a leak down test can be performed to see if your coolant system is holding pressure. If its a worst case scenario and your headgaskets are indeed blown expect to pay a pretty penny at a repair shop.


but it could be something else if the smoke only occurs at startup.

 

Bad news; that is almost-certainly coolant. If the coolant is going into the cylinders after shutdown it's ALSO getting into the oil and will destroy the mains VERY quickly; the consequence is usually a spun main and a destroyed block due to the saddle damage.

Find the problem and do not run the engine until you have. If you care about the engine pull an oil sample NOW and have it tested (~$20 or so); if there's coolant detected or it's obvious (the oil is milky in color) then either go get a bottle of the oil additive that Cat and Cummins dealers sell for this exact purpose (attempt to rescue the journal bearings from this contamination in diesels, which happens distressingly frequently) or go through the entire engine and change them all.

If there is coolant contamination in the oil and you don't address it (or just change the oil and call it "done") what is likely to happen is reduced clearances and eventually a seized and spun main.

 

kind of surprised that I didn't see any fluctuations in the engine temp. Wouldn't an engine burning coolant because of a head be overheating?

 

Usually. But not always.

How's the coolant LEVEL?

 

If you're able to smell the exhaust, do you smell anything or does it have a sweet smell? Also, check under the oil cap, if there's any built up cheese/white sludge looking substance, you have a bad head gasket.

Headgaskets are usually expensive cause of the labor to remove/replace everything... and if you're already in there, you may as well do serpentine belts, timing belt/chain, water pump, etc...

 

So I made a quick trip down to AutoZone last night and no smoke. Drove to work this morning with the intention of dropping it off at the shop after work, and guess what, no smoke. No overheating either. Is this normal of a bad head gasket? Should I let it roll or still take it in?

 

Forgot to mention that the coolant level was pretty low yesterday. I topped it off and will check again this afternoon.

On another note, has anyone had any success with the head gasket sealing fluids they sell at AutoZone? I think one of them is called Bar's. I'm wondering if using that might make the car run well enough in order to trade it in for a new car.

 

Forgot to mention that the coolant level was pretty low yesterday. I topped it off and will check again this afternoon.

Well you know what you're losing and where it went. Not good.

On another note, has anyone had any success with the head gasket sealing fluids they sell at AutoZone? I think one of them is called Bar's. I'm wondering if using that might make the car run well enough in order to trade it in for a new car.

I'm not going there.

 

3 days with basically no smoke now. Took it to the mechanic the other day who said it is burning lots of oil. 3 quarts low and last oil change was only 3000 miles ago. He recommends trading it in or just running it into the ground.

The dam thing has been running 100% fine since Sunday, but the burning oil worries me. Not sure where to go from here

 

White smoke on start up in the morning? Sounds to me like its just condensation in the exhaust. Unless it's smoking a lot more than just on start-up, I don't think we need to jump to the conclusion of a blown head gasket. However it may pay to monitor your coolant level just in case... As everyone who owns a vehicle should be doing anyway I know im lazy when it comes to doing this

As for the amount of oil it's 'burning'. Is the vehicle blowing any smoke at all? generally blue smoke means burning oil, however a small amount is not always visible out the tailpipe.

Not too sure about the mazda engines but burning oil is often caused by bad valve seals or pistons rings. In which will be an expensive fix if you're paying for labour. If there are no visible oil leaks then one of these will most likely be your problem.

Goodluck

 

Ahh, crap... Same thing just started happening to me last week. Except I noticed my car overheating at the same time, brought it into the Mobile station and they did a coolant flush and I had them do the oil at the same time.
I get a LOT of white smoke when it starts up. Yes, Exhaust smells sweet as Chutoyy asked. My oil isn't odd at all. Not milky. No white goo on the oil cap. I suspect this is a blown gasket. Back in January when got the car the water pump belt snapped on the pilgrimage ride home and the car overheated. Probably caused the start of a leak.
Is there anything else someone can think of that would be causing loss of coolant, white smoke without affecting the oil? I imagine there's coolant in there just not as much as other cases?

 

Let me be more direct.
Does anyone think my case could be indicating a cracked cylinder head or intake manifold?