Steam/smoke Coming From Engine

Steam/smoke coming from car hood in rain?

cold water on a hot hood = steam

toss some cold water in a pot pan on the stove = steam

same thing. just more prevalent on cooler days with rain and high humidity.

White smoke or steam coming from engine?

I just drive 20 miles down the highway to school and stopped at a nearby McDonalds to go through the drive thru for breakfast. While sitting there, I noticed a white smoke or possibly steam, almost exactly the same look as exhaust, coming from the drivers side of the engine compartment. I pulled into a nearby parking lot and turned off the engine. Its been sitting like this for about half an hour, and I just checked and there is a noticable wet spot directly beneath the engine compartment, emenating from the drivers side. The liquid appears to be just water. When the smoke/steam was coming out, it wasn't a lot, and it smelled hot, but not like smoke.

What could be the problem if it only did this after 20 miles of highway driving while I was at idle?

Steam/Smoke coming from under engine?

Well, there can be tons of different things. You're going to have to tell us stuff like what color the smoke is.

Let's say the smoke is white: Water leakage
Let's say the smoke is black: Gas leakage
Let's say the smoke is gray: Combination of the above two.
Let's say the smoke is blue: Pistons or valve seals can be worn out

We can't know exactly what it is without knowing what color the steam is. From what it sounds like is that you may be having a radiator leakage problem; however, overheating of the engine comes with that as well. So it's a strong indication your radiator may be having some problems.

Just because you got those parts replaced doesn't mean that they're completely fixed. If you take your car to Auto Zone or any type of auto shop, really, they should be able to run a diagnostic on your car by scanning your car with a hand-held machine that plugs into your car.

Steam coming from engine, NOT overheated?

It could be something easy like condensation dripping off the A/C lines onto the exhaust manifold, or a hose with a hole, crack or leak at the connections. Or could be something major like water pump going out or head gasket leak. Have someone with knowledge of vehicle mechanics look at it.

White steam/smoke coming from my hood.?

Hello,

First off, I apologize upfront for being the most mechanically challenged individual you will never the have pleasure of meeting. I include a link to a picture of my engine so then I can really be thorough by pointing out where stuff is happening. haha.

OK, so the problem is I have a 95 Firebird 3.4L V6. I noticed today after I drove for a while, then parked it I had a very small amount of white steam/smoke coming from under my hood. I looked at my temp gauge and it said 185, the average operating temperature. The smoke didn't last for very long after I shut off my engine and that within 2-3 minutes had stopped completely.

Below is a link to a picture of my exact same engine.
http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Project_XJ/Project_XJ/3.4L_a.jpg
The steam/smoke seems to be coming from somewhere near where the 3.4 SFI imprint that is in the picture.

It doesn't do this with each time I drive it. Just more often than not, and it started just a few days ago.

I personally have not checked my coolant level, but I take it to a small locally owned garage that includes ALL fluid check and fill-ups with each oil change. Last oil change was about 2500 miles/1-1.5 months ago.

No idea if this has anything to do with anything (again, keep in mind I know absolutely nothing about mechanics) but this vehicle has it's fair share of electrical problems. Again, I don't think they're related, just throwin that out there.

White steam/smoke from engine bay?

Yesterday I on the way to work when I was almost at work I noticed white steam/smoke coming from the engine bay. However there was no overheat, so I figured it was from the morning mist. When I felt it, it wasn't a hot it was actually barely warm.

Now yesterday night on the way home I experienced the same thing. Only difference was this time the car began overheating. The steam however was the same, not hot. So in order to get home I got the car up to 40 and cut the engine when it started getting hot so I could coast. (It was 3 or 4 AM no traffic) While doing this I noticed the temperature was dropping very quickly for an engine driven for 30 min.s at highway speeds that had been approaching overheating.

Once I got home I opened the hood, there's much of this white smoke/steam, but it doesn't appear to be emanating from the engine but from mostly the passenger side and around the engine. There is no smoke from the engine itself.

What could this be? The car is a '93 Mazda MX-3 GS, 6 Cyl 5 spd manual transmission. Has around 159400 miles, just had oil changed on Tuesday and oil level is still clear and appropriate.