Hi all,

I have a question about smoke from the exhaust when starting cold. A little background info on the truck first. All work was done by an independent land rover only shop:

2000 Disco Series 2.
Work done within past 3 weeks:
New radiator
New thermostat
New plugs and wires
Deep cleaning of throttle body - it was pretty nasty
New air filter
New oil cooler line

Now it seems to smoke more for about 30-45 seconds when starting cold. It is not white smoke, does not smell sweet, and goes away completely within about 2 minutes. The head gaskets were done 30k ago (108k on the truck), and the shop pressure tested the coolant system and there are no leaks. They assured me the head gaskets are fine, and that the exhaust is just due to climate conditions, that I shouldn't worry. The truck runs great - no rough idle when cold, heater works fine...

I am throwing an occasional P0445(?) code - major evaporative leak. They said not to worry about it until I need to get it inspected. It's not the gas cap, and they said they will smoke test it to find the leak.

My question is this I guess, could the evaporative leak somehow be letting condensation build up in the exhaust system? I live in Houston, and has been somewhat cool (40's - 60's) and as humid as can be - think 90% plus.

I might just be over thinking this.

Thanks guys

Keith

 

One other thing, I pretty much only drive it 4.5 miles to work and back daily, none of which is on the high way. The shop said I need to take it on the high way and run it hard soon. They said the engine really isn't getting up to full working temp, and that is not allowing it to get hot enough to get all the moisture completely out of the system.

Thanks again,

Keith

 

you dont need to "run it hard" but yes your should be taking it for a spin on the highway.So that it gets hot enough to boil out the moisture that is collecting in the exhaust on your shot commute. The number one killer of exhaust sytems is condensation build up.

 

Thanks drowssap. Any other thoughts/ideas out there?

 

Your shop is dead on, the smoke you see is partially burnt fuel and once the engine starts to heat up and lean out (its on full choke when cold) it stops smoking.
Also being humid and cold will cause smoke no matter what.
Once a month you need to take it out on the highway and drive for a hour at speed's over 60mph.
Set the cruise at 65, drive for 30 min in one direction, turn around and drive back and do not shut it off for the whole trip.

 

Alright, thanks Spike. Guess I need to quit stressing about this and just go out and drive the thing!

Thanks to all who contribute to these forums. I've had my Disco for a bit over 4 years and have referred to these forums numerous times. Glad they're here.