CEL, white smoke, cracked manifold ?
 

Hey everyone, been lurking for two years and couldn't remember my old username so I had to sign up again.

I have a 99 Classic with 107k and has treated me well over the last two years of ownership. I only drive it once or twice a week at most though.

Recently I got a CEL (Bank P0171 system to lean). I cleared it and it will come back a few days later. I knew something was up because if I put my face anywhere near the back bumper you could feel & smell the heat from the exhaust (more than usual).

This weekend I started her up and after a few minutes of idling it stalled out. Started it again and was hesitating pretty bad. I drove about 15 miles like this and stopped at the gas station to check all the fluids. Oil and coolant were fine. I took it thru the car wash and started to drive home then all of a sudden white smoke was pouring out of the exhaust. I pulled over and checked all fluids. Everything was fine and no over-heating. It continued to smoke out the exhaust all the way home.

Once I got it home and let it cool off I went out at night with my really bright surefire flashlight. I opened the hood and started it up and let it idle. After a few minutes the smoke appeared and now it was coming out the hood. I looked with the light and saw it was coming from the exhaust manifold near the collector pipe. I came in and did a search and saw this is a common problem.

It also looked like there were a few drops of oil near the crack. So i'm hoping it just needs a new manifold and gasket but the oil there worries me a bit even though its not much.

Did anyone that had the cracked manifold have white smoke that bad? Any idea why it would be like that or where that oil might be coming from?

I also have a cat back Magnaflow that was installed when I first bought it. My gas mileage has also been pretty bad lately. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Eric

And I know everyone likes pics, this is how she sits today. I need to get her back up and running good soon!

Attachment 361205

Anybody have anything in particular to look at beside the manifold, do they usually blow that much white smoke when they crack or is that another problem?

That's a nice clean looking XJ! They look sharp in black.

You shouldn't get white smoke or oil from a cracked exhaust manifold. Presuming the car wash didn't fill your exhaust with water and it hasn't all burned off yet, you likely have an additional problem somewhere, possibly a head or head gasket leak. I'd start with a cooling system pressure test and compression check if the smoke continues. I assume you're finding no sign of water in the oil or vice-versa?

pull the manifold and intake, since you know its cracked. check to see if any of the ports are damp with oil or coolant.

any sweet smell to the exhaust?