EPayne42

Hello Forum,

I own a 1999 ES300. I purchased it about a month ago. I've done quite a bit of work on this vehicle to date. Mainly I repaired the common issues most ES drivers face (gaskets, seals, sensors). I noticed the car kicks out a fair share of white smoke. It's rather cold here in Houston. so it could just be the hot exhaust meeting the cold air, but of course I fear a leaking head gasket. I don't see any signs of coolant in the oil (thank God). The coolant level seems steady as well. Is what I'm seeing typical for these cars? Anything else I should check?

ES300NZ

white smoke always means that water is present in the exhaust, as steam, but as you says not always in the combustion process, (often it is though).
- it does not 'entail' that there is a cracked head
- it does not 'entail' that there is a cracked block
- it does not 'entail' that there is a bad head gasket.
but all those things can be the cause.

I would refer back to the work you have done. If you have been near the lower manifold seals, I would replace them again, and 'lightly' use a stainless steel brush over both faces near the water bridge, cos you might find there is a leak that is contained under the gasket but allows a bypass to a cylinders intake port.

To test a cars health, hold white cotton up to the exhaust outlet, about an inch away, the residue will tell you alot about the engine if you know how to interpret it.

Is your air intake system full of water ?

white smoke in the combustion gets worse as the engines speed increases. If you want to know if it's weather related or not, take the car to a nice underground garage where it's above zero, and let the car run for a while, see if the steam tapers away as the car warms up it should disappear in the end 30-45 mins ?

You can also look for water in the oil . it looks like this image http://s3.amazonaws.com/f01.justansw...photo-0102.jpg

and this might be useful,

LeX2K

Sounds like your car is perfectly fine, water vapour is normal.

EPayne42

Thanks ES300NZ & Lexus2000. I just bought the block leak detector from NAPA. I'm about to see what's going on. If I find Carbon Monoxide in my coolant, I'll next do a compression test on all cylinders. Before I dive into a cylinder head job I'll try replacing the lower intake seals first (as you suggested). I'll really suspect the lower intake gasket if there's no C0 in the coolant. I only changed the upper intake gasket when doing the valve covers. I guess if I pull the lower intake, I might as well swap the the knock sensor while I'm there?

The oil and rad cap are clean as a whistle. I changed the oil after purchasing the car a few weeks back and the oil looked perfectly normal (although it was old and dirty). I've had a cracked head on a different vehicle and have seen coolant and oil mix up close. There's definitely no water in the oil.

I'll post the results later today. Thanks again!

PFB

If the ambient temperature is below 60 you will get some white smoke for a few minutes, and may even return when idling. This is perfectly normal. Especially if that white smoke dissipates almost immodestly into the air.

You'll probably see it on some other cars around you.

Phil

ES300NZ

can you post and video or image of the smoke, so we can get a feel for the volume/colour, it would be helpful it know how long the car had been running on that day it's taken, and temperature on that day.

thanks

Qwerty321

I have a 1999 Toyota Windom (Same as your car, just a different name) and my car does the exact same thing. You start it up and till it's warm it's literally a steam machine, never had a car that lets out this much steam on cold mornings.

Don't worry about it, I've had my car for a year, and the mechanic even commented about it and did a quick check once while I was getting a routine WoF (Warrant of Fitness) check. Apparently some car just have a tendency to let out a lot of steam, it's nothing to get worried about. Just make sure it's steam and not smoke though.

EPayne42

I performed a block leak test and did not find C0 in the coolant. I had to sorta rig up the test though. The filler neck of the ES isn't particularly deep so it was difficult to keep coolant out of the tester and thus, ruining the test. I put a deep funnel on the filler neck then pushed the tester into the funnel. This gave me some much needed distance from the coolant. I had a pretty air tight seal. I definitely saw smoke coming up through the funnel. I believe I was able to capture the vapor in the tester.



I pulled the lower intake and the gaskets "look" okay but I can certainly see where it's possible for coolant to seep into the head and then to the exhaust. The coolant and wet spots you see in the photo below was due to coolant splashing as I removed the lower intake.



I noticed a small strip of greasy sludge by the base of the of rear cylinder head. I guess this could just be from normal engine grime?



If I still see smoke after doing the lower intake gasket, I'll post a video.

LeX2K

I'm surprised you pulled your engine apart when you have no actual evidence of a HG problem. The 1MZ is known to carbon and sludge up easily what you're seeing is typical of the engine. Honestly if there is one engine that would benefit from an oil catch can it's the 1MZ, I don't have one but I mainly use the car for long distance driving, around town the issue is amplified.

ES300NZ

I see, you sir, are a fan of zip ties :P haha (just playing)

I agree with Lexus2000, probably wouldn't have pulled it apart myself but it's only time and a few bucks in parts and you've done it now so the inspection is done, yep you spotted the place in the photo that I though there 'could' be a cross over leak. so it's ruled out.

IF, she's really burning water then you'll know it in the end. Whatever's going on, if there's a problem it will get alot worse. I've had mates drive cars with blown head gaskets daily for a year or more, just limping it along until they afford something really nice, if you know cars you can make them run for alot longer than they should :P

Those intake ports were exactly like the ones on my car when I took it apart.

EPayne42

LOL, I did go a bit nuts with zip ties in attempt to tidy up the engine bay. Some of the OEM wire protection was dried out and brittle.

When I replaced the plugs, all of them were dry. At this point I'm somewhat frustrated with locating this leak (if any). Like you said, if there is a leak it will get much worse as time goes on. I believe I've ruled out/repaired all other sources other than the head gaskets.

Hey, what's that short hose that runs down the center of the block? Looks like a cooling hose. What's it's proper name?

PFB

You really have to stop worrying about nothing. I'll bet you that you are 99% worried for no reason, and that under the same conditions, your car was doing the same NORMAL thing from day one. BTW,, it's not steam, but normal condnensation, that only visible in cool weather when the engine is still cold.

Put your palm in front of the exhaust, and you'll see that all you get on your palm is condensation.

On your other question, that hose is commonly refereed to as "the coolant bypass hose". When you had your intake manifold apart, it would have been a good idea to replace it, and its clamps.

Since its hard to get to, and when old, they sometimes leak. Because of its shape, size, and its hard to get to location, you should only get it from the Lexus/Toyota dealer.

But if it looked OK, don't start taking you car apart again to change it. Drive you car and enjoy it,


Phil

EPayne42

Thanks for the help PFB. I did the palm test early on and it definitely felt like condensation, but due to the miles on the car, I was paranoid. ES300NZ made a good point, "if there is a problem, it will get worse." So, I'll see what time reveals. I certainly don't want to perform and unnecessary head gasket job. I'm not upset that I pulled the lower intake manifold. The gaskets are relatively cheap and I cleaned up the lower intake. It looked pretty bad ...especially on the exhaust side.

EPayne42

Hey ...what's this plate under the coolant by-pass hose? Is it just a bracket or does it have a gasket?

PFB

Stop messing with your car. There is nothing wrong with it, and you'll end up breaking something.

Phil