When I turn my heater on recently, white smoke came out of the vents and hood. The smoke comes on and off but smells horrible? Whats the deal?

 

What year and engine S Type are you talking about?

 

My guess is you have a 3.0 engine. If so the IMTV seals are leaking oil onto the exhaust manifold. The will cause smoke and maybe even a oil buring smell.

 

Sounds like a bad heater core to me. Is your passenger floor getting wet? Does your windshield fog up a lot? Is it white "smoke" coming out the vents? Does it smell sickeningly sweet like anti freeze? If so it's probably a bad heater core that needs to be replaced.

 

Sorry it is a 2004 3.0 and the floorboard isnt wet. I would call the smell too sweet, its more raunchy almost like spoiled milk in the heat.

 

First off I would update your signature with the year and engine in your car... It really makes a difference with these...

So, based on your two posts, I would say the first thing to check is the IMT o-rings. The check and repair procedure can be found in the FAQ section... Ask if you need help finding it.

When I had my 05 I never did see any indications of oil seeping out of the IMT housing.... BUT.... Got a distinct burning smell once they started leaking. The basic cause of this is that the PCV and EGR systems recirculate crankcase vapor back through the intake. Oil condenses and pools in the intake around the IMT valve. The original o-ring design is poor and eventually will leak allowing oil to drip down on the manifold. That "smelly air" is then drawn into the cabin causing the smell.

This would be the first place I checked since it is extremely common on these cars. That said, If that is not it the next thing I would check for is a coolant leak somewhere.. While this problem does demonstrate some of the characteristics of a failed heater core, that is very uncommon in these cars.