Help - Smoke and Weird Smell when Towing in Reverse...

[Daren and Heather]

So I'm towing for the first time with my 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee, V8 w/towing package. (It has 230k miles). The jeep has more than enough power towing my AR210, but I noticed when either launching or parking (like when you have to switch between drive and reverse to make adjustments), a weird distinctive smell (transmission maybe?) coming from the Jeep, and white smoke coming from the tailpipe. Mostly when in Reverse. I'm wondering if I have gone from D to R back and forth a bit too quickly making adjustments when trailering and launching, when you're new like me though it's hard not to do though when you're at the launch unless you get it perfect the 1st time.

I know the vehicle's old, but do I have a ticking time bomb? Are these symptoms familiar to anyone? Am I destroying my transmission? Anything I should do right now to remedy? (Take to the dealer and have the tranny fluid looked at/changed, etc)? Thanks for the help! (I don't want my jeep to blow-up at the launch and strand us). OH, and NO, buying a new Jeep is not an option, lol. I just bought a boat and my company just furloughed me, so I'm on unemployment now. (Bonus is I have lots of extra free time to spend working on the boat though).

 

[djetok]

So I'm towing for the first time with my 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee, V8 w/towing package. (It has 230k miles). The jeep has more than enough power towing my AR210, but I noticed when either launching or parking (like when you have to switch between drive and reverse to make adjustments), a weird distinctive smell (transmission maybe?) coming from the Jeep, and white smoke coming from the tailpipe. Mostly when in Reverse. I'm wondering if I have gone from D to R back and forth a bit too quickly making adjustments when trailering and launching, when you're new like me though it's hard not to do though when you're at the launch unless you get it perfect the 1st time.

I know the vehicle's old, but do I have a ticking time bomb? Are these symptoms familiar to anyone? Am I destroying my transmission? Anything I should do right now to remedy? (Take to the dealer and have the tranny fluid looked at/changed, etc)? Thanks for the help! (I don't want my jeep to blow-up at the launch and strand us). OH, and NO, buying a new Jeep is not an option, lol. I just bought a boat and my company just furloughed me, so I'm on unemployment now. (Bonus is I have lots of extra free time to spend working on the boat though).

I would not think the smoke coming from the exhaust is the trans. If it is billowing from underneath and looks like it coming from the exhaust that could be.


Is it only doing it on the ramp at the water?
How deep are you backing into the water?
White smoke is usually and indication of water.
Is the exhaust in the water at any time?
Have you checked your fluids? (oil, trans fluid)
One possibility is the head gasket leak and under strain you could have a slight head gasket leak causing the white smoke out of the exhaust.

 

[2kwik4u]

Sounds like valve seals and a hot engine to me.

Valve seals keep the oil up near the rockers and prevents the oil from sliding down the valve shaft, past the bushing and into the intake tract. When these seals wear, they will allow oil past, and it'll burn up during combustion.

When at high revs it's such a small amount of oil you don't notice. When stopped and at idle, it's more oil than can burn off during combustion, so that first revs "burns it and blows it out".

The seals get "loose" as the engine heats, and if you were towing for awhile and got the engine temp up there, then swing around and go to back down the ramp or into storage, the seals are loose and have leaked a bit, and you get the smoke.

Smell the smoke and look at it and touch it if you can. Blueish smoke is oil, it'll smell like oil and be obviously "greasy". Gray smoke that smells sweet and is "slimey" between your fingers is coolant.

230k miles on a Mopar V8 is a good run. If the engine isn't using a ton of oil, and passes a compression test, I would swap in some new seals and keep driving it. Seals are a tedious task, but nothing a home mechanic can't tackle in a weekend. Get a manual and watch some videos.

Good luck!

 

[Daren and Heather]

I would not think the smoke coming from the exhaust is the trans. If it is billowing from underneath and looks like it coming from the exhaust that could be.


Is it only doing it on the ramp at the water?
How deep are you backing into the water?
White smoke is usually and indication of water.
Is the exhaust in the water at any time?
Have you checked your fluids? (oil, trans fluid)
One possibility is the head gasket leak and under strain you could have a slight head gasket leak causing the white smoke out of the exhaust.

Only my back tires were slightly in the water at the ramp.
But it's not just at the ramp, it also did it when I was going back and forth trying to park the boat next to my house.
Oil and coolant levels are good. Didn't check the trans fluid yet, I'm going to check that out.

 

[Daren and Heather]

Sounds like valve seals and a hot engine to me.

Valve seals keep the oil up near the rockers and prevents the oil from sliding down the valve shaft, past the bushing and into the intake tract. When these seals wear, they will allow oil past, and it'll burn up during combustion.

When at high revs it's such a small amount of oil you don't notice. When stopped and at idle, it's more oil than can burn off during combustion, so that first revs "burns it and blows it out".

