Kahu_Kimo

I have noticed, in the past 3 days, that there is white smoke from the exhaust when i start the car.

It is heavier out of the right exhaust then the left.

I have no loss of power and there is no miss in the engine.

Any thoughts?

bunta

white -buring coolant
white /bluish tint- buring oil
black -runnin rich

pfantom68

How long does it smoke, and does it continue to smoke after the car is warmed up? How long was it since the car was last driven?

Answer those, and we can tell you if it's no big deal or if you may have a bigger problem.

Kahu_Kimo

It only smokes when I start it. (5 seconds(?))

I drive it several times daily. It smokes more in the morning when I first start, but does smoke some when I restart it at various times during the day.

CUMan

Read the first two pages of the sticky entitled: First Generation Power Steering Bible. It is near the top of the page.

White smoke on startup is a sign of power steering problems. This particular problem is prevalent on the early to mid-90's LS models. You do not indicate what year your car is.

Kahu_Kimo

Makes sense. It is a 1990 LS, and I have had to add power steeering fluid a couple of times recently.

Does that mean that I will need a new power steering 'pump'?

CUMan

Probably not. The most common problem involves a part of the power steering pump called the air control valve. When this valve fails, power steering fluid is drawn through the valve into the car's air intake. The burning of this fluid when the car is cranked causes the white smoke.

The valve is replaceable without replacing the entire pump. It costs about $80.00 at most Toyota dealers and about $100.00 at Lexus dealers.

As I mentioned, this valve is described in the power steering sticky at the top of the LS section.

Kahu_Kimo

Thank you so much.

blkstealthpaid4

I started this thread 5 yrs ago about this issue and a lexus tech advised me to go get the idle up valve on the power steering pump.I then went to the junk yard and got one from a toyota corrolla 92.Most toyotas will work on it.I would also appreciate it if people would do searches before asking the same repetitive questions on here.I had even started selling the idle up valve to members on here but I stopped becasue it wasn't worth my time.Do a search on my username.
The yr of the vehicle is also important in staring a thread.

Kahu_Kimo

I'm not sure that I understand your 'testiness'. If you look at my 'Join Date', you will see that I am new to the site.

In the first place, I thought that this was the type of question that should be asked here in order to avoid so much research.

It's not like I am asking how to change the tranmission on a 1963 TR3.

blkstealthpaid4

I never did look at your join date and I do now see that you joined not too long ago but then again the admin states in the sticky's that the aearch feature should be used.For example I purchased a 1995 LS 400 last week and before that I used the search feature to find out the most common problems and the differences in the 1st gen and 2nd gen.Trust me the seach feature will help you find sites like this...http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/ which is the best tutorials I have seen in a while .Many people come on here and ask questions that have been covered numerous times.As a new member I think the stickys should be your first step.
Smile brother!!!!!

Blaizze

Basically what I was going to say..

Just make sure you look into it ASAP because it can leak onto your Alternator and cause that to go out, then you will need to replace that as well.. which is expensive.