i just went outside to make sure my baby wasn't leaking antifreeze...replaced the timing chain the other day just double checking everything. well i removed the oil cap where you pour your oil just to see if it looked like oil was getting to that area of the engine and smoke started to come out of the cap. i'm not talking run and get a fire extinguisher kind of smoke but there was definatly a little bit of smoke. now i'm no rocket scientist but isn't that why you put the oil in there so there isn't any friction and things don't get that hot. i pulled the dipstick and it says their is plenty of oil and it didn't smell burnt or look burnt. any ideas would be greatly appreciated.


forgot to mention i had it running for less then 5 minutes just to double check that their were no air bubles in the coolant.

 

Oil vapor is one possible culprit, and it's totally normal, but I'd say what you probably saw was steam. When the car gets turned off and cools down, water will condense on the internal parts and find its way into the sump. The next time the engine gets up to temperature, that water boils off in the first few minutes.

That's why cars that are run only on short trips need more frequent oil changes - they don't get hot enough for long enough to boil off the condensation, and the oil gets diluted much more quickly.

 

so if i drive my car longer and i remove the oil cap i shouldn't see the steam?

 

chances are you will still see steam even after driving for a bit depending on the air temp.... dont panic your car is OK

 

i'm just freaking out she's my baby. i've been hearing a clicking or knocking not quite sure which but it wasn't there before i was just scared she wasn't getting the oil she needed. also now my belts squeel any advice. no coolant or oil is leaking i'm lost.

 

could you have gotten antifreeze on the belts before? or are they hard and glazed? make sure they are tight and if they are shiny you may just have to replace them..... as for the noise.... go over every step in your head that you did.... seem like you forgot to tighten anything? I forgot to tighten the cam sprocket bolt on a neon once, but i remembered it before i drove it anywhere....

 

na i tighted everything checked it twice. the only thing i can think of is the part of my intake that connects the intake to the throttle body has a crack in it. i duck taped it untill i can have one shipped it should be on it's way. would sucking in too much air do this or since the engine is getting air from the leake rather then coming in from the filter would this be screwing with the mafs sending a false reading and trying to compensate.

 

ok the car overheated while i was on my way back from picking up my daughter. before it was overheating i had horable throtle response. i had the pedal to the medal and was going like 5mph in first gear got it up to where i could change to second then the speed droped again. then when i got home i let it run for a second while i looked under the hood. that knocking noise i don't know what it would be but it almost sounds like something is hitting the my valve cover. i replaced the valve cover gasket. yesterday and i noticed a little bit of oil leaking already. any ideas would be greatly appreciated. could this all be associated with that intake piece i was talking about?

 

dude at this point i wouldnt even drive it. just pull the valve cover off and look its not that difficult and you should be able to check that in your driveway or parking lot or wherever you live.....

OK now i have a similiar story and i hope its not the same outcome...
The car i currently own with no motor in it had a similiar prob.
The car overheated nd the one driving it did not know. he continued to drive till the car would barely accelerate bu the got it home with the pedal on the floor. There was a loud knocking that sounded liek it was comin from under the valve cover.... turns out it was the number 3 rod bearing destroyed and allowed it to slop all over the place.....
The cause of it all..... the lower hose where it goes behind the radiator blew in two and he had no idea it happened when he was drivin.....

I hope this isnt the case for yours

 

in that case wouldn't all the radiator fluid leak out?

 

if i take the valve cover off what am i looking for exactly? oh and when i let it sit for 5-10 minutes and then try to drive it a little bit it works out fine like nothing was wrong i mean it still makes the hitting noise but no more pedal to the medal. when the car overheated i sat there for like 30 minutes let it cool down then i had to drive it home and it was like there was nothing wrong with the cooling system.

 

this might seem kinda obvious, but you just replaced the timing chain, right? maybe you tightened the belts too tight when you put everything back on? you should be able to push down on the belt with one finger and have about a half inch of slack... don't know about the overheating and knocking sounds though...

 

well yeah the car i have did have an antifreeze leak, btu i was just usingn that as an example.
i highly doubt your did the exact same thing.
as for what to look for under the valve cover... i dunno anything that could be making the noise... look for any shiny parts that look like they might be moving.
as far as the overheating... and the squealing belts.... maybe the belt drivin the waterpump/fan is slipping and not turning the fan at full speed.... sounds liek a good bet to me... if the belts are not knew then maybe be good insurance to just change them.

 

i think i'm going to change the belts today. i'm also going to look under the valve cover. i just have to make a trip to the parts store to get a socket set...i don't feel like taking her to the shop and paying to use there stuff over something this little.

 

If you get yourself one of those basic tool sets that come in a case it shoudl contain everythign you need to do minor stuff on your car and around the house.