m62tub44 smoking at startup

[vnitos]

i'm driving a bmw m62tub44 (4.4 v8) equipped range rover which on startup smokes for a few (about 5) seconds or so. the smoking does not occur every time when one starts her and the amount of smoke also differs from time to time (sometimes a lot sometimes a little and sometimes no smoke.

The car does not smoke whilst driving it at all speeds (town and open road).

car still pulls very well in all gears. what we've done thus far is to replace the PCV in Dec 2013, replace tappet cover gaskets and PCV hoses in Nov 2012.

btw it also sounds if the vanos rattle has started

please advise what else we should look at

thanks

 

[Blue Shirt]

Blue smoke or black smoke?

Black smoke = over-fuelling after startup or incomplete combustion (change the plugs?)

Blue smoke = oil in the combustion chamber from leaking valve stem seals or a worn/broken piston ring

 

[vnitos]

the colour of the smoke is white with a bit of an oil smell.

what is very interesting is that most of time the smoke only comes out the right exhaust - IIRC it only happened twice that the smoke came out both exhausts

 

[Blue Shirt]

White smoke is generally not smoke, but water vapour. You might have a small coolant leak into one of the cylinders from a head gasket that is starting to go. Do you find that the coolant level drops low from time to time? The oily smell that you refer to might be the antifreeze burning off.

I would suggest that you do a compression test on all the cylinders to see if you can find the culprit. You might also get a gas test done at a workshop, they test the coolant for the presence of combustion gases, which can also point to a leaking head gasket.

You mention that the smoke mostly comes out of one exhaust, suggesting that the problem is located on one of the V8 banks which further strengthens my suspicion of a blown head gasket.