Quote:
Originally Posted by E150GT
I check all my fluids every week. The trans fluid is fine as well as the oil and now the coolant and brake fluid. I've only had the car about 8 months and last week is the first time I had to add coolant and only because I think it evaorated from a small hole in the overflow tank. The car never overheats. As the brakes go I know there has to be a leak somewhere and I hope to find one today and fix it. I still can't explain why only sometimes when I drive the car hard it will spit out whiteish smoke from the tailpipe. I tried to make it happen again today but it wouldn't do it. Should this be a concern that I need to spend a lot of time and effort trying to get to the bottom of because besides the leaky brakes the car drives like a dream except for the occasional hard shift into reverse.
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I think you answered your own question above. The abnormal smoke by itself might not seem so serious, but now you tell us you are losing brake fluid. 2 + 2 = 4. I think you need to get to the bottom of it and sort it out.
There is a chemical called top engine cleaner made by GM and it actually resembles brake fluid. You dribble it into the intake of the engine to "steam" clean it and remove carbon deposits from inside. The behavior of the car after you put this stuff into the intake is very similar to what you describe. White smoke, especially under hard acceleration, but not all the time. Again, it sounds to me like you are leaking brake fluid somewhere into the intake system. This can eventually thin your oil, leading to bearing failure, and obviously if the level in the reservoir gets low enough you could kill yourself or someone else.
Of course things might not be so serious either. But you owe it to yourself to find out - knowledge obligates.