"R Flowers" <rflowers@TinBowlingGreen.com> wrote in message
news:l9idnVcbHanb0HbZnZ2dnUVZ_tydnZ2d@insightbb.co m...
>I have a 91 Honda Accord (automatic, 2.2 L I believe). I have a little
>white smoke on startup, which goes away within a couple of seconds. I take
>it this is coolant.
>
> My questions are:
>
> 1) What are the possible causes? I know a bad head gasket is one, and a
> cracked block is another. Anything else? [Something nicer? :-P ]
>
> 2) What can I do to help the situation, assuming I don't want to put a lot
> of money/work into the engine?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> -- R Flowers
>
If the engine is not consuming coolant, don't worry about the head/block. A
sniff of the smoke will tell you if it is coolant or oil, which I think is
at least as likely. Coolant smells sweet while oil smoke just smells funky.
(Technical term.)

Oil smoke on startup is usually a symptom of worn valve seals. They can be
replaced for a modest amount of money, but lotsa people just live with it.
Coolant seepage seen at startup is more ominous, because it generally
progresses to bigger head gasket problems. There isn't much to be done about
that unless you want to try your luck with the sealants that can be put in
the coolant. But first determine if it really is coolant smoke.

Mike