How Can You Tell If Smoke is Steam or Oil Related

How can you tell if white smoke is steam from head gasket leak or just too much oil? (1990 Johnson 115 Crossflow)

Re: How Can You Tell If Smoke is Steam or Oil Related

White is normally water,
Wheres it coming out of?
Is one head getting very hot or both?

Re: How Can You Tell If Smoke is Steam or Oil Related

Steam will tend to dissipate quickly depending on ambient humidity. Steam is also white.

Smoke tends to linger, has that 2 stroke smell, and is more bluish.

Re: How Can You Tell If Smoke is Steam or Oil Related

Bosunsmate said:

White is normally water,
Wheres it coming out of?
Is one head getting very hot or both?

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I had just re-installed the port head and cover (new gaskets) after cleaning it out. I tested it on a flushete and it ran well in good temperature as it should. The only thing was that it would puff out smoke every so often. I don't remember it doing that before, although I never ran it for very long, just testing it every so often on a flushete (used engine I bought and have been working on). It was like a puff of a cigarette, every so often, puff, 5 seconds puff. As it warmed up a while it did seem to occur less. I'll test it again after I re-torque it. I'll look to see if the smoke dissipates quickly (steam) or travels with the wind (oil).

Re: How Can You Tell If Smoke is Steam or Oil Related

grey/black is gas, blue is oil, white is steam. Of course on a 2 cycle motor, the blue will be mixed with the grey/black. White smoke is antifreeze burning in a closed cooling system in a boat or in a car/truck

Re: How Can You Tell If Smoke is Steam or Oil Related

Check your pistons/sparkplugs, any water leak gives those cylinders a clean look

Re: How Can You Tell If Smoke is Steam or Oil Related

Great advise guys, Thanks will do all.