The seals get "loose" as the engine heats, and if you were towing for awhile and got the engine temp up there, then swing around and go to back down the ramp or into storage, the seals are loose and have leaked a bit, and you get the smoke.

Smell the smoke and look at it and touch it if you can. Blueish smoke is oil, it'll smell like oil and be obviously "greasy". Gray smoke that smells sweet and is "slimey" between your fingers is coolant.

230k miles on a Mopar V8 is a good run. If the engine isn't using a ton of oil, and passes a compression test, I would swap in some new seals and keep driving it. Seals are a tedious task, but nothing a home mechanic can't tackle in a weekend. Get a manual and watch some videos.

Good luck!

Thanks for the tips everyone! So I should mention that the engine DOES burn a TON of oil regularly. I probably top off about 1 quart / month. So much so that it feels silly to still change the oil every 4k. But it otherwise runs pretty good. I haven't had a compression test done on it ever. Do those additional details help with your recommendation? Should getting a compression test be my next step, before looking at changing the valve seals?

 

[2kwik4u]

Thanks for the tips everyone! So I should mention that the engine DOES burn a TON of oil regularly. I probably top off about 1 quart / month. So much so that it feels silly to still change the oil every 4k. But it otherwise runs pretty good. I haven't had a compression test done on it ever. Do those additional details help with your recommendation? Should getting a compression test be my next step, before looking at changing the valve seals?

If it's burning that much oil during regular driving. Most likely the rings are a bigger culprit here than the valve seals. Especially once you add the stress of towing in there.

I would do a compression test and see where you land. You can rent the tools from Autozone, and you should be able to find published numbers for your engine online somewhere. Sounds to me like your engine is getting towards the end of life, and is ready for a freshen up. If the rest of the truck is in good condition, something like a Jasper reman engine might get you a few more years of life from it. Likewise, finding a low mileage crash and throwing a junkyard engine in it might also make sense. Really depends on how comfortable you are doing your own work, and how much like like the vehicle.

If I had more time/energy I would have swapped a new engine into my Trailblazer SS when I discovered the engine was dieing/almost dead. I had a newborn boy due in 2 months, and was starting a new high-profile job, so it was worth the cash at the time to upgrade to a more dependable/newer vehicle. Faced with the same decision now (where I'm not driving nearly as much, and have a few hours free time each night), I would buy a new motor and swap it in, or possibly rebuild the one that was in there.

Really depends on how comfortable you are with the work too.

 

[biffdotorg]

Out of curiosity, are you using a 4-5 wire adapter for your trailer lights? Or adapting a 7-pin to a 5-pin? Is there a slight chance of your trailer brakes not locking out and you are pushing a trailer with locked tires? And the smell is either the tires dragging, or brakes slipping on the trailer?

Just a thought, as the smells should not be the same, but the point you made about reverse only made me wonder. And there is always the chance that a jeep of that size may not have a seven pin connector, and some 4-5 pin adapters are garbage.

otherwise, the others have made great suggestions. Good luck!

 

[Daren and Heather]

Good question, but nope no adapter, it has a 5 pin port. And the smell definitely isn't from tires. I'm quite familiar with the smell of burning rubber from the many burnouts I used to do in my car when I was 19. That does remind me though I've never had someone look to see if the reverse light comes on the back of the trailer when I put it in reverse. I need to do that.

 

[biffdotorg]

Not sure there is a reverse light, I can't say that I have seen anything like that on a trailer. But the reverse light circuit on your tow vehicle is the fifth wire, and that is the current the trailer uses to disengage the brakes.

Your jeep has a factory five pin on it? That's very cool. I have never seen a factory five pin on any brand before. I have always used 7-5 pin adapters.

Good luck.

 

[Daren and Heather]

LOL, I just went out and looked... no you're right - it's a 7pin port on my jeep, and matches up to the 7 pin plug on the trailer perfect.

And.... I also looked and you're right about the reverse light, I guess our Shorelandr trailers don't have one. I just assumed that would be a safety thing that all trailers would have. Guess not. Weird.

 

[biffdotorg]

Very cool, it's always good to have a better understanding of your equipment. My last trailer I had rewired to a 7 pin when doing a full harness swap. The 7 pin is just so much more durable than the others.

I think other than telling folks that you are moving in reverse, the reverse lights are to literally lighten the way for navigating your vehicle in reverse, so light it up. That's why we don't see reverse lights on many trailers, as you can't see that far back in mirrors.

Now in the days of these new trucks allowing for a backing camera on trailers, we may see more and more reverse lights. As you literally can see out the back of the trailer! It's great tech for anyone that has tried to park a 30ft enclosed sled trailer! The only white light we may see on boat trailers is the plate illumination light.

 

[Weeb]

A blown head gasket can cause white smoke too.