Vs Ute White Smoke

[finch21]

The other day I did an oil change and ever since I have had white smoke coming from the dipstick after I go for a drive, the oil is at normal level on the dipstick. Tonight i took off the oil cap and there is smoke i the rocker cover too, wondering if it's the piston rings. Any ideas?

Cheers

[hako]

Is the 'smoke' evident when the car is idling or switched off - if it's noticed when switched off it could just be normal fumes that come from hot oil. What grade and brand of oil did you use?

[finch21]

yes actually it's only when the car is turned off, i put shell helix 20w/50 in it

[hako]

In that case it must be simply fumes from the oil......maybe you've never noticed them before or looked for them (you need the right light to see them). The oil should be OK. I wouldn't worry as in my opinion it's completely normal.
Good Luck.

[vscom88]

my car was blowing out white smoke really bad a few times .. i put some additive in it wich didnt help .. i was thinking it could have been shit fuel because it usualy only did it when i chucekd 98 from shell in but there was fumes coming out from my radiater so i thought it was a blown head but a compression test proved that theory wrong.

try chuck an additive in it .. maybe the rings are gone letting smoke blow past or something

hope that helps

[Brett_jjj]

my car was blowing out white smoke really bad a few times .. i put some additive in it wich didnt help .. i was thinking it could have been shit fuel because it usualy only did it when i chucekd 98 from shell in but there was fumes coming out from my radiater so i thought it was a blown head but a compression test proved that theory wrong.

try chuck an additive in it .. maybe the rings are gone letting smoke blow past or something

You need to get the cooling system pressure tested as well.Also it might be a crack in the head/block that only opens up when the engine is running and is hot.It definitely sounds like a blown head gasket or cracked head/block though.

[hako]

It only is evident when the engine is switched off - not running - according to the poster, so it should only be fumes....not smoke (as such) which should only happen when the engine is running. If it was a head/block crack or gasket gone, the engine would be overheating and there is no mention of that.
Maybe we need a better definition of "smoke" ! (A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.)

[Paiste402]

fumes dude, since there is no vacuum to suck the fumes away when it runs they waft out. it gets worse as an engine ages but as long as its not much then it sound pretty normal. how many kms on the clock?

[Brett_jjj]

The pcv should scavenge any fumes from the crankcase that are caused from blowby in a worn engine.Thats the whole idea of it.The fumes get recycled and consumed in the combustion process,not fed out to the atmosphere like it was years ago on old engines.The PCV valve might be blocked.

[hako]

PCV will only scavenge fumes from the crankcase when the engine is running and it's turned off in this case. Last time I saw a blocked PCV valve it was forcing oil out of every orifice.

[neet_wagon]

^^^^^ If like you imply there is nothing wrong with the PCV, then what is generating the fumes AFTER the car is turned off. I think you got lost in your own explanation

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The fumes that are in the crankcase can only be recycled through the PCV while the engine is running. There will still be some remaining after the engine has been switched off, this is what is being seen.

[hako]

^^^^^ If like you imply there is nothing wrong with the PCV, then what is generating the fumes AFTER the car is turned off. I think you got lost in your own explanation

Not really - what happens is that oil gives off fumes when hot.....this is not from burning oil but simply from the oil coming in contact with hot surfaces of the engine and is completely normal.

Not_an_abba_fan seems to agree and he is one dude with whom I would never disagree

[finch21]

From what everyone is saying i'm leaning towards it just being hot oil fumes, as it only occurs when the engine is off. And also it only has 169,000kms on it.