White smoke while starting up

Tiny
THEZENVAN
  • MEMBER
  • 2013 NISSAN VAN
  • 5.6L
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 67,000 MILES
I bought vehicle listed above it is a NV2500 with 60,000 miles on it several months ago. After a few weeks I went to check the codes and got a P0303 which indicated a misfire on cylinder three. I was advised to use Seafoam in the gas tank to try and resolve the issue and I did that but I also decided to change the spark plugs to see if that would fix the issue, I changed them all and a few of them had ash deposits. (http://thezenvan.com/images/IMG_0061.jpg). A little while after doing that I started to get white smoke on startup, at first I thought it was just a side effect of the Seafoam but it kept doing so for a few weeks so I decided to do a block test to make sure the head gasket was not the cause and the test showed it was not. I also changed the PCV valves to make sure they are not the cause. I also did a wet/dry compression test which came out fine. (https://i.imgur.com/OhZ4RXc.jpg) There were differences between the wet and dry results but they seemed to above minimum. There is oil being burnt because and I periodically need to add some. I tried putting Marvel Mystery Oil and doing an oil change too.

At this point I have no idea what is causing the issue, the warranty expired on it so I want to see if I can fix it myself. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Monday, December 4th, 2017 AT 1:27 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
MHPAUTOS
  • MECHANIC
  • 31,938 POSTS
White smoke is usually coolant being burnt, you said you have done a head check with no results, but are you using any coolant? If you are using a bit of oil, you can step up the heat range of the spark plugs a little and this will help with smoke and deposits on the plugs, but there is no magic bullet for a problem like oil usage. Also, look at the oil weight being used and if using a full synth oil step back to a semi synthetic oil as this can help as well.
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Monday, December 4th, 2017 AT 2:27 PM

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