Smoking from Engine, and Car Worth

[Mercenary(FH)]

Ok I got back from driving today, and smelt a slight smokey smell, popped my hood everything seems fine, then i turn off the engine, and some white smoke (not too much) rises up from the engine for like 3-4 seconds, then goes away. i quickly look around, i dont see anything spilt or anything, and i check my oil level, it seems normal....btw the smoke seemed to come from the lower back of the engine, Like...near the headers going down towards the exhaust? any ideas? perhaps I need my valve cover replaced?


and another thing, my car is a 93' with 118k miles. Everything runs fine, and assuming this smoke thing is no big deal, how much would my car be worth, body is in good shape, some minor clear coat peelage on roof but that'd be fixed?

plz tell me at least 5k. im looking to sell it for a smaller 4 cylinder


thx

[xsperf]

check your coolant level, you may have a tiny leek somewhere(white smoke is usually coolant or uburnt gas)

[witeshark]

Was the temp guage okay the whole time?

[Mercenary(FH)]

yeah temp gauge was fine, and I checked coolant, it was fine?

[Alpine328i]

www.kbb.com says your car in it's condition with it's mileage is worth $3,825.

www.nadaguides.com says your car in it's condition with it's mileage is worth $5,375

So I averaged the two and I got $4,600.00

Sorry I cant help with the smoke question.

[Mercenary(FH)]

it hasnt done it again since I drove it around for like 2 hours.......god thats weird

[Alpine328i]

Weird man. I wouldnt completely overlook it though.

[Mercenary(FH)]

yea my car is going to the shop this sunday for spark plugs.....but still I just have no idea what i could be

[Alpine328i]

Good luck man.

Hope the values helped too.

[Mercenary(FH)]

I just dont understand what could've possibly caused it? My Like vaccum hoses like in my previous post, (the ones that like recycle the bad dioxide air thats been in the engine) like old chevy's used to do are cut in half altho my mechanic said it wont affect my car........like i wonder if those possibly could've leaked something. Also my coolant leaks but it hasnt done that in awhile.......hmmm, maybe I turned hard enough to like make it spill out, because if it was an Oil leak dont U think i'd see it again?

[Kiterunner]

My cars smokes occasionally..exactly as you described. Over a preiod of time ( a few months)..the engine oil level will dip low. Keep a close eye on the engine oil level. I had to refill nearly 2.5 litres last week, after the white smoke raised its ugly head....!!

Heard from one of the mechanics, that it has to do with the CO2 Sensor settings. Or is it CO settings...? Not sure. Will do more research and get back.

[Mercenary(FH)]

mine was valve cover gasket, it was eroding causing like oil to drip onto my headers and stuff, cause...my car doesnt actually lose oil amazingly, except my oil pan gasket needs to be replaced, anyone know how much it'd cost for one of those and how hard it is

[Spieluhr]

Originally Posted by Mercenary(FH)

yea my car is going to the shop this sunday for spark plugs.....but still I just have no idea what i could be

dont take your car in for spark plug replacement, you can do it yourself VERY easily. you will save MUCHO dinero.

[94bmw325i]

yeah it would take you all of 15 mins to change plugs. Just saying that because if I say 5 and it takes you longer then I lied

Do you know the spark plug gaps for a 325? If not I have a haynes manual that tells me, I forgot what it was when I had to do mine a few months ago.

[xxxbimmer]

My valve cover gasket was bad and oil was leaking onto the engine...... If you can change the vcg you should be able to do it

I think the gasket is $20-30

Get a bentley repair manual it will walk you through it....... Its worth it

Or someone here might have an electronic version they can send u