2001 Toyota Highlander white smoke from the exhaust pipe

KEVINL1886

MEMBER
2001 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER
6 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
65,000 MILES

My repair shop told me that the piston rings need to be replaced. What is the average cost for this type of repair?

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 AT 1:54 PM

5 Replies

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,395 POSTS

Let's back up here a little bit. With only 65K on the engine, why do they say you need piston rings? White smoke is usually indicitive of coolant in a cylinder caused by a bad head gasket or cracked head. Was the engine "grossly overheated? Does it burn a lot of oil? Please advise. We're on "your" side and don't want to see you get ripped.

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Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 AT 2:52 PM

KEVINL1886

MEMBER
3 POSTS

When the white smoke coming out, there is a burnning smell. I guess it could possiblely be some oil mixed in with gas. The reapir shop informed me that they have opened the engine up from the top and checked the head and could not see any problems. They think rings are sticking. When they did some hard accelaration, they noticed more smoke. I notiece a lot of smoke when I let the car sit for 8 hours than start the engine. Once the car is running for a short while, no more visible smoke. To answer you question. No, the engine has never overheated. I keep a good maintenance record. However, the oil level seems going lower faster than normal.

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Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 AT 9:10 PM

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,395 POSTS

Well, if you've had no significant coolant loss, then I have to believe it's a ring problem. One thing I would suggest before doing any major engine work would be to run a compression test on all 6 cylinders and compare the reading with factory specs. I just find it hard to believe that with only 65K on the engine, the rings are shot unless you drive awfully hard.

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Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 AT 10:33 PM

KEVINL1886

MEMBER
3 POSTS

What would be the reasonable cost for replacing rings?

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Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 AT 11:04 PM

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,395 POSTS

Well, it would be foolish to replace the rings without replacing, at least, the rod bearing also. Pricewise, it depends on if they pull the motor or do it "in chasis" but with gaskets and head work, your looking at around $2000. Each shop varies in their labor rate and it depends on how hungry they are.