Look VERY closely, and if you can't find it, then fill with water, and then check under your car to hopefully find where it's dripping from.

Let us know. ;)

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Kjetil S on Oct 28^th, 2006, 10:45pm

There is a hose going from the thermostat housing and taking a 90deg turn rearwards. (underneath the air pipes). I would try and poke at it and see if you can find a crack in it. It has seemed to burst on two different scorpios on this forum lately (first mine, changed it and all was okay), then someone elses (don't remember who's exactly, that didn't work out too well).

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by jerryvr on Oct 29^th, 2006, 4:49am

mine went and unfortunally the rest of the engine with it

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Chaoslord on Oct 29^th, 2006, 9:42am

on 10/29/06 at 04:49:10, jerryvr wrote:

mine went and unfortunally the rest of the engine with it

Ok, now I'm scared again.....

I'm having some logistics problems though.
I may have to wait a few days before i can get a car strong enough to transport my car back home, but when i get a look at it, i'll let you all know

Andy

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Matt on Oct 29^th, 2006, 10:05am

just on the off chance it's not the inlet (although very very common) have a look at the rad top hose. mate of mine had his split right next to the circlip (as if it had been wearing away the pipe) there was no signs of buldging etc you would expect to see with a failing hose. it just went :-/

matt

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Chaoslord on Nov 1^st, 2006, 5:23pm

Ok, I've taken it to the gargage, and the diagnose was..... Cracked intakemanifold.
They charge me £700 to fix it. Could be worse i guess.
Thx for all your help and input.
Hopefully I'll get the car back on friday.

Andy

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Spannerdemon on Nov 1^st, 2006, 6:53pm

Did they suggest what might have caused it?

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by Chaoslord on Nov 2^nd, 2006, 11:43am

No they didn't.
I'll see if I can get the mechanic to tell me when i pick up the car later on.

Andy

Title: Re: White smoke/vapor pouring out from under the h
Post by RichardMS on Nov 2^nd, 2006, 12:52pm

on 11/01/06 at 17:23:05, Chaoslord wrote:

..... Cracked intakemanifold.
They charge me £700 to fix it.
Andy

:o £700 to fix a £230 inlet manifold :o
Mine split because the head had gone, over £400 exchange and a six week wait from Germany :(