hey scotty I just changed the valve gasket on my wife's 2001 bmw 330i everything looks solid I dont see any leaks at all but it still has white smoke when I start it
Could be a head gasket leak. Maybe get one of those kits that Scotty has talked about to check for exhaust gases getting into the cooling system.
@chucktobias
Oh dam that dosent sound cheap
If you cannot do the work yourself it would be an expensive repair, but a lesson I learned from an old-time mechanic is not to get ahead of yourself, analyze the situation methodically. I would say the next step is to get a test kit to check the coolant for head gasket leaks. I believe this is the type of tester that Scotty recommends, they are available from various manufacturers and retail sources:
https://www.harborfreight.com/combustion-leak-detector-64814.html
@chucktobias
Do you think it can be something simpler I was thinking that maybe I dropped a little oil on the manifold
@chucktobias
The smoke is coming from under the hood by the oxygen sensors
That would make some smoke coming out from under the hood but not out the tailpipe, which I'm assuming is what you were talking about. If the smoke is coming from under the hood that is a horse of a different color entirely.
@chucktobias
Yeah it's coming from under the hood when I start the car it has white smoke do you think oil just dropped on to the manifold ?
OK, sorry for the false alarm but usually when someone says there is smoke at startup they're talking about the tailpipe. I should have asked for more details right off the bat.
Yes, it is entirely possible that you just dripped oil on the exhaust manifold and it will burn off, or since you replaced the valve cover gasket, that the new gasket is not quite right and is leaking..
@chucktobias
Ok I dont see any leaks it I think it's on their good how long do you think it will take to burn the oil off?
@chucktobias
Title modified to reflect smoke from under the hood.
How long it takes to burn the oil off depends on how much was spilled! I would expect no more than a few minutes unless something is leaking. You could always try carefully cleaning it off with some engine degreaser.
If the entire valve gasket didn't come off attached to the valve cover and you had to scrape it off of the head, it's possible that a couple of pieces of gasket are wedged against, or are trapped near the exhaust manifold. Happened to me in the past. If you can't find it, no worries, it will burn away shortly. The time it will take to burn away will be dependent on what type of material the old gasket was made of. Good luck. Please report back on how it goes.
@bluestreak
I tried everything I dont see no leaking oil but the white smoke is still there I did it before but forgot to seal the gasket and it did leak pretty bad but it's on there rite this time
The head gasket seal is bad. Maybe the part was bad.
@yaser
Theres no oil leak,engine light or overheating would it still be that ? I just see white smoke and it smells like burnt oil under the hood
Maybe the leak is very small that you don’t see it and it is burnt completely. That’s why you smell it.