Hey guys,
Last night coming back home from a spirited drive on the highway, I turned off the car and noticed a lot of white smoke from underneath the car and the single head connection of the ypipe was leaking. I woke up this morning and took a look at the ground underneath the ypipe and it was an oily substance. The night I noticed this I took a look at the temp and it was ok. I changed the radiator hoses to the hps hoses about 2 months ago so I made sure to follow the right process to fill the car back up with coolant. I did a little research and a few have said this may be a blown head gasket or other major issues. By the way I checked the coolant and it was leveled off. I didnt notice anything with the engine or transmission that would be lacking in performance, so at this point I'm really curious about what could be wrong. The entire car is stock except a grounding kit and stillen g3 intake. A few months back I did take off the test pipes and the Megan ypipe to go back to factory setup, so I'm thinking that may have something to do with it.
I would appreciate your help/insight on this.
I will take it for a diagnostic test on Monday to see what the hell is up.



UPDATE:
By the way I just started inspecting underneath and noticed the ypipe had a lot of oily residue and was leaking a drop or two... I checked as deep as I could under the hood and didn't notice anything unusual (as far as leaks). I left the car on and it was running normal and didnt heat up... The only thing you will notice is an odor and I'm thinking it's the oily substance that is heating up on the ypipe.

 

I found this mechanics comment regarding white smoke.

"If the "smoke" appears while you're driving away shortly after the car is first started on a cold morning it is likely the condensation boiling off the inside of the exhaust pipes (steam). This is normal and goes away as the exhaust warms up. The condensation is also normal; it usually happens after the car is shut off on a cold day and the water vapor in the exhaust gases is allowed to condense as the exhaust system cools down."

"If you have white smoke all the time, you may be leaking coolant into the cylinders which could mean a head gasket leak. Usually there is oil residue in the exhaust as well, which would be a tell tale sign of a blown head gasket. Then the white smoke would have a hazy blueish tinge to it. Also, certain chemical engine cleaners and fuel additives can create a white smoke. Have a mechanic check it out if necessary."

Have you checked your oil level?

 

check your oil dipstick to make sure that the oil does not smell like antifreeze and that it doesnt have a whitish milky touch to it

 

Thank you for your posts guys... I checked the dipstick a few weeks ago and filled a little oil since I was nearing my oil change. I checked the dipstick just now and took a picture of the reading and did the smell test and it didn't smell like antifreeze and it doesn't have the milky look either. By the way I live in Dallas and the weather last night was in the high 90's so It's not due to any cold reactions? Plus I did drive almost less then half a tank of gas last night and on the way back for about 10 minutes of the drive I was 75 mph +. This being the first time anything like this has occurred, so it's a little unusual especially when there is oil leaking from the y and looks like it has a lot of residue on it. It definitely left oil spots on the ground. The only thing unusual other then this, I have noticed is that when the ac is on the car whines minimally at low speeds but I've heard that's kinda normal. Other then that can't think of anything else.

Do you guys think that if the head gasket is blown , would the dealer notice this on this multi point inspection?

Thanks again!

 

Hopefully these links work to show the pics of coolant level and oil stick

http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/z...filter=noflash


http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/z...filter=noflash

 

Is there any chance that it's ATF or AC refrigerant that's leaked onto the pipe?

 

Well I'm happier now that I kinda found where the leak is from but. I'm not looking forward to what this can cost to repair. I uploaded a short YouTube clip so you guys can take a look at, and from what it appears the ATF is leaking (vqsmile nailed it). Now my question is why? And also how? When there were no signs of anything unusual from the tranny. Plus the ATF is red why is not red now?
I'm definitely not driving with what I know.

The video:

 

First off, I'm happy for you that it's not a HG or anything like that.

Next, it may not be a huge deal that it's not red if it's been exposed to a hot exhaust pipe. It could just be a bit cooked. (But just in case, have you verified that the color of the fluid in the tranny is actually red?)

If it's possible, you can elevate the car, or just one side if need be, and run the car in park to see if you can spot a leak in one of the coolant lines or sensor connections (your most likely culprits) . If that fails, you can (but only if you absolutely know how to do it safely!! ) raise both rear wheels and GENTLY run the car in gear to see if that will produce the leak.


EDIT: I just saw your video. It's always hard to tell when it's spread all around like that, but it could just simply be a pan leak. Perhaps you can scrupulously clean the whole area where it's wet with fluid and the then look for the highest and farthest forward point of wetness when it reoccurs, this will be your likely source. I still think it's odd that it traveled to the exhaust unless it's either leaking pretty good or traveling down a line.

