I just got in my truck and turned it on and a cloud of white smoke blew out. I gave it a little gas in park and another followed for about 10 seconds. WTF!?!?!?!?! No shops are open today at this hour. What could have caused this? I just did my first oil change a few days ago and I switched to full synthetic. Is that ok? Would that have caused this? I know white smoke means oil in the water or vice versa. Man Im freaking out!!!!!! 08 4.6 2WD 3746 miles. Tell me something to ease my mind.

 

white smoke means water/coolant is getting into the combustion chamber. take it to the dealer. let them deal with it.

 

Is it possible that I did this by switching to full synthetic?

 

i dont think the oil will have anything to do with it. it usually means you got a cracked head or blown head gasket.has the truck overheated or anything? hows the coolant level?

 

The coolant level is at the correct level. I havent really drove it for a long enough distance for it to overheat...........maybe, but either way it has never gone past halfway on the gauge. Im just scared because I have heard that if the engine hasnt broken in and you switch to synthetic that it could cause components to not properly seal and lead to leaks. I havent had any funny idling, no erratic driving issues no CEL.

 

It's just condensation unless it has a sweet smell to it and smokes most of the time.

 

how far do you drive on average with the truck? i think jbrew is probably right.

 

Its never smoked before. I hope you are right. I had the windows up, so I couldnt smell anything. Hey Im not contesting your theory but would you mind explaining to me how condensation will cause that. Just want to understand the going ons of my truck better is all. Thanks

 

The farthest Ive driven is about 38 miles one way, so yeah I guess thats more than enough time for it to overheat. But fortunately it never has.

 

White "smoke" in cold weather is just steam. When gasoline ignites it produces quite a bit of heat and expands to several times the original size, creating high pressure on the piston. That pressure causes the piston to move down, turning the crankshaft which makes the car go. When the fuel ignites it causes a sudden and violent chemical reaction between the the oxygen in the air and gasoline (which is a long chemical molecular chain of carbon and hydrogen) resulting in carbon dioxide and water vapor. As the water vapor cools in the exhaust pipe it starts to form small droplets that are visible in the form of steam vapor. That's the white smoke. Once the exaust pipe warms up sufficiently, the exhaust leaving the pipe is still hot enough that the water vapor hasn't formed the droplets and dissipates quickly enough that you don't see the vapor.

 

NICE!!!! Very in depth. Thank you. If I dont see it again, I will think just that.

 

No problem.

 

Don't know what Ford's thinking is about switching to synthetic that soon but Ford's oil is semi-synthetic and there are a # of cars that now come from the factory with full synthetic. Can't see how that would hurt it. Maybe it's one of them newfangled Hybrids, gas and steam engine- what will they think of next?