Ok so I went by the shop where my car is and the tech said there is some smoke (white) which made me nervous. I started the car a 96 850 N/A with 376,xxxkm and saw very little smoke I wanted to smell and make sure it wasn't coolant and the fumes burned my eyes I have never in countered this.

A little background on me I'm a 3rd year apprentice I've seen oil blue smoke and coolant white smoke. I think the car is running rich so maybe un-burned gas I haven't paid for the car yet so should i run? Aside from the wired fumes the engine runs great drives well i didnt notice an engine light on. Please advise

 

Sounds like your CATs could have crapped out.

What code is the car throwing?

 

I didn't have a computer to check the codes. So no idea. She runs like top no tick no odd noises car has been sitting since August. Worst case is it the cat? A cat I don't mind o2 sensors ok I can get repro cats for $50 the last time I needed one.

 

Does the CEL light come on when you turn the key to run without starting the car?

 

Wait... Maybe im reading this wrong, but are you asking why your exhaust gases burnt your eyes when you went to sniff your exhaust??

Im confused

 

The dash lights up fine after I started it I was more interested in the smoke than the dash so honestly can't say if the engine light stayed on. And yes I'm kinda old school I'll taste a fluid and sniff fumes if it helps lol but no licking windows never thought that was odd till now tho thanks for bringing attention to that. Most of the time my hunch is right on no computers or anything. I've just never in countered this problem before any other guesses as to what it might be?
Just to be clear the car is being certified and etested I'm worried that the shop I'm buying from is going to hide whatever the issue is and 3,000km later the engine blows it's happened years ago to me now I know a lot more but not about this problem

 

Ok... well in answer to your question of why the exhaust gasses burned your eyes...
Sulfur, carbon, phosphorus to name a few, not to mention that the gasses are upwards of 350 degrees

As far as your smoking it could just be valve seals..

With 340k on the clock uless your getting it for like $500 i would walk away..

 

lol. That's like sticking your hand in a fire and asking why it burned you.

But when the exhaust burns your eyes, it's weird and abnormal.

 

Ok no it's $1000 cert and etested

It's not like I stuck my mouth on the pipe lol I was behind the car 4 feet inside the show room the smoke looked more like water vapor 2-3 inches from the pipe but it wasn't cold enough ok. So at 4 feet my eyes were watering smelled a bit like raw fuel when I turned the car off I couldn't see the lights in the dash had my eyes closed I guess I'm not getting this car.

 

Man, let it go. LOL

Take the car for a long test drive. Start it cold then shut it off after the drive and start it again in 5 minutes. Also after the test drive, look at the coolant tank and make sure it isn't trying to boil over. Do NOT take that cap off after the car is hot, it's a pressurized system. It's not suppose to be opened.

A $1,000 car should last you 2 months. So, yes it will start and run, then a week or two from now a 18 year old car with 380,000 km's on it will need some work, EVERY WEEK. Many things you can drive with, a few will shut it down.

 

Oh yes, it is very normal for you to see white vapor come from a tail pipe when you start a cold engine. All healthy motors will do that, especially since they are running rich until warmed up. Drive the car and start it warm and the vapors should be clear.

 

never mind if the ambient temp is 50 or below....

 

You are a third year apprentice at what?

For a used car with over 230K miles on it it's going to run a little off depending on the maintenance. The engine might be a little worn and the sensors might be a little off and it's running a little richer than it needs to when cold and that would explain the richness of it.

If all you want to know is why the burning, it's answered and might not really be a problem. Might be a weak cat but you'd have to measure it's temperature to see if it's working. That or a four gas.

If you're thinking of buying it I'd be more interested in:
Is the shop offering any kind of a warranty and why do they have it ??
Do they routinely sell used vehicles or was this brought in and the owner decided to walk away from it ??
Do they have any service history on it ??
Have you driven it and how did it feel??

 

It's a used lot owned by a guy I used to go to high school with and the mechanic I'm not to sure of he was trying to tell me the car had a 2L 4 cyl.... Warranty would be third party which I have no experience with. Service history no I think it was a trade in. Drives pretty well its been sitting out side for a few months then brought inside rear breaks were locked up. Drives like an arrow.
Things needed:
Battery
Breaks
Tires
Power Steering line

I'm just going to take it for a long test drive and have one of the guys at my shop etest it have a quick look on the hoist then pay for it or walk away if they try to pull a quick one on me.

 

Well that makes more sense then. Well ... except for a mechanic missing out on .3 liters of displacement and not being able to count to 5

 

Yea I have a hard time trusting anyone that runs over to the bar while working...

I'm not working as I have destroyed hand not so good if you use them to make money that also means I cant ask the guy in the next bay which probably would have been a lot quicker. I need to move next month and cant afford to much extra headache right now links to pics of my hand below dont look if your eating

This is my hand its really gross look at your own risk
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/1497/hand1zd.jpg Before stitches
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/9865/handx.jpg After stitches