Engine dumb question

dumb question

i know this is stupid to ask, but whats it mean by "running too rich"?

This means that the ratio of oxygen to fuel is too low.
You need to have an air/fuel ratio of about 14:1, typically...

means you're burning more fuel than you should. when you see cars blowing black smoke from their exhaust - they're running rich.

on the flip-side - running too lean would be if you had not enough fuel (very dangerous, ESPECIALLY in a boosted engine)

oh i see. well i aint running too rich then. but whats white smoke? is that ok? cuz whenever i turn on the car, white smoke comes out and i smell gasoline. is that normal or what?

White smoke? Ouch....

Most likely you've blown a head gasket or otherwise have water entering the combustion chamber.

White=water
blue=oil
black=running rich

oh my god, i am so panicking right now. and i dont even have the money to fix it. damn it. is there another solution to this? without paying alota money.

what will i do? what will i do? damn it im panicking, someone help me before i go crazy...
and can i still replace the cold air intake i have now with my pvc short ram?

oh goddamn it, that stupid cold air intake. so is there really any major damage to the rolla?

its not always serious, on some cars timing chain needs to be done. like my ex-bosses lebarren.

so it doesnt harm anything else in the engine right?

well it can be serious if you don't take care of the problem

oh damn it, what can i do? i dont have the short ram pipe, but still have the pvc pipe, and i dont wanna use that. of course a bypass valve would be great, but $50! hell no.

what is the solution to the problem?
i guess we dont know for now, damn it.

someone im talking to on AIM says his friends 240 blew at 265 due to a headgasket.

I don't understand. Do you mean to say that the CAI sucked in some water, which in turn could have caused a cracked water gallery, which now results in water getting into the combustion chamber all the time?

You can also get a permanent water-in-the-chamber condition if you overheat the engine too much-- the warping of the cylinder head can cause water to sneak past the head gasket. The cylinder head can be machined on a rotary table (I believe this is the proper name for the table with the spinning machining surface, the head is dragged across the spinning surfave and swivelled around so it hones it evenly) and the head gasket replaced, which may cure the problem-- however, if the head is cracked, then a new one will be needed.

so does this mean a CAI is not good for your car?

yeah i meant to say that.
well if water gets in the engine, which the engine is hot, it'll just heat it up. and not a problem right?

just take care of the problem. don't try to get out of it becuase it will bite you in the butt.

lol yeah aight

If too much water gets into the engine, it can hydrolock. Bad.
If the engine is particularly hot, the cylinder head can crack, and the engine can still hydrolock. Bad.

It's not normal. It's bad. Very bad. Your engine needs serious work. The more you drive it from this point without fixing it, the more severe the damage and more costly the repairs you will need.

Man that sucks....U have to fix it soon or u are going to have a big problem...My sister 94 accord was doing the samething n i was telling her to go got it fix but she say its ok nothing is going to happen but then in a month or so her motor was all mass up....N man was my MOM n DAD was mad...

I wouldn't worry about your CAI or SRI or the radio or your antenna topper or the bird poo on your windshield. You need to stop driving the car until such a time as you can afford to have it towed to a qualified repair shop for repairs.

*sigh* always money involve.
and again, what is need to replace?

ok heres the thing, in cold winter, without driving my car. i start the car, and white smoke comes out. is that water also?
now its hot, i turn on the car, white smoke comes out, then for a couple seconds its gone. i though its just normal smoke.

Was this posted in this thread accidentally? I mis-adjusted timing chain will not result in water getting into the combustion chamber, unless possibly if it's an interference engine and the piston colliding with the valve somehow caused the water jacket to crack or the head gasket to leak. If so, adjusting the timing chain (or belt, depending on the particular engine) at that point is pointless- the damage has already been done. Replace the broken components first, then adjust the valve timing.

By white smoke, are we talking clouds? Or just a little bit of steam from a small amount of condensation in the pipes?

I had assumed you meant clouds, since you described it as "smoke". It's normal to have a small amount of vapor burn off, especially if the weather conditions are right for water to condense in your exhaust system, and to some extent in your intake.

ahhh i hate this. have anyone had problems like this?

i meant smoke, like a puff of cigarette smoke. its just a little bit.