1998 3.6L smoke out tail pipe for 1st time

[dhawkins Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close dhawkins]

3.6L 1998 Prado started to let out huge quantity of white smoke (don't recall if had blue tinge) this weekend. 230,000K. Intermittent as happened 6 times over 300km and only happened while going uphill. No particular load on vehicle. When happens, only does so for few seconds but bellows huge amounts of white smoke. Noticed the last time it did it that car vibrated a bit, sounding like noises / vibrations / pinging coming from engine. When back off pedal, goes away pretty quickly.

Sitting in drive way and pressing the accelerator doesn't cause it to recur.

What could the problem be? What are my alternatives in terms of addressing problem? Would like to use vehicle for another 2 years.

Thanks,
David.

[williade Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close williade]

Re: 1998 3.6L smoke out tail pipe for 1st time

Hi David,
I'd get a compresion test on the engine. Could be a valve/piston ring/head gasket issue. I'd also get the inlet manifold checked for leaks.

Cheers,
Declan.

[Leethal Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Leethal]

Re: 1998 3.6L smoke out tail pipe for 1st time

Since it only appears to happen going up and I'm assuming a steep hill at that.
I would also check the brake mastervac (booster) as I have seen mastervacs full of brake fluid which can/may be ingested through the vac line to the engine.

Lee

[hypo Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hypo]

Re: 1998 3.6L smoke out tail pipe for 1st time

This also occurred with my Prado on the weekend. Did you happen to find a root cause?

I had the vehicle towed home as a precaution. I decided to take it for a drive when it was unloaded off the tow truck and the issue did not re-occur. I am hesitant to take the vehicle out again without finding the fault.

I have checked both the water for oil and the oil for water and neither have issues. I also attempted to run on sub tank instead of mains and this did not resolve the issue.

[minh Member Find all posts View Profile Close minh]

Guys as Leethal said. Check your vac lines and brake mastervac.
Secondly very common problem is the Air flow meter gets dirty or old.

Get a bottle of AFM cleaner or CRC contact cleaner. Undo it from the intake pipe and clean the hotwire until its shiny.

[nelshaun Banned Find all posts View Profile Close nelshaun]

1998 3.6L smoke out tail pipe

It just reminds me of a customized tail pipe that I did before for my old Mustang. If that is the case, I guess replacing the tail pipe is a wise idea.