Suburban -White smoke on start ups

[Socalx09]

For the last few months, I noticed white smoke coming from the suburban exhaust on a cold start up. The first time it seemed like a lot. I took it to our mechanic who is a good friend. He saw it and said it was just moisture/Condensation and normal. It wasn’t as much as when I first started it. All fluid levels were normal. So I figured it was ok. But, this morning there was a lot for the first 4 seconds. Pretty thick and a neighbor came over because he saw it and then it was gone. No smoke while driving around. Called the mechanic and he didn’t seem to worry. Sometimes it does it after sitting for just a few hours, but not as much as on cold start ups. The suburban is mostly a weekend car so not driven a lot.

Could it be something more serious?

2008 suburban LTZ 126k miles

 

[Shlbyntro]

White smoke indicates water and or coolant.

Monitor your coolant level and take note of any changes. If you check it with the engine cold, only check it with the engine cold.

If you don't notice the coolant level dropping over time, then it's nothing to worry about. As like your mechanic said, it's probably just moisture settling in the exhaust after you drive it.

 

[monkeyswrench]

White smoke indicates water and or coolant.

Monitor your coolant level and take note of any changes. If you check it with the engine cold, only check it with the engine cold.

If you don't notice the coolant level dropping over time, then it's nothing to worry about. As like your mechanic said, it's probably just moisture settling in the exhaust after you drive it.

I'd hazard to say the MLS head gaskets may be weeping a little. GM even has their own brand of crush tabs (stop leak). Some guys pop a few in just for added safety after doing head gaskets. Just for the hell of it, look at the mating surfaces above the starter and oil filter. may have pinstripes from leakage, but that would only prove external, not your smoke. Also, make sure it's white steam, not white burning oil...different whites, and smells.

 

[bk2drvr]

I had a Chevy once that had bad valve stem seals (o-rings) allowing oil to pass and get into the combustion chamber after being parked overnight or after being parked for several hours. My truck was a little older than yours though and if I recall the smoke was more blue. But it’s a possibility.

 

[SOCALCRICKETT]

I had a Chevy once that had bad valve stem seals (o-rings) allowing oil to pass and get into the combustion chamber after being parked overnight or after being parked for several hours. My truck was a little older than yours though and if I recall the smoke was more blue. But it’s a possibility.

The older vortec 5.7 and especially the 4.3 v6 motors were known for this

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[707dog]

@Socalx09 i got a 2008 caddy esv 6.2 112k miles started smoking on start up's and after sitting for a few minutes also started using oil... after a bunch of searching around and troubleshooting i ended replacing the driver side valve cover with the new version has not smoked since and no oil usage. bad engineered baffle system in the stock cover oil being suckedd up thru the pcv system in to the intake. do a search there is a ton of info about it but GM wont do a recall just a service bulletin to cover there ass.
hope these 2 videos help others

video 1 smoke

video 2 solved

@5:40 he gets to the meat of the solution

 

[lbhsbz]

Unless it runs pretty rough right after startup when it’s smoking, I wouldn’t worry about a head gasket issue.

 

[Socalx09]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, I will look into each one tomorrow. It looks white to me. The problem is it never really fogs up like it does on the first start up of the day. The rest of the time it looks like white steam for 10 secs, very little. It runs perfectly fine. Mechanic says he doesn't see a drop in levels. I will start checking myself.

 

[Socalx09]

@Socalx09 i got a 2008 caddy esv 6.2 112k miles started smoking on start up's and after sitting for a few minutes also started using oil... after a bunch of searching around and troubleshooting i ended replacing the driver side valve cover with the new version has not smoked since and no oil usage. bad engineered baffle system in the stock cover oil being suckedd up thru the pcv system in to the intake. do a search there is a ton of info about it but GM wont do a recall just a service bulletin to cover there ass.
hope these 2 videos help others

video 1 smoke

video 2 solved

@5:40 he gets to the meat of the solution

The first video of how it smokes is what I see on cold start ups. The first time I saw it, I thought there was a fire. Then throughout the day, it is very little on starts up. It has never done it, so that is why it worries me that it starts a month or two ago. And, I am definitely keeping this Suburban for a while. It states blue smoke, but I see white. But, I could be wrong. Will start looking into prices of the valve cover and youtube videos to see how complex doing it is. Ill try to catch it on video tomorrow morning.

 

[Kachina26]

I had a Chevy once that had bad valve stem seals (o-rings) allowing oil to pass and get into the combustion chamber after being parked overnight or after being parked for several hours. My truck was a little older than yours though and if I recall the smoke was more blue. But it’s a possibility.

There was a recall on them, I changed a shit ton of those seals.

 

[Danger Dave]

White smoke is racist.

 

[obnoxious001]

When you see the white smoke, get out and see if you detect a "sweet" smell to it, which would indicate coolant.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

When you see the white smoke, get out and see if you detect a "sweet" smell to it, which would indicate coolant.

This.

Also remove and look at the underside of the oil cap. If there is chocolate malt looking residue, it could be developing a head gasket leak.

 

[Socalx09]

This is the first start up of the mornings. I tried hard to look at the color and when it got higher in the air, it had a faint blue color to it. I texted it to the mechanic and told him about the service bulletin regarding the valve cover replacement and also o rings.

 

[Socalx09]

I will look under the oil cap once it cools down. Thanks everyone!

 

[Socalx09]

My friend came over last night to put in the new valve cover and this morning there was no smoke at all!

Thanks everyone for helping me fix the suburban!

 

[Kachina26]

My friend came over last night to put in the new valve cover and this morning there was no smoke at all!

Thanks everyone for helping me fix the suburban!

We had a really sweet tool for that job.