Tailpipe Vapor/Smoke?

[Jim Kroeger]

My 30 Briggs Town Sedan emmits a white vapor/smoke only during startup in the morning then goes away after 30 seconds or so. It also spits out wet, black carbon blotches on the garage floor. Once the engine is warm this does not occur during subsequent starting. What is this? I thought a blown head gasket might be a possibility but there is no oil in the water, the compression is good and the car has plenty of power. Got any ideas?

 

[Tom Wesenberg]

Probably normal condensation from cold starts. If you aren't loosing any coolant I wouldn't worry about it.
A thermostat will help give a quicker warm up.

 

[Chris in CT]

Jim,
Does the exhaust stink? What does it smell like?

 

[steve s]

I agree with Tom about installing a thermostat. Not only will motor warm up faster, it will warm up to a higher temperature--including the exhaust system, which otherwise will condense the water vapor from combustion until it gets good and hot.

 

[Mike V. Florida]

Got to get it up to temp not just run it for a minute or two.

 

[Big John]

Doesn't your modern car do the same thing? normal...i say Tom is right on...

 

[Jim Kroeger]

Thanks guys for all the advice. It does look like the car just needs to get warmed up.

 

[P.S.]

Assuming your coolant level stays the same (you don't lose coolant), then I agree with the above.

However, the splotches on the garage floor shouldn't be full of carbon. My Tudor used to do that until I got a good rebuilt carburetor on it, now the droplets are just clear colored, not black.

 

[newshirt]

When shutting down the engine for the day, try turning off the gas valve and letting the engine die of fuel starvation. It takes 1-2 minutes for the engine to finally quit. This might keep the carb cleaner, and clear the combustion chambers of unburned fuel.