Engine smoking, weird smell from exhaust

[ahardb0dy]

So my 93 KA24E normally smokes on the first startup but lately I have noticed it is starting to smoke more often. I also noticed a lot of water coming out of the exhaust and the exhaust has a weird chemical kind of smell to it.

It runs really good, mileage is the same as what I normally get, plenty of power. Last time I checked the compression 3 cylinders were close in compression and 1 was lower. I figured the smoke at startup is the valve guide seals, but it never would smoke after the initial startup. No codes.

What may be wrong?

[h.stickeye]

theres only one thing if u got water coming out, its your head gasket I would think. Funny smell = coolant being burnt?

Check your exhaust and report back what the residue is like.

Then again, im no KA expert. They got all funny hoopla compared to teh z24

[ahardb0dy]

I'm going to check the coolant and oil tomorrow to see if either looks weird, the smell from the exhaust doesn't smell like anything I can describe, just smells like it has a chemical odor.

[SBJ]

I have to agree with h.stickeye, it sounds like your head gasket is going bad. 260K miles is pretty good though. It's not a bad job at all on the KA.

[cadillacdude1975]

get one of those combustion gas testers.

[LugNut1990]

Originally Posted by cadillacdude1975

get one of those combustion gas testers.

Autozone loans a "block tester" kit out, but make sure to get the $$ needed fluid. Mine gave the fluid for free! :-)

[Cusser]

All engines produce water as part of the combustion process. However, within a few minutes the exhaust temperatures keep this as water vapor, so isn't visible. So if water continues to come out of tailpipe, and coolant level drops, then coolant leaking into combustion chamber. The chemical smell likely could be ethylene glycol from the coolant, or partially-burned ethylene glycol.

[ahardb0dy]

Just checked the coolant, it was little low, oil looks and smells normal, I added coolant and let the engine warm up, watched a video on Youtube where the guy said you can check for a bad head gasket by looking for bubbles in the radiator, I did not see any. Going to head out to the auto parts store to see if they have that tester, will report what I find later.

With the engine idling I do not see any smoke/vapor from the exhaust but the second
I rev the engine it comes out.

thanks all

[ahardb0dy]

Just got home from auto parts store, I rented the tester.

I did the test first and after about 2 minutes the fluid started to turn yellow, but I think it was because the coolant in the radiator was too high and it was sucking it in contaminating the test fluid.

I than drained some coolant out until it was just over the top of the fins and cleaned the tester, I added new test fluid and repeated the test, the test fluid stayed perfectly blue.

I wonder if the vapor or smoke may just be due to the valve guide seals getting worse? I also noticed when I am driving I do not see any vapor/smoke, mainly I see when I am sitting still and if I rev the engine. I know when your driving it may be harder to see but I adjusted the mirror so I could see right where the exhaust comes out and I don't see anything while driving.

The coolant being a little low may not be related to the water coming from the exhaust, it's not like water is pouring out of the exhaust. I'll keep a closer eye on the coolant level.

[SBJ]

You might try testing it again first thing in the morning when the engine is cold. Sometimes if the leak is small enough it'll seal itself once the engine warms up and everything expands a little bit.