Smoke at start up

am335i · 08-13-2018, 02:18 PM

Hi Everyone,

Looking to see if anyone can provide any feedback on this issue that i'm having.

So everyone morning at startup i notice heavy white smoke coming out of my exhaust and this only happens in the morning, assuming whatever is burning collects overnight. Looking to see what your thoughts on this may be?

I do have a coolant leak somewhere but its doesn't seem to be a lot as i can go almost 2 1/2 months before i get low coolant warning. I was told it was the expansion tank that was the cause of the leak, repaired and looks like it wasn't the cause. Being told it could be the radiator or hoses. Not sure i want to move forward with the repairs just yet. ($2k-2500k) Also water pump was replaced at about 120k miles, i'm at 185k now.

I also have a minor oil housing gasket leak, i put in maybe a quart of oil in every 2 months or so. I've had this replaced it seems every few years, guess its a known issue.

With these two leaks, i never see it on the ground so i'm guessing its entering the engine and then burns off? I did have all 6 fuel injectors replaced in Jan 2018 and i started noticing the smoke about a month later. The dealer replaced the injectors and they scanned the car and found no faults so they are saying its not the injectors.

At this point, after owning the car for 11 years, 185k miles am i just better off driving the car until it dies? Or would it be worth spending say $3k on fixing the above items, hope that solves the smoke issue and the car runs fine thereafter? Or sell the car for hmmm maybe $5k kbb says its worth? Right now its my daily commuter to work which is 90miles round trip.

Suggestions, feedback, comments most welcome!!

link to the video of the smoke

GEOS07335i · 08-17-2018, 09:24 AM

I would start here. Three likely causes for white smoke:

1) You might need new injectors. What index are yours and how many miles on your current injectors. It's recommended that you use index 12 but 10's or 11's are good too. (I had this happen to me had white smoke early in the morning typically when I drove the car a few hundred yards to the stop sign and stopped to make a right turn as I was leaving the neighborhood and I would see white smoke. Typically went away after driving for a bit. Solution I installed a set of used index 12's injectors. With in a few days I had no more white smoke. I also had misfire on cyl 6. Again related to the injectors. Had new coils and plugs. But it turned out to be the injectors.

2) Could be you have a leak in the turbo seals. What happens is some oil drips out of the seal onto the downpipes and because the pipes are extremely hot the oil burn's quickly and creates the white smoke. Do you have any mods on the car like a BOV or downpipes? Potentially if you have the wrong spring in the BOV it could blow the seals in the turbo. (I'm not too technical to get into the details but this could be a possibility.)

3) Another possibility head gasket leak. Check your coolant and oil see if it's grey. That would indicate coolant is getting into the oil creating the white smoke. If the smoke was bluish that would indicate potentially worn rings.

The car is defiantly worth fixing if your mechanically inclined. I did all of the work my self not too complicated. Never go to the Stealership if you have too. Look FB for a local BMW club in your area and find one of the guys to do it for you at a fraction of the cost. Or find a BMW Indy to save you some bucks. Injectors are extremely expensive to buy and install. Dont go the ebay route on injectors. Trust me on that one been there done that let me save you the trouble. Best option is to find a used set of injectors and find some enthusiast from a local club to do the work.

I paid about $500 for 6 index 12 injectors and they have fixed my misfire and white smoke issues. It's about 1,000 miles now on them. Just be very careful when buying used injectors.

am335i · 08-17-2018, 08:36 PM

Thank You GEOS07335i, a lot of great feedback.

1)I'm not sure how to read the injectors, but heres what it says on my service report. 13-53-8-616-079 RP Injector: 135030. They were installed on 2/18/18 and they have about 9000 miles total as of today.

2) No mods, always wanted them but just never got around to it and kept it stock since it was delivered to me thinking it would increase reliability,

3) The last time i looked into the coolant it looked clean but that was after a recent fillup.

I'll look around at other indy spots to see if they can provide insight.

Thanks again!

