I have a '95 Civic on which I just had the head gaskets replaced. It was leaking coolant. Been running a little hot but today it spiked. Oil was low so I added enough to register properly. Runs fine for about 20 minutes then I hear a cross between a click and a flutter and smoke billows from the tail pipe. No leaks, no smoke from under the hood.

Any ideas. Could it be a pressure issue rather than coolant?

Thanks.

 

Unfortunately, if the exhaust smoke is white, then you are burning coolant, meaning that either the head was warped when the new gasket was installed or the gasket was not installed properly.

 

It's kind of a bluish white. Is that still coolant? When they replaced the gasket they supposedly ground the head flat.

 

Bluish smoke would indicate the burning of oil in the cylinder(s). This could come from worn piston rings, leaky valve seals, or a bad head gasket/head. Do wet versus dry compression tests on the cylinders. The wet test will yield higher compression than the dry one if the rings are bad.

 

The smoke will smell like antifreeze if it is coolant related.