[MIKE-0420-GSR]

So for a while when my car is cold it may have a little trouble starting. i'll let you guys know all my problems so you could help me figure out what it is.

car will start and die/almost die when cold.

white smoke comes out of the exhaust when i start it.

black particals are gathering all over my rear bumper.

and i lose alot of oil.

could i be misfiring or have a fouled piston?
please help me as i am trying to figure out what could be the problem so i can fix this as soon as possible. Thanks. Mike.

 

[datgsr]

when you start a cold car white smoke do comes out of the exhaust you should be fine once it get to the operating temp and GSR burning oil is common

 

[SilentRage82]

the black stuff on your bumper means your running too rich, if theres alot of miles on the motor, your probably burning the oil off due to bad rings and or valve seals are bad

 

[MIKE-0420-GSR]

its not typical white smoke that comes out of a car in the moring. and this is not only in the morning its whenever the car has had time to cool. and sometimes it starts just fine.

 

[SilentRage82]

did ya smell the white smoke. if it smells sweet. you've got a bad head gasket

 

[hammock]

what do your plugs look like?

 

[MIKE-0420-GSR]

i just changed the plugs about a month ago. and the smoke does'nt smell sweet. the car started alright this morning ( 8:30 ) but i had to give it some gas to keep it running. then after work( 2:30 ) i had to do the same thing. i then go on break and leave work again at 7:30 and it starts fine.

could this be my fuel injectors or fouled piston rings?

 

[SilentRage82]

take out one of your spark plugs, might be covered in oil, (hard starting)

 

[Traditional]

Have your distrubutor checked.... Your ignition coil might be going....

 

[redrocket1994]

White is water vapour, which will occur normally, especially in cooler temperatures(or water in the combustion chamber). Black is carbon. When did you last change the fuel filter? A plugged filter can cause the computer to make the mixture more rich=black deposits on the bumper and poor performance.

 

[MIKE-0420-GSR]

i've never changed my fuel filter. how hard is this?

 

[TegGsR97]

Have you run a compression test? If you are going through a lot of oil then maybe it could be bad piston rings or bad valve seals... Does your car shake a lot and seem to die when comes to an idle almost like it's misfiring? Has the ECU thrown any codes? It sounds like you are running rich and burning oil. If you want to find out if the piston is fouled or your piston rings are bad, run a compression test. Does the white smoke smell like pure burning fuel? If you aren't burning the oil off, have you checked for any leaks where you would be losing it? Just throwing out some ideas... If you are misfiring, you should be thrown a CEL code and it should be 61 or 71 (random misfire). Look around and give us some more direct clues, it's hard to diagnose a problem over the internet without seeing the car...

 

[TegGsR97]

Well, just checked your mods list. Did all these problems happen right after the the install of the cams and everything else or has it been fine and now is going down hill? Did you have a proper tune after the install?

 

[Chuck_Dean]

Let's focus on the important parts here.

You're losing a lot of oil and your engine is running Sh!!tty. My first guess would be bad piston rings but that's only a guess.

The thing is you should never be burning oil. And yes oil can cause white smoke out the tailpipe.

Something is obviously wrong. I suggest that if you can't figure it out on your own, take it to a dealer or a trustworthy mechanic.

If you have access to a compression tester, test your cylinders and post the results. It sounds like one or more of your cylinders are f'd.

 

[GunNam]

Regarding your cold start & dying problem:
If car car is a 2000, you're running OBDII and your ECU will run the warm-up cycle like the FITV on earlier models. Are you on a stock computer?