Smoking motor

Asked by Intuitive57 Sep 23, 2018 at 05:48 AM about the 1999 Toyota Camry CE

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Hey guys! I have a 1999 Toyota Camry, it's been
parked for about 4 months now. During those 4
months it's been started and driven roughly 4-5
times but after startup I noticed the motor
smoking a white/gray color and the smoking does
intensify during drive time. I don't want to continue
driving the car without knowing the problem, any
suggestions?

6 Answers

9,530

Perform a compression or cylinder leak down test you may have some frozen piston rings,although white smoke usually means the engine is leaking coolant into the combustion chamber, is it using coolant? How does it run? If the converter is still working it won't for long, if it plugs it'll be expensive, is it using oil?

Yes the car is still using oil as far as I can tell and the car is still driving smooth despite the smoke, sorry about the late reply. What is the easiet way to check for a blown head gasket?

9,530

Cylinder leak down test. A special fitting is screwed into the spark plud hole, then compressed air is put intl the cylinder if air bubbles appear in the radiator that cylinder is leaking into the cooling system, if you can hear air blowing into the crankcase the piston rings in that cylinder are letting compression leak by into the engine. If the cylinder holds up he air pressure it's OK.

1 people found this helpful.
9,530

Interesting problem, let us know how it turns out, mechanics tend to get used to instant self-gratification.

Your Answer:

Camry

Looking for a Used Camry in your area?

CarGurus has 35,374 nationwide Camry listings starting at $500.

ZIP:

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

1999 Toyota Camry

Review another car

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Reelin68
    Reputation
    34,290
  • #2
    Tony Ciccotelli
    Reputation
    19,180
  • #3
    Tony Ciccotelli
    Reputation
    5,530
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Honda Accord
1,532 Great Deals out of 29,627 listings starting at $500
Used Toyota Corolla
1,564 Great Deals out of 24,070 listings starting at $1,150
Used Honda Civic
1,383 Great Deals out of 29,513 listings starting at $800
Used Toyota RAV4
1,992 Great Deals out of 29,133 listings starting at $1,500
Used Toyota Avalon
198 Great Deals out of 2,090 listings starting at $850
Used Toyota Tacoma
2,006 Great Deals out of 32,954 listings starting at $2,990
Used Nissan Altima
1,287 Great Deals out of 37,669 listings starting at $900
Used Toyota 4Runner
1,158 Great Deals out of 18,585 listings starting at $1,550
Used Lexus ES
496 Great Deals out of 8,628 listings starting at $1,500
Used Honda CR-V
2,038 Great Deals out of 42,100 listings starting at $1,050

Used Cars for Sale

2025 Toyota Camry For Sale
3,433 listings starting at $29,194
2024 Toyota Camry For Sale
90 Great Deals out of 9,791 listings starting at $17,280
2023 Toyota Camry For Sale
334 Great Deals out of 3,628 listings starting at $19,450
2022 Toyota Camry For Sale
248 Great Deals out of 2,585 listings starting at $15,300
2021 Toyota Camry For Sale
283 Great Deals out of 3,633 listings starting at $14,000

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.