smokey on startup
 

hi all,
i have an 01 4.4i x5 with 194k and drives like a dream.
only this morning has it developed alot of white smoke from the exhaust on a cold startup. it would last 3-5 seconds and then stop. the x drives fine with no missing or reduction in power. when driving there is no smoke, and when warm, there is no smoke.
the smoke has a strong petrol/oil smell to it, but dissapears in a few seconds. im hoping its nothing too serious. any ideas??

any help would be greatly appreciated as i was planning on going for a weekend holiday with x this weekend??
thanks in advance

Oil separator, PCV valve. check those

:iagree:

Yes I agree , oil seperator . The oil is collecting in the intake due to the PCV not draining back to the oil pan , my 4.6 did the same thing and one day a cylinder took a gulp of oil from the intake then it broke a connecting rod destroying the block.
Dave

Thanks for the advice, I'll take it to a mechanic to look at.
Is it ok to continue driving? Other than the initial smoke and burning oil smell it seems to drive ok.

actually it is safe to drive when there is symptoms of oil separator and PCV valve being bad. For a while, until they brake like yours. Now the white smoke like that is burning oil. I wouldn't say its completly safe as its not 100% safe for above mentioned to be droven as well. Its realy not a big thing and should be fixed soon until youre going to have fear that its turned into something big..

Mine smoked for the whole summer on every start up and a bit when I accellerated hard on the highway, it was ok in nice weather but in minus 20 the oil was thicker then collected in the intake manifold , we warmed up the engine one day, hit the gas to go and it was all over !

:S Sucks. Should have took more serious I guess...

mine did the same a few months back...it continued to do so on start up.....took in to shop, and bam!!! hoses were all collasped!!! i had driven around for a while like that too...but all has been changed........

Which hoses are you talking about? more details if you remember would be great.