What car engine oils can cause burning with white smoke when they are leaking?
OK, I have fifty years of experience as a gear head working on cars and building high performance engines.In the past, it was possible to quickly diagnose engine problems by looking at the color of the exhaust. Black tailpipe emissions indicated that the engine was running rich, i.e. that the fuel/air mixture had too much gas in it relative to the proportion of air. Blue tailpipe emissions indicated that lubricating oil was getting in to the engine, most likely past worn piston rings or through the valve guides. And white tailpipe emissions indicated water in the exhaust gases, which ordinarily gets there because of a bad intake manifold gasket, damaged cylinder head gasket, or a cracked cylinder head.These, especially the latter two, are serious problems. Oil in the exhaust means that the engine is already worn out and has to be either completely rebuilt or replaced. Water (coolant) in the exhaust gases can very quickly lead to extreme engine wear or catastrophic engine failure. If you think that there may be coolant leaking into the engine you should STOP DRIVING THE CAR and have it checked out by a qualified shop.But I said “in the past”. Today the catalyst in the exhaust system operates at such a high heat that contaminants in the exhaust will be burned, vaporized. If you see a car today spewing fumes from the exhaust pipe it means that the condition of the engine was so bad that the initial problem managed to destroy the catalytic converter as well.A reasonable amount of water vapor coming from the tailpipe either before the engine has completely warmed up or when the car is driven on extremely humid days is completely normal and does not indicate any problem.
Why does my car's air conditioning smell bad? How do I get rid of it?
I will answer each question separately.First, this is a common problem. Many people describe the smell as a musty smell, "wet" smell, dirty socks smell etc. The smell may be accompanied by slight suffocation feeling and headaches.For your questions:Why does my car's air conditioning smell bad?The common case: moisture in your car A/C coils, drip pans or other components of your car A/C. The moisture promotes the growth of mold and bacteria and those smell bad.How do I get rid of it?There are few ways. I will try not to repeat what already has been told in other answers.1. Leave the fan running for 5-10 minutes. This will hopefully dry the access moisture. It is basically the manual version of the X-FAN mode in other A/Cs.2. Make sure water is dripping underneath your car when A/C running in COOL mode. It may take few minutes.If water is not dripping, the drain line may be clogged (dust + water = mud) which cause water pooling and smell. I recommend you let a professional fix that.3. Use evaporator coils cleaning spray. Mentioned in other comments.4. Clean/replace A/C filters. Dirty filters reduce airflow and help moisture remain inside the unit. You should replace A/C filters as recommended by the manufacturer of your car.5. Check if the smell is there when the A/C is running in HEAT mode. Usually, it should not be noticeable. Let the fan work for a while, the HOT air may dry some of the unit (It may not work since COOL and HOT air work separately in a car).This answer is based on a home A/C solutions. Here is more information: 5 great cleaning tips for a musty smelling air conditioner.There is also a YouTube video offering more solutions for home A/C. They might inspire other creative solutions.
White smoke coming out of Car Toyota Corolla air conditioner vents?
It's not smoke it's vapor from the water removed from the air in the car, which is what A/C does. Might be a clogged A/C drain hose causing water to back-up and then made into vapor, in the most extreme could be a bad expansion valve but the low miles and " like new" you said I doubt the failed part.
What are common causes of water leaking from under a car?
That depends on the quantity of water.It can only come from three places. The cooling system, or the windscreen washer system, or the exhaust.I'm pretty sure you can ignore the washer system.The exhaust will push out a small quantity of water as a natural result of the combustion of the fuel. It is obvious and will be evident as a small wet patch under the tail pipeI'm pretty sure you can ignore that too.If there is more than a very small puddle you probably have a coolant leak.Although why you should find the leak under your car at whatever moment you found it is a bit of a mystery. Unless it started just after you parked, purely by coincidence.If you have over heated the motor it will cause the water in the cooling system to steam. This will cause a small puddle.The fact that it has over heated is cause for investigation.The other reason might be that there was too much water in the system and it overflowed as a result.Water expands as it gets hotter. There is often a header tank that is designed to accommodate the extra volume of hot water. By filling the header tank over it's maximum while the car is cool, you over fill it. When the car reaches operating temperature the water will overflow through the overflow hose.
What does it mean if my cars AC only blows cold when pressing the gas pedal, and blows warm when idling?
I’ll second a lot of the prior answers and add a bit.Vacuum leaks can drive you nuts. Could be easy to get to in the engine compartment or hidden way up in the dash. If it’s in the doors up under the dash you’ll usually notice a change in the airflow inside the car.Freon leaks away gradually because it’s a tiny molecule.If you need refrigerant added I would suggest you invest in also changing something called the filter dryer bottle.Freon + moisture = acid in the system and that’s obviously always major trouble. The moisture actually gets through things like the hoses on a molecular level no matter what. That’s why that bottle should be changed every 3–4 years , mostly to get some fresh desiccant in there to get any moisture.After changing the bottle the system has to be pumped down with a vacuum pump for a while to evaporate any other moisture then recharged.This is an odd one but the current 134a freon will drop off in performance if the system is overcharged with too much freon. You don’t often see this. There is a chart of suggested hi and low freon pressures as per outside temp that most don’t bother to use when charging a system.A lot of systems have pressure cut outs for low AC pressure and other things, as already mentioned. Watch the belt clutch on the AC compressor and see if it cuts out at idle. That would usually indicate one of the switches kicking the compressor out for some reason.The heat the AC pulls out of the car gets dumped to the atmosphere by the condenser coils in front of the radiator. This happens much more effectively if you’re moving and air is flowing over the condenser. Ever notice it gets cooler in the rain? Water cools the condenser even better.Possibly combined with…I live in Florida and some auto AC systems just aren’t designed to move enough BTUs to counter the solar gain plus high outside temp through the glass in a hot climate.
What happens if I overfill my power steering fluid?
Most modern power steering system has a pressure relief built into it. Most are in the cap. The fluid will expand with heat and the pressure relief will let it over flow out of the system. Then you have a mess. That’s it. No harm done. To the system at least, but not good for the environment.
What happens when you overfill the radiator reservoir tank?
Not much will happen in most cars. As the liquid heats it will expand & run out the overflow tube. This might happen a few times but sooner or later it will get down to the proper level.Keep an eye on the coolant level that too much doesn't overflow out. If it gets low when the engine is cool add a wee bit to bring it to the proper level.And remember: be sure to read the instructions carefully … some 'antifreeze' is premixed, while some brands come full strength. The unmixed coolant doesn't absorb & transfer heat as well as properly mixed coolant. If your coolant is full strength mix water with the coolant in the amount shown on the jug's instructions panel. If already pre-mixed don't dilute further.Finally, if you're putting new coolant in the cooling system don't forget to open the heater control to fully open when you drain the old coolant, then leave it open when adding the new coolant.. The heater core inside the cabin is like a second radiator … heated coolant flows from the engine to the heater core & transfers heat from the coolant into the cabin. Failing to open the heater control can cause air to enter the cooling system which can result in engine overheating, possibly causing a blown head gasket or even a cracked block or head.