08-13-2018, 02:18 PM	#1
am335i New Member 5 Rep 24 Posts Drives: 2008 335i Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Sac iTrader: (0)	Smoke at start up Hi Everyone, Looking to see if anyone can provide any feedback on this issue that i'm having. So everyone morning at startup i notice heavy white smoke coming out of my exhaust and this only happens in the morning, assuming whatever is burning collects overnight. Looking to see what your thoughts on this may be? I do have a coolant leak somewhere but its doesn't seem to be a lot as i can go almost 2 1/2 months before i get low coolant warning. I was told it was the expansion tank that was the cause of the leak, repaired and looks like it wasn't the cause. Being told it could be the radiator or hoses. Not sure i want to move forward with the repairs just yet. ($2k-2500k) Also water pump was replaced at about 120k miles, i'm at 185k now. I also have a minor oil housing gasket leak, i put in maybe a quart of oil in every 2 months or so. I've had this replaced it seems every few years, guess its a known issue. With these two leaks, i never see it on the ground so i'm guessing its entering the engine and then burns off? I did have all 6 fuel injectors replaced in Jan 2018 and i started noticing the smoke about a month later. The dealer replaced the injectors and they scanned the car and found no faults so they are saying its not the injectors. At this point, after owning the car for 11 years, 185k miles am i just better off driving the car until it dies? Or would it be worth spending say $3k on fixing the above items, hope that solves the smoke issue and the car runs fine thereafter? Or sell the car for hmmm maybe $5k kbb says its worth? Right now its my daily commuter to work which is 90miles round trip. Suggestions, feedback, comments most welcome!! link to the video of the smoke Last edited by am335i; 08-17-2018 at 07:59 PM.. Reason: video didnt load before
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08-17-2018, 09:24 AM	#2
GEOS07335i Lieutenant 162 Rep 513 Posts Drives: 08 335i Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Atlanta iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 BMW 335i E93 [10.00]	I would start here. Three likely causes for white smoke: 1) You might need new injectors. What index are yours and how many miles on your current injectors. It's recommended that you use index 12 but 10's or 11's are good too. (I had this happen to me had white smoke early in the morning typically when I drove the car a few hundred yards to the stop sign and stopped to make a right turn as I was leaving the neighborhood and I would see white smoke. Typically went away after driving for a bit. Solution I installed a set of used index 12's injectors. With in a few days I had no more white smoke. I also had misfire on cyl 6. Again related to the injectors. Had new coils and plugs. But it turned out to be the injectors. 2) Could be you have a leak in the turbo seals. What happens is some oil drips out of the seal onto the downpipes and because the pipes are extremely hot the oil burn's quickly and creates the white smoke. Do you have any mods on the car like a BOV or downpipes? Potentially if you have the wrong spring in the BOV it could blow the seals in the turbo. (I'm not too technical to get into the details but this could be a possibility.) 3) Another possibility head gasket leak. Check your coolant and oil see if it's grey. That would indicate coolant is getting into the oil creating the white smoke. If the smoke was bluish that would indicate potentially worn rings. The car is defiantly worth fixing if your mechanically inclined. I did all of the work my self not too complicated. Never go to the Stealership if you have too. Look FB for a local BMW club in your area and find one of the guys to do it for you at a fraction of the cost. Or find a BMW Indy to save you some bucks. Injectors are extremely expensive to buy and install. Dont go the ebay route on injectors. Trust me on that one been there done that let me save you the trouble. Best option is to find a used set of injectors and find some enthusiast from a local club to do the work. I paid about $500 for 6 index 12 injectors and they have fixed my misfire and white smoke issues. It's about 1,000 miles now on them. Just be very careful when buying used injectors. __________________ 2008 335i E93, DP's, 7" FMIC, DCI,CP TIAL Q BOV, MHD Stage 2+, Alpina Flash
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08-17-2018, 08:36 PM	#3
am335i New Member 5 Rep 24 Posts Drives: 2008 335i Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Sac iTrader: (0)	Thank You GEOS07335i, a lot of great feedback. 1)I'm not sure how to read the injectors, but heres what it says on my service report. 13-53-8-616-079 RP Injector: 135030. They were installed on 2/18/18 and they have about 9000 miles total as of today. 2) No mods, always wanted them but just never got around to it and kept it stock since it was delivered to me thinking it would increase reliability, 3) The last time i looked into the coolant it looked clean but that was after a recent fillup. I'll look around at other indy spots to see if they can provide insight. Thanks again!
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