White Smoke

[No Worries]

This happened yesterday in my Jeep, but it's interesting. I was about a half mile from my house when I saw billowing white smoke in my rear view mirror. First I cursed, because I thought I blew a head gasket. White smoke coming from the exhaust is usually antifreeze that's gotten into the cylinder.

I pulled over, about 20 feet from a Fire House. That's when white smoke started coming from under the hood. I shut off the engine, opened the hood, and clouds of white smoke billowed out. I expected the fire engines to come out, but they didn't. I brushed the smoke away and saw what happened. A heater hose got a hole that sprayed exactly on the exhaust header.

I got some duct tape and wrapped it around the hole. Luckily I also had a hose clamp to tighten around the duct tape and then drove home. I bought some heater hose and antifreeze for less than $10. I didn't have to curse after all, but it's good to stay in practice.