1995 Mitsubishi FTO white smoke when cold

1995 MITSUBISHI FTO
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SHELL2009
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Engine Cooling problem
1995 Mitsubishi FTO 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 110K miles

Hi, Im finding that my car is smoking for a good 5-10mins every time I start up in the morning and again in the evening now that its very cold outside. Doesn't seem to smoke once the car has properly warmed up, but it does take 5 mins at least before the smoke begins to disappear. A garage has checked the head gasket and said that the test has came back clear, i.e no carbon dioxide in coolant. What can be the cause.
Nov 23, 2009 at 2:13 PM
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MHPAUTOS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
  • 31,937 POSTS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
Hi there,

If you have no coolant usage, this may well be a condensation issue, when you burn carbon fuel you produce H2o... this is evident with cold engines dripping water and steaming at the exhaust when cold, this is normal, in very cold climates this is more evident and if the cooling system is not preforming correctly say a stuck open thermostat, the engine temp is low enough for this to last a bit longer, also contaminated fuel can cause this problem. just a few things to consider with your mechanic, also don't discount coolant leaching into the inlet manifold, this wont show up with a head check.

Mark (mhpautos)
Nov 23, 2009 at 4:53 PM
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