Car smoking and idk why....
 

So my car recently began smoking on the upper passenger side of the engine and idk why. Any suggestions? The car also seems to bog on and off when driving.

Sounds like you have an oil leak at the passenger side front valve cover gasket which will leak oil onto your alt, and down the front side of the engine(hot engine+oil=smoke) the only reason i could think it would be bogging down is that maybe your dripping oil on the belt which will make it slip periodically

take a pic of that side of the engine, it should be easy to spot where the oil is running(assuming that is the case)

So it looks like the car decided to start leaking what looks like coolant and or water last night. So what could be the problem? Here are pics:

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...128_095324.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...128_095458.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...128_095550.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...128_095715.jpg

This is the area that the smoke was coming from:
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...128_095655.jpg

And here is a video of it leaking:

http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t...128_095555.mp4

just from these pictures, i would say 2 bad valve cover gaskets, bad water bump, bad oil pressure switch


can you check your oil dip stick and see if it has any white bubbles on it?

also i would tighten the hose clamps on the power steering reservoir and fill it up with some ATF

The dip stick doesnt have any white bubbles in it. The water pump was replaced at 127k, how often do they go out? And roughly how much would it be to fix?

Edit: I just got a quote of $472 for the water pump job

yikes thats alot for 1-2 hours of labor and a 80 dollar part, did you check all your hoses (in and out the rad)

on the left side of the engine(view from hood open), follow the rad hose where it meets the engine, is it leaking there? could be a leaking thermostat gasket

Jus checked the rad hose, no its not leaking there. I guess ill shop around for some quotes. Thanks alot

And if its smoking from that corner that means its more than likely oil dripping down onto your pipe which will create white smoke, check your radiator hose very carefully, if its not a leak in your clamps then it sounds like your lower radiator hose has a pinhole in it

yea it might only leak under pressure, and it could be the thermostat gasket. i am not 100% sure it is the water pump (i dont think they leak THAT bad)

Yea it only seems to leak under pressure, the car has been off for a little while, and its not leaking anymore

i would let the car warm up and try to find the source of the leak again

Start the car at a dry spot in the driveway and check for the leak and try to locate the actual leak, if the hose has a pinhole in it itll def leak with the car running its like when you fold a water hose to stop the water from coming out if theres a leak anywhere youll find it

So I let the car warm up, and it seems to be leaking below where I drew the red circle, somewhere underneath the belt it looks like:

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...8_122807-1.jpg

thats where mine is leaking from too right below there, i think it has something to do with power steering fluid since mine drops slowly weekly, maybe some nissan mechanics can help out here lol

You may have a bad power steering pump or hose, also check your timing cover gaskets for leaks. But yea, the oil pressure sending unit could be the culprit, aswell as your lower oil pan. As for the watepump, check & see if anti-freeze is coming from the weephole.

Also, you should clean off all the oil with brake clean to determine where the leaks are coming from or do what I did is pour a small amount of uv additve in pwr steering pump, wait a few days & check with a uv light. Happend to be the pump, since all the hoses were dry.

What kind of smoke? What color? If it's blue and smells... engine like... it's likely engine oil or power steering fluid. If it's white and smells sweet/gross it's likely that coolant you're leaking burning off.

Its white smoke, not really sure what it smells like though, I dont remember

Isnt that the water pump cover?

Yea I believe it is, and its leaking below there. And I checked the smell and it smells sweet.

i guess you need another water pump, warranty left on the old one?

Definitely a bad water pump... Most shops give a 1 year/12000 mile warranty depending on which comes first. At least they do at the Nissan Dealership I work at. If it's a Nissan part it has a 1 year/12000 mile warranty on the part regardless provided you can prove documentation of the purchase and repair.

I highly doubt the warranty is left on the old one, and even if it is, I can't prove it b/c I dont have documentation of it, the repair was done while in the previous owner's possession.

I would get the AISIN pump from here:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...,parttype,2208

make sure you keep the rad fluid at the right level at all times, especially now that its cold out. make sure the overflow tank is on the line when cold and make sure its 50/50 antifreeze. too much water wont protect the heads and the block, i know somebody that just lost their max over similar issue.

clean off the block and see exactly where its leaking. you dont want to play guessing games with an old car and throw your money at it and fix the wrong things, pricey.

oil pressure switch, power steering pump line, gasket, or pump could all be leaking. thats why you should clean off the block first to be sure, good luck.

:goofy: Why a bad w/p? If it's leaking it's inside the timing cover mixing with his oil!!!!!!!

Why the water pump???????????

Check the water pump weep hole?????Come on man this ain't no belt driven w/p....The w/p is behind the timing cover and if it were leaking it wouldn't be on the ground but in the oil pan with the oil!
Don't worrry about your w/p that not your problem! You need the clean your engine first of all (brake cleaner or the car wash), and determine where the leaks coming from! Do you have a bright flashlight and inspection mirror??? More than likely the smoke is your rear or front V/c covers leaking oil onto the exhaust manifolds directly below them! The coolant leak could be from a hose, radiator or the coolant tubes and coolant port just above the altenator...please look closely...GL Kid you'll need a jack and stands and to remove your splash shields.....clean it and run it for 30 min and you will find your origin of the leaks and smoke....watch your p/s hoses as well.....GL

so its antifreeze ?? if it is check the heater core hoses if no then check your power steering hoses the return line are very common to go out

When the water pump goes bad, the coolant doesnt mix with the oil, it drips out of the hole at the bottom of the timing cover

yup when my water pump went bad on my 00 SE coolant leaked on the ground not in the oil AT ALL. Coolant would only mix with the oil if both o-rings(coolant side and oil side) have failed or if you have shaft play on the w/p

UPDATE: So the car isnt leaking anymore, and it is warming up normally again...WTF? I dont get it lol. I havent seen any smoke so far. I drove it yesterday quickly and everything was fine, but I didnt go far so this morning I decided to let it warm up, and nothing came out. Any ideas? The car will b getting, whatever is wrong, fixed very soon, but I just want some opinions on what is going on.

I have to agree with CMAX03 on this one. The weep hole is BEHIND the REAR timing case half. A bad wp would not leak coolant at the access plate. If it did it would dump into the timing case and have to fill up the entire crankcase fefore it started to spill out of the access plate. Something else in the area has to be leaking.

Just fixed this issue about 4 months ago. We changed the head gasket and a bunch seals.

Did you clean everthing up?

Well i found out the problem....there is a small crack in the block lol

wow, any idea what caused it?

Yea CMax03, that's what I meant by the small hole of the timing cover!
Come on man...;)

wow a crack in the block, how many miles u have? wonder what caused that

I see what you're talking about...My bad you were correct!

You're also correct...I pulled my w/p and the shaft seal and bearing were destroyed and the oil pan was full of oil , but I see how those two seals separate the oil side frm the coolant side and the weep hole is between them which has it's own drainage galley thru the timing cover/block! My Bad guys

You must of cracked you're block cause there was no coolant....There will but no indication on your temp guage if there is no coolant...Sorry to hear that bad news..... The VQ30 is easy to come by...good luck!