Smoking motor

Asked by Intuitive57 Sep 23, 2018 at 05:48 AM about the 1999 Toyota Camry CE

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Hey guys! I have a 1999 Toyota Camry, it's been
parked for about 4 months now. During those 4
months it's been started and driven roughly 4-5
times but after startup I noticed the motor
smoking a white/gray color and the smoking does
intensify during drive time. I don't want to continue
driving the car without knowing the problem, any
suggestions?

6 Answers

9,530

Perform a compression or cylinder leak down test you may have some frozen piston rings,although white smoke usually means the engine is leaking coolant into the combustion chamber, is it using coolant? How does it run? If the converter is still working it won't for long, if it plugs it'll be expensive, is it using oil?

Yes the car is still using oil as far as I can tell and the car is still driving smooth despite the smoke, sorry about the late reply. What is the easiet way to check for a blown head gasket?

9,530

Cylinder leak down test. A special fitting is screwed into the spark plud hole, then compressed air is put intl the cylinder if air bubbles appear in the radiator that cylinder is leaking into the cooling system, if you can hear air blowing into the crankcase the piston rings in that cylinder are letting compression leak by into the engine. If the cylinder holds up he air pressure it's OK.

1 people found this helpful.
9,530

Interesting problem, let us know how it turns out, mechanics tend to get used to instant self-gratification.

Your Answer:

Camry

Looking for a Used Camry in your area?

CarGurus has 1,035 nationwide Camry listings starting at $4,488.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Reelin68
    Reputation
    34,290
  • #2
    Tony Ciccotelli
    Reputation
    19,200
  • #3
    Tony Ciccotelli
    Reputation
    5,560
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Honda Accord
36 Great Deals out of 986 listings starting at $2,995
Used Toyota Corolla
124 Great Deals out of 2,232 listings starting at $3,495
Used Honda Civic
184 Great Deals out of 3,994 listings starting at $2,495
Used Toyota RAV4
137 Great Deals out of 2,996 listings starting at $5,995
Used Toyota Avalon
6 Great Deals out of 34 listings starting at $6,795
Used Nissan Altima
29 Great Deals out of 662 listings starting at $1,995
Used Toyota Tacoma
40 Great Deals out of 826 listings starting at $9,975
Used Toyota 4Runner
20 Great Deals out of 523 listings starting at $7,700
Used Lexus ES
17 Great Deals out of 212 listings starting at $5,900
Used Honda CR-V
178 Great Deals out of 4,844 listings starting at $440
Used Ford Mustang
37 Great Deals out of 1,612 listings starting at $5,999

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.