 

Thanks vq! I owe ya brotha!
I remember when doing the 60k service I observed a red wine color even lighter maybe. Uploaded a new video of the side that is oily... Plus I checked using a paper towel and it appeared to be more of a copper color. I'm thinking that whatever goes on internally causes the color to change a bit especially after 23000 miles after the service. Unfortunately A friend of mine is borrowing the lifts I own but I'm taking it in on Monday to have it checked out. Another concern I have is upon doing the 60k service I specifically asked the parts dep. if the gasket needs to be replaced for the ATF flush (they said no the original should be fine) so hopefully that is the issue because it's an easy fix. I will wipe the oil clean and see if I can tell what's happening afterwards. In the video I noticed that the oil has spread a little higher then the tranny case (oil) so that's making me think that it may not be the gasket either. Mainly because how can it leak down and be spread up where the actual transmission is?

It can't be a brake line? Because I've been feeling less pressure from the brakes.
And where is the ATF dip stick? I've forgotten lol :

Video 2

 

Yeah, that's way too much oil for a simple gasket leak.Used tranny fluid is often more on the purple (maroon)-brown scale than a simply pinkish-red. I'm guessing it's one or both of those banjo bolt connections where the hard lines leave the tranny. If not, then I'd be looking at all the seals on the various sensors on the tranny body for a leaker. The tranny dipstick is behind the engine, up against the firewall area, and more toward the passenger side. I highly doubt it's brake fluid, or you'd most likely have a very mushy pedal by now.

 

Of course I'm thinking worst case, but I'm expecting to hear that I need a new tranny lol. Hopefully this wont be the case, after searching google and the forum (s) I can't find anything on this issue.

EDIT:
Dropped off the g today at the dealer they will update me tomorrow :/...
drum roll til tomorrow !

 

Sewell Infiniti called me this morning stating that... the transmission fluid has been over filled by someone and that is why it's leaking. The last service I did was the 60k service and I used the right amount of 5AT red tranny oil suggested by their parts dep (23k ago). ... They're wanting to do a flush for $275 and further test to see if that was the problem. The last place I took the car to for any type of service was crest infiniti and sewell, and that was for oil changes nothing else.
Here we simply have a case of confusion from my side because I don't think the tech knows what he's doing.

 

DId they say WHERE the leak was coming from? And WHAT would explain why it suddenly started after waiting for 23k miles if it were simply overfilled???

That being said, I don't know how their parts department could make any recommendation of the quantity of fluid the car should take, since it is a variable amount.

I can see them saying what amount you should buy to be sure you have enough to do the job, but that's not the same as saying you need to put it all in. IIRC, when you drain the oil from the pan, you get around 4 quarts to come out; but it could be just under that or closer to 5 quarts depending. The bottom line is that you should put as much back in as you took out, not just some fixed amount. The fluid expands with heat, so you need to let it equalize or else compensate for that as well.

SO . . . when you did the 60K service, how much did you take out? and how much did you add back in?


btw, there was someone else here recently that was slobbering fluid all over and it turned out to be overfilled as well. I think it was the dealer's fault though, but the car seemed to run fine after a proper fill. You might dig around and find that thread so you could contact the person and see if there's been any lasting effects for them.

 

No, they didn't say where the leak was coming from. That's what I'm curious about, if it was over filled then why the hell would it show signs of such thing thousands of miles later. When we did the 60k service I remember us draining the whole tranny of any fluid that it had in it. After that I filled the 5 quarts that I purchased, plus when they say "flush" I'm sure they mean just the fill and re-fill right? I'm going to look for that thread you mentioned but in the mean time I'm going up there in a few minutes to talk to their tech that diagnosed this. They've taken care of me in the past no doubt but , when I asked if I do pay the 280 for the flush and we notice that this was not the issue. Am I entitled to get back the funds I put into the service in other words (refunded). Then she mentioned that this was just a starting point and that we need to further test the car to see how it responds when we put the correct amount of ATF in it. At that point I just told her to get the car ready so I can pick it up because it didn't seem like they knew what they were talking about. I also asked them if there were any hard line connections that were in bad shape? and from what she said there were no other issues. If the tranny was overfilled with oil wouldn't it react in a different way as far as shifting is concerned? because there were no such signs.
After speaking with sewell over the phone I called up crest infiniti just to see what they would say... They basically told me even if you do the services that they diagnosed, you should be safe in getting your money if the issues do not add up to be what they mentioned in the first place.

 

VQSMILE:
I found the thread you were referring to ('' oil leak "). Sounds like the same exact issue that I was having but I personally don't think that I overfilled it and I'm 100% sure. :/