I've got white smoke for exhaust in my January 1986 300e. I've replaced the Lambda sensor, plugs, wires, idle valve, rotor, distributer cap, and the relay next to the battery(cannot remember what it's called). What do I check next?
Another question, does this car have a resistor timing resistor, I can't find it anywhere. Thanks, Tim

White smoke can be as simple as water vapor present when you start your car in cold weather. This could last for several minutes until the exhaust system has had time to warm-up to its operating temperature. In very cold temperature, it is possibly the white water vapor remain present all day. it is This is totally normal and not indicative of any problem.
Other cause: blown head gasket. Coolant liquid interring the combustion chamber. This require immediate attention as the coolant leak can be bad enough to cause liquid lock which resulting serious (I mean$$$$) damages.

You've probably wasted a lot of money replacing all the components you mentioned!

"White smoke" is condensed water vapor droplets in the exhaust (The primary exhaust constiuents are H2O and CO2.) and is common during warmup in cold weather. Once the engine is fully warmed up, particularly at relatively high sustained load such as freeway speed, there should be no visible white smoke.

If you place your hand under the exhaust outlet after a cold start it will become damp, and you might even be able to see water droplets dripping out the tailpipe. When fully warmed up you should not get condensed water on your hand or see water droplets at the tailpipe. If you do, it's an indication that there is an internal coolant leak such as a failed head gasket seal, and you will notice that the coolant level drops with mileage. Normally it should not drop between coolant changes.

IIRC the ignition advance resistor on a W124 is near the master cylinder, but I'm not sure. On my 190E 2.6 it's on the inboard side of the battery compartment - a pigtail wrapped up with electical tape and secured with a wire tie.

Duke

Hey Duke 2.6, I encounter white smoke almost every day with my 2.6, on hills, or parking on a downgrade it's really bad....I know about the hose from the intake to the head, but it seems that an pcv valve does no good, but maybe I don't have the right one yet.

Good luck clearing up your smoke. Have you performed a compression check yet? What about a radiator pressure check operating at normal temp? How many miles on this car? Head gasket could be seeping.

I'm searching for 2 fuel distributors that actually perform properly....guess I'll keep dreaming on that one!

Good luck!

__________________
'87 300E | 2.6 engine
Artic White - Navy blue interior, chrome rims, very clean and sharp!
91 300E
89 300E


The rest of my collection are just cars and trucks...no more "automobiles"...