I have a big white cloud coming out of my.

TOMCOYNE1

MEMBER
1997 CHEVROLET ASTRO
189,000 MILES

I have a big white cloud coming out of my exhaust and it smells of gas what is wrong? Also the service engine light is flashing.I am going through gas very fast.
When decelerating on the expressway it backfires some. At a stop light the engine runs rough and wants to stall.

7 Replies

JDL

MECHANIC
16,098 POSTS

Hey, check for applicable trouble codes. To check codes, yourself, at the least you need an obd2 code reader. Some of the national brand autostores used to check codes for free. How long since over-all tune-up?

Are you losing coolant or engine oil? Look and smell of crankcase oil dip stick. Does it look ok, does it smell like gas?
Use a gage and check for proper fuel pressure. Also, see if pressure will hold for a bit with everything off.

SPONSORED LINKS

Was this

answer

helpful?

Yes

Thursday, January 17th, 2013 AT 4:13 PM

TOMCOYNE1

MEMBER
4 POSTS

This is what I did. I noticed that my coolant was a little low. I went to Oreilly's and bought some coolant and I got some wire dry and sprayed some of the wires. I kept thinking it might be the MAF sensor. I tapped it to see if there was a change. Nothing happened.I unplugged the sensor and the was a slight change, but nothing noticably. I bought some injector cleaner.I stopped and put a couple gallons of gas in, but not yet the injector cleaner.I put midgrade gas in. The check engine light was on when I started but then went off. It stayed off. I got to the gas station in my town and filled up the tank.I put the injector cleaner in. I bought some 30mil rubber tape and taped some wires that I had sprayed earlier. The light has stayed off and it runs normal again.I think it was something to due to moisture, because I had some problems starting the van after rain. Thank you

Was this

answer

helpful?

Yes

Thursday, January 17th, 2013 AT 5:46 PM

JDL