ptiflipiou said:
I have some white smoke coming out of the engine compartment (at the front of the engine, behind the cabin).
I can't see exactly where the smoke is coming from, the area being inaccessible to me, but it seems to be smelling a little "oily".
Looks like you found the reason your QV is overheating. White smoke is coolant, grey/blue smoke is oil. Like Carguy said as long as its not coming from your tail pipe, your ok.
If you had air in the system and your engine was overheating its because you were losing coolant then air seeped in ! Now its full…and leaking again.
This means your on the right track (to find a leak). Park your car in a dry spot, once your engine has cooled downed take a rag and wipe everything down as much as you can or spray compressed air (PC stores have compressed air cans). Buy a mechanic mirror on a extend a stick (like an electric car antenna) at a local parts store.
Start your car, have a friend monitor your temp gauge once it starts to warm up have that person rev the engine a little, no more than 2000 RPM or 2 on your tach. This will warm your car slowly, now you could go to 3 or 4 on your RPM BUT DON’T, if you have a problem it will warm up too quickly. This will get your entire cooling system starting. What I mean by that is the engine will heat up the coolant, your thermostat will open and cycle the coolant to your rad and so on. At this point, look for a leak by looking for smoke and under your car for a small puddle.
The smell of coolant burning is very particular, so to recognize this, get a few paper napkin (do not use newspaper because ink smells different), put some coolant on them and lite them up. You will notice the smell it gives off. It’s the same when coolant leaks onto a hot engine, it’s the same smell. Oh and by the way, keep that stuff away from dogs if you have any, it doesn’t take much, they go blind licking that stuff (no joke).
