nope its never overheated
I've owned the car for about 3 months now.
Service history- normal oil change when scheduled
some times as soon as i start the car. Oil light flickers for a bit, then goes off on its own.
the tempt is normal on the middle.
as for fluids. i think its leaking. Engine seems to have some oil dripped under it.
Aka oil (vapor) separator. Check it out in the e46 wiki. Valve cover gasket also will leak at higher mileage and will drop onto the exhaust manifold making a stink and or smoke from engine bay.
To add to this most excellent advice, also be VERY SURE of the "smoke" color...
- "bluish" Grey = generally equates to oil burning & will smell like burnt motor oil (varies depending on oil type)
- darker grey/black = generally equates to unburnt fuel (rich condition) & will usually smell like raw gasoline (unburnt hydrocarbons)
- White = generally equates to water/antifreeze, but it isn't "smoke"... it's steam and will dissipate after 10-30 seconds (depending on ambient temp) and will not continue to float away like *smoke* & will smell "sweet"
There is a very fine line between all 3 colors and sometimes can be a combination of colors (like a blown headgasket that leaks between water jackets & oil passages), so it's smell is also helpful in determining the cause...
Picture was from your local machine... won't work. use a free photo hosting account (shutterfly, photobucket, etc.) and post the link
Your entire engine (exterior) could be dripping with oil and you may SMELL it under the hood, but that won't necessarily cause smoke or smell from the exhaust... you'll need to diagnose it a little further for us to be of assistance.
From the symptoms you described, suggest that there is a coolant leak into the cylinder with the misfires occurring. That would be consistent with the white smoke at start up, and the “shaking” from a misfire. A cylinder leak down test is not meant to detect failed head gasket or cracked head or block. For those faults, a cooling system pressure test, both cold and hot. Test for combustion gasses in the coolant, and test a sample of the lube oil for coolant contamination. Oil analysis lab can do both tests.
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