W123 M102 head gasket issue? White smoke from exhaust

[ShivaYash]

Hello all,

For the past 8 months I've noticed a little white smoke from the exhaust... and a loss of coolant, especially at motorway speeds.

The oil cap is clean, no milkshake-like sludge at all...
No bubbles in the radiator coolant...
The exhaust smoke is not constant, certainly not bellows of smoke as the usual head gasket leak.

Sometimes when it is warm, the exhaust doesn't have white smoke. I've uploaded this video to explain what it looks like:

Help appreciated.

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Youll need to do a block test to be sure. No point guessing.

 

[ShivaYash]

Youll need to do a block test to be sure. No point guessing.

Is that with the blue liquid that turns yellow, if exhaust gases are leaking into the coolant? Or when you say block test, you mean a compression-type test? I'm a very basic home mechanic... so apologies for the stupid question.

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Is that with the blue liquid that turns yellow, if exhaust gases are leaking into the coolant? Or when you say block test, you mean a compression-type test? I'm a very basic home mechanic... so apologies for the stupid question.

Thats the one.

 

[ShivaYash]

So it turned out to the head-gasket - but this has now been sorted and the car is running nicely. Hoping no more major works for two-years now ;-)

 

[V6Matty]

So it turned out to the head-gasket - but this has now been sorted and the car is running nicely. Hoping no more major works for two-years now ;-)

Always nice to hear a result and that you’ve kept another one of these old girls on the road

 

[DREAMER NO2]

You get that condensation from a normal W123 i would say on most cars..thats until engine is fully warmed up .

 

[ShivaYash]

You get that condensation from a normal W123 i would say on most cars..thats until engine is fully warmed up .

Yes but not in this case... it was the head gasket. All sorted now.