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Hi
My workmate who owns a 1997 BMW 316 with I don't know how many kms on the clock (at a guess I think he may have said it had clocked over 200,000) was driving out of the staff parking today and I noticed a pale white smoke come from the exhaust of his car when he accelerated.
I want to point this out to him but also make a recommendation on how to fix it so im not all "doom and gloom" about his car which has given more than a few electrical faults.
If I was to say first to check the air filter would this be a good start, as I know it is often something a lot of people overlook, but of course a car needs to breathe and have "complete combustion" to work or else the there will be more carbon deposits and cause the car to smoke. I hope for his sake that this is the problem as his car has given enough problems.
Does the colour of the smoke indicate anything. As said, it was pale and white, but I am sure it was smoke as it was in the afternoon and quite the air was quite hot (not like the hot gases coming from a car on a cold morning).
What recommendation do you think I should make?
Unfortunately, white exhaust emission is not a good sign as it usually means there is water in the combustion chamber which turns to steam when the engine is running. This particular model is prone to blowing head gaskets and cracking cylinder heads, and I'm afraid to say it sounds like the likely cause.
Generally speaking, blue smoke is caused by burning oil, black smoke means too much fuel and white means head gasket problems or similar.
ok thanks, but I dont want to be the bad one to tell him anymore. I think you have even more evidence to support this as Im not sure but I believe with all that has gone wrong and to fix other things for the WOF, this car could have gone without basic engine oil changes and other servicing.
Just one more thing for my own benefit, I want to change the spark plugs in my 1999 mazda familia 1.5 vvti, does it have normal or iridium plugs, or does it not matter and therefore I will choose iridium?
Thanks
On a car such as this, normal plugs would be fine, but you can use Iridium plugs if you wish.