White smoke

[05 Daytona]

I just bought a 2005 daytona 4 door. Everything was good at test drive time. Brought it home, ran great. Went to drive it two days later and noticed white smoke(assuming its smoke) when I first started it and the check engine light is on now to. ( dunno if the guy who sold it to me reset it before I bought it) The smoke kept coming out for a good 5 mins after driving, then it's good once warm. Never noticed any smoke throughout the day. Let it sit for approx 2 hrs. White smoke again at start up, but not as much this time. Can anyone give me some direction on what I should be checking? Is it head gasket? If it is, would it not smoke continuously?

 

[RonJon '06]

Welcome to RF....did you check for any codes?

 

[hotkarl]

Sounds like a head gasket. Had same symptoms on my 4.7

Good thing is, a 5.7 is worth just doing the gasket.
I replaced my 4.7

 

[twooldfarmers]

White smoke is almost certainly antifreeze where it ain't suppose to be

if you have a rad cap directly on the radiator rather than over on a coolant recovery tank open it and check for bubbles in the coolant as it flows across the rad, there are other ways to check as well but this is one method

your oil may have a milky appearance if it is also getting into the crankcase but if the leak is only into the combustion chamber it won't show in the oil

likely a head gasket as stated here already

 

[05daytona]

Me personally, I'd do a compression test first. That'll definitely tell you if you have a blown head gasket.

 

[Gecko]

How thick is the smoke? Just a little white or can't see through it? You could be burning oil and need to replace your valve stem seals. I had this problem and for the life of me couldn't figure it out. Then when I did my cam swap we found the problem.

 

[Redtruck-VA]

Vehicles often produce a little condensation when first started and then quit when the exhaust system warms up. This is most often seen when the temperature is lower or at night. Are you losing any coolant? Is your oil clear or milky? And finally what is the code? Some codes are thrown after three trips. The previous owner could well have reset the PCM prior to the purchase and it would have taken a couple trips to show. Has the maintenance been kept up on the vehicle?