White smoke from exhaust

[mstein4]

I own a 2004 Camery and have been experiencing a large volume of white smoke coming from the exhaust upon startup after the vehicle sits for several hours. It is also loosing oil, without obvious signs. I changed oil after 1000 miles and found it was down 3 quarts.

[TrailDust]

With white smoke it's very possible you have a bad gasket, a cracked block, or a cracked head that is allowing water to get into one or more cylinders. Sometimes, though, even burning oil can produce white smoke. Let me move your thread over to the Camry forum so the members there can help you out more, but please also use that forums search tool to locate past threads as this is a common issue and has been covered before. Thanks, and welcome to the nation!

[mstein4]

How do I move to the correct forum?

[TOYOTAndy]

White smoke is generally coolant burning, although oil can sometimes appear to be whitish as well. It could using both oil and coolant if the head gasket has failed etc. If its oil its usually getting past the rings. Ive seens several newer camrys get short blocks for this reason. But What usually happens with coolant burning - has same symptoms as head gasket failure- Im assuming you have the 2az-fe 4cylinder engine, the head bolts usually strip out with the block threads. Sometimes if its bad enough you can just remove the spark plugs and look down into the cylinders and see coolant sitting on top of the piston(s). Get a compression test on the engine- this will tell alot , including possible hg issue, worn rings, etc. I'd also have the cooling system pressure tested for leaks. If pressure is put on the system and the spark plugs are out you might see coolant pouring into the cylinder(s) that way. Dont get me wrong it could just be oil burning, and that would still mean a big engine teardown or new engine anyways. 3qts after 1k miles is definately bad. Good luck

[JohnGD]

If you are using oil and not coolant then the white smoke probably has a bluish tint. This may be a sign that the valve stem seals are leaking.

Typically manufacturers use cheaper intake seals that do not handle heat as well. This saves maybe 50-80 cents per seal (retail value). You may also want to have a compression test done to check the condition of the rings because that's another source of oil consumption.

Here is a DIY on a removed engine:
http://www.lextreme.com/valve_seals.html

Originally Posted by mstein4

I own a 2004 Camery and have been experiencing a large volume of white smoke coming from the exhaust upon startup after the vehicle sits for several hours. It is also loosing oil, without obvious signs. I changed oil after 1000 miles and found it was down 3 quarts.

[fckyourcrew]

I've been having these problems recently as well. Cold start- White thick clouds of smoke.
Easy fix?

[arabianobsession]

Originally Posted by mstein4

How do I move to the correct forum?

TrailDust already moved it for you

[JohnGD]

If it doesn't use coolant then it's probably the stem seals or less likely the piston rings. However, if it uses coolant then it may be the head bolt failure problem (bolt threads disintegrating).

TSB 01507, NHTSA #10021542, Dated April 6 2007.
Coolant Loss on 2002-2006 Toyota 2.4L, 2AZFE engines

Originally Posted by fckyourcrew

I've been having these problems recently as well. Cold start- White thick clouds of smoke.
Easy fix?