Punkin4Evr

Hey, everyone! I've looked for info on this code specifically for this vehicle & can find none, so I figured I would start this thread to maybe help out anyone else that gets this trouble code.

My car has 260k miles
It burns... something on startup which I'm guessing is oil that then clogs up the catalytic converter but we'll see after I do some digging.
Some people have told me that it could be a bad PCV Valve, but I don't know how those work on these vehicles & if that could specifically cause smoke from the exhaust on startup

I don't think it's an exhaust leak issue because of this -- if it were, then there would definitely be smoke underneath the car or something but it all comes out of the back so it seems to just be a smoking issue that's finally caused an issue with my catalytic converter.

Any ideas? Thanks!!

dwoods801

Smoke when you start it up, especially when it’s a cold start, is usually a sign of worn valve seals, or valve guide's. I am not certain if it’s an issue on your specific model, but many of the rear wheel drive models from the 90’s have a vacuum assist on the power steering pump, and when the seals go bad in the pump, power steering fluid can start getting sucked into the intake after you the engine is shut off, and then it causes exhaust smoke when it’s fired up. Just a couple possibilities.

Punkin4Evr

Yeah just wanted to come back to this thread & let you know that it was exactly that vacuum assist.

Part number is 17630-16040 for anyone with a similar issue to me. Since I BOUGHT the car it had power steering issues & up to the point I replaced this part, I would be putting power steering into my car like it's gasoline with no obvious signs of a leak.

This is a video of what it looked like. Some people said it was just condensation
white smoke on startup:



location of the vacuum assist valve