Why soooo much steam?

[mojorider]

Why am it getting tones of steam out the back of my chimaera when I start it from cold.

Condensation is a thought but it just seem sooo much and a good bit is coming from the engine bay.

I keep an eye on water level and it seems fine, maybee down as bit but not much.

The car is weekend only and lately is only getting used every two weeks

[andyf007]

The engine bay steam will be from condensation on the engine and exhaust (lots of it this time of year). Any petrol car produces water from the fuel during the combustion process, with a high moisture content in the intake air and a low ambient temperature when the air leaves the exhaust, it makes it all the more visible. Also with short runs and cold weather the exhaust seldom gets hot enough to dry out thoroughly and it inevitably fills up with water in the low parts and silencer boxes. A good long run should help to dry out the exhaust, but you will still be producing "steam" for a while.

Andy

[chimi500]

This is weird i was just saying the same thing to my dad thought the head gasket had gone before going up the road like one of the red arrows!!

[simpo two]

But not from the engine bay surely?

[Pies]

simpo two said:

But not from the engine bay surely?

Quite possible lots of cold bare metal in there to allow condensation,lots of steam at start up

[mojorider]

It is strange, at start up a bit of steam then when it gets warm it goes mad for a few mins.

After a long run and restart nothing, still bothers me the level of steam out the tail pipes and then the blast out of the tail pipes.

[andyf007]

simpo two said:

But not from the engine bay surely?

Condensation. Open the bonnet next time you fire up and see where it comes from. Mine's been doing it for the last few weeks or so.

[mojorider]

Did that with mine, seems to be coming from the front part of the engine on the underside.

The steam was coming up and being sucked into the area of the belt.

[WildfireS3]

My S3 does the same thing! Loads of Steam most of the time from the exhaust. Though I'd blown the head gasket as I could see it all the time, then I noticed that my breath was condensig as well!!

Also as the exhaust points up into the air I figured this was normail.

Glad to hear other people's do it as well.

[Toffer]

You get it on Griffs after they are washed as the water runs down off the bonnet straight on to the radiator and rapidly turns to steam as the engine warms up...stopped my heart the first time it happened!

[beano500]

Same thing when mine first "steamed" around about the first week of owning it - I was sitting in traffic on a day of heavy rain when this cloud of, what I thought was, smoke billowed up out of the radiator area............

At the time:

Now:

[bobfrance]

Don't worry about it my 400SE used to shoot loads of steam out from under the bonnet when I set off; but it was only moisture trapped in the vee of the engine.

As for the exhaust; this time of year all cars appear to chuck out white smoke from the back. Bear in mind that your TVR has a larger displacement, so will chuck out more since you have at least a 4 Litre engine as opposed to the 1.4 Fiesta that putting away in front of you.

You want to see the amout of fog that comes out of the back of my 6 litre V12!

I feel like James Bond with the Smokescreen on.

[IPAddis]

It looks cool as well. As long as your gentle (engine is cold), you can blow nice little steam clouds over other traffic while your sat at the lights.

Ian A.