heres the issue i am currently having with my 1995 850 glt. when i leave first gear this puff of white smoke comes out of the tailpipe. sometimes it comes out and sometimes its just normal a cop pulled me over and said i might be burning some oil. im honestly not too sure what im burning. I know for a fact that i in fact have a coolant leak, but could that be the issue? the coolant leak appears to be from underneath the coolant reservoir tank. if anyone has run into this issue or knows of any of the culprits that could be causing this please let me know. thanks for your help guys!

 

White smoke = Water
Gray smoke = oil

Does this happen when the car is warm and been running for awhile? Its normal for a cold engine to remove moisture in the tailpipe when cold but warm equals leak.

 

A minor correction:

White smoke: Normal moisture or coolant burning-accompanied with sweet odor.
Blue smoke: Engine oil burning.
Gray (Dark): Too much fuel dumped into the combustion chamber/intake air system related trouble.

If your coolant reservoir is running low, the head gasket may be shot. However, before you spend $$$, have your engine compression-tested & cooling system pressure-tested at a reputable shop.


JPN