1997 Chevy Malibu White Smoke and Hissing Sound

Hi there,

White smoke is a sign of coolant in the combustion chamber, the hiss could be a coolant leak, Have you a problem with coolant loss? It could also be a vacuum leak, I would get cooling system Co test done, this will detect any build up of Co in the cooling system, this is a sure sign of a head problem, have a mechanic also check for any broken or missing vacuum hoses as well.

Mark (mhpautos)

It sounds like a head gasket, and the hiss is a vacuum leak(mostlikely) while at idle, your not pushing enough coolant through the system, when you hit the gas, the waterpump pushes the coolant even faster, thus pushing it past the gasket. However, you say the his sounds like its coming from the under the drivers door, lets hope that you just have a hole in the vacuum hose to the transmission and its causing some of the fluid to suck into the combustion chamber, much less of a problem, but you will need someone to look. As far as the head gasket, thats gonna cost you, probably around 800.00. Depending on where you go, so get a second and third opinion.