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Author Topic: White smoke, head gasket, water pump, etc.  (Read 3168 times)

blchicago

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  • Posts: 17
    • 1991 Capri, xTerra, Sonic
White smoke, head gasket, water pump, etc.
« on: July 26, 2014, 05:56:13 PM »
This morning we started up our project Capri to billowing white exhaust. There's a small amount of lost coolant in the driveway. Missed and little power, too. We pulled out the spark plug closest to the water pump/timing belt side, and it came out wet:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/35224322@N04/14748826351/

Could a failing water pump somehow seep into the cylinder, or is this doubtedly a blown head gasket or cracked head?

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

TIA,

Bill
« Last Edit: July 26, 2014, 05:59:19 PM by blchicago »
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Capri-guy

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  • Posts: 40
    • 1994 Capri N/A & '86/'98 Saab 9000
Re: White smoke, head gasket, water pump, etc.
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2014, 03:06:22 AM »
could be a failing water pump & shot head gasket at the (coincidental) same time...

how's the coolant consumption, and how is the oil looking (White sludge?)?

could it be that water is seeping into the spark plug hole from atop the engine (via the plug wiring, that is. because the spark-area of the plug looks dry to me. water or moisture could cause a bad firing?). how long has the Capri been sitting idle?
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1994 Mercury Capri 1.6 16v, reef green 173k mi.
1998 Saab 9000CSE 2.0t LPT Anniversary Scarab green 203k mi.
1986 Saab 9000CC 2.0i Odoardo grey, 153k km.

Rocketman

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    • 91 BPT AWD Capri & 1991 XR2
    • http://www.werbatfik.com
Re: White smoke, head gasket, water pump, etc.
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2014, 10:56:43 PM »
Can't really tell, that looks oil-wet not coolant wet. Is there coolant on the bottom of the spark plug (on the electrodes?) that would be the only thing that would indicate a head gasket leak. The electrodes look normal. If it's just oil on the top of the plug there that's just a leaking valve cover gasket, not a big deal.

Coolant in the driveway could be a number of things, water pump weeping is a possibility but so is a cracked or leaking water line.

I've also seen the intake manifold gasket & on another occasion the throttlebody gasket fail, leaking coolant into the intake tract and causing smoke, but was not the head gasket.

A compression test, maybe a leakdown test might help determine what's going on if you can't pinpoint any external leaks
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1.8L Turbo All Wheel Drive Capri... the "GTXR2"


blchicago

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  • Posts: 17
    • 1991 Capri, xTerra, Sonic
Re: White smoke, head gasket, water pump, etc.
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2014, 05:32:46 AM »
Thanks guys, we'll take a look. I'm sure we'll have some more questions soon. I really appreciate the generosity of this forum.

We set a goal to have it painted before the meet. Not gonna happen. :-( Though the upside is it happened in the driveway, and not on the way to Freeport. :-)




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