white smoke, then some black

Jim McKenzie

1972 850 Spider
I started up my 850 Spider today (I start her every weekend to keep battery alive) and got the dreaded white smoke. I know that often/usually indicates a blown head gasket.

I did not have a compression tester so looked in radiator to see if any bubbling. There was none at all.

I let the car idle for about five minutes, and the white smoke went away completely. I *did* see a little bit of black smoke, but mostly the exhaust was clear. I saw no coolant drips at all in engine bay after this.

I'm going to start her up again today and let it warm up, then take a spin around the cul-de-sac a couple of times.

Am I correct that if the white smoke not only doesn't get worse but disappears completely that is likely *not* a head gasket issue?
 
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Correct, but it's not always that easy.

White smoke is usually steam, which can be caused by water or coolant in the cylinders, or condensation in the exhaust. Keep an eye on the overflow tank and see if it loses any.

Also, you probably know this... short drives and just running it for a few minutes every week or so is actually bad for the car. Running when cold uses about 2x as much fuel as when hot, and much of that fuel gets into the oil. If you do this and don't run it up to temp (like an hour's drive) then the contaminants (not just fuel but coolant and other byproducts) can't get burned off.
 
I did not know that Greg,

about the short drives. I probably should have :) Thank you Greg.

I guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and get the car on the road. With my X being repaired and a house to buy, spending money on the 850 was something I wanted to avoid, but I may have to insure and register this one to avoid these sneaky little cul-de-sac adventures.

thanks again, I learn something new here everyday.
 
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