what is this and why is it smoking ?

hywy61

Well-known member
May 25, 2004
725
0
atlanta, ga
Service Engine soon light came on and engine starting running rough. Like it wanted to stall. Drove just a few minutes and parked it. This was smoking.
D2 - 2000. 131K.
56559
 

hywy61

Well-known member
May 25, 2004
725
0
atlanta, ga
don't have a code reader so not yet. Any recommendations for a cheap one ?

Shaft hasn't been greased lately but haven't ruled out fluids leaking from somewhere which may be affecting the emissions.
 
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Friday Night Disco

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2018
60
7
Fall City
Without any codes, I would think that maybe you have coolant leak that is getting into the cylinders and is causing a misfire and the coolant is leaking out of the cat.

Check the oil for coolant
Buy a iCarsoft LR II scanner and check the codes
 

hywy61

Well-known member
May 25, 2004
725
0
atlanta, ga
couldn't tell if there was coolant in the oil. It looked clean. Not sure how to tell that.

On the other hand the coolant level is a little low so it maybe leaking


Truck starts fine and idles fine. After driving for just a few minutes is when the sputtering starts.
 

Friday Night Disco

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2018
60
7
Fall City
From the picture, I could not tell if the smoke was coming from inside the cat or the heat shield around the cat.

Could be:
1. smoke is coming from AC drain that is leaking on cat
2. the weld on the cat is broken and exhaust is leaking out
3. head gasket leak and coolant is getting into the cylinders and inside the cat

As pointed out, codes are critical to figure out what is going on here otherwise we are shooting in the dark.
 

bradartigue

Well-known member
Mar 7, 2018
112
17
Sandy Springs, Georgia
As above, this could simply be steam from the A/C draining onto the exhaust. However, the rough running may be a sign of a clogged catalytic converter, which gets hot, smokes, swells, and causes degradation of performance as a result.