Engine smoking???

[TJFitz]

My '91 318iS that I race in SCCA G-Stock in now smoking. Two days ago I finish doing everything to my car to finish it out for my class. I put a 22mm sway bar on it. Only thing left is to tear down the motor and rebuild.
Well...I notice that my radiator fluid (green) is getting low and smoking is coming out the muffler....hmmm. I wonder what that could be?
Do you think the sway bar had something to do with it? LOL

[MikeV]

if your coolant is low and the smoke is white and sweet smelling, you have a blown head gasket and are burning coolant (and possibly oil too, check that).

[Spazum888]

i was gonna say it could be just oil on your engien burnning off but if it comming out of your exaust..... i dont know.

how much smoke is it? alot so that you cant see the license plate? or just alittle? is it white or black smoke?

[robfrmny21]

white is anti freeze,blue is oil,black is the cars motor is to rich. your head gasket is probaly burned on the inside a leaking small amounts. when you bring the rpms up high the pressure in the cooling system will go up and since there is a leak from the gasket it will excape through it

[E31]

You are all right on the diagnosis. The engine is smoking you say? That to me means that something is leaking onto hot parts inside of the engine bay. See if the radiator hoses are leaking or cracked and make sure that the clams are on tight. When does it smoke? When you are stopped or going?

[TJFitz]

Sorry what I mean is it is smoking out the exhaust not the motor itself. It is white and smell sweet. I have never seen it get hot before maybe, my gauge is incorrect? What really stinks about this whole thing is I wanted to race it but, not with the head gasket leaking. I own a '99 M3...correction my WIFE owns a '99 M3. She does not want me to race it!!! So keep check back with me I maybe selling my wife on Ebay soon.

[robfrmny21]

HOW MUCH FOR HER???? IS SHE PRETTY??? YOUR HEAD GASKET IS ON ITS LAST LEG AND NEEDS TO GET CHANGED