Chrysler Repair: White Smoke from exhaust, exhaust odor in coolant bottle, blown head gasket, combustion chamber


Question
There is white smoke coming out of exhaust 1995 Chrysler LSH and gas smell and water holding tank

Answer
Hi Penny,
That sounds very much like a blown head gasket on one or the other bank of cylinders. The coolant that leak across to the combustion chamber is vaporized and comes out the tail pipe. Check the smell of the smoke when you let it condense on your hand to see if it smells like antifreeze. And the exhaust fumes from the combustion chamber also get into the cooling system. You probably also hear bubbling inside the engine pretty quickly after you start it which is that exhaust gas getting into the cooling system. A shop can tell which bank of cylinder is leaking by removing the spark plugs and looking for "wet" plugs. Let me know if you have any other questions.
You will need to repair this, but there is a chance that putting some Bar's Leak Sealer in the cooling system may plug the leak for a while if it is small. It also could be loose head bolts which could be tightened down if the gasket isn't actually torn.
Roland