6G Celicas Forums

I have a '96 with a 1.8... When i first start my car it smokes (it's not condensation), as long as it sits there idle it continues to smoke... After you drive it for a mile or two the smoke clears up... What would cause this? Bad valve seats? Thanks for any help!

bad valve seats would cause low compression bad idle and rough running.
Let me guess, your car also burns oil? and the smoke has a bluish tint?

7AFE (the 1.8 engine in celicas) are prone to burning oil.
Your problem seems to be from valve stem seals.
your leaking oil past the valves until its warm and expands to fill the "gap."

You were close!

thanks for the help... I guess I'll just have my head completely redone...

how much is it for us to have them redone?

i was told by my toyota mechanic that it would be cheaper to just swap an entire engine out. i don't remember the exact pricing he gave me though.
i need to fix them :-/

you can tell that toyota tech that i said that he was high.... im a toyota tech replace the valve seals 3hr job if that.... new engine? that guy is a crack pot sorry

This post has been edited by pipes: Mar 5, 2009 - 11:05 PM

Hey man i just read your question and can conclude its not valve seats or guide seals.They cause the engine to burn oil only during deacceleration.The problem would be the rings.When cold the piston rings sorta shrink.That first start allows some oil to blow by until they heat and expand,about 30 seconds.That would be my guess any ways.After the car is warm and turned off and started again will it smoke?

i had bad rings and it smoked worse under acceleration

No if I shut it off and restart it there's no smoke... If I let it sit in one spot idle idle too long it'll start smoking again. :-/

I think it's valve seals. I had the exact same issue. My car only smoked at start up and that was it. I had no idle probs or accel probs, the car actually ran really well. I just had the mech take it apart this week and he confirmed it was bad valve seals. I was doing a bit of building to my head anyway that's why I actually went ahead and fixed the seals. For the head removal and replacement I think he quoted me like $1200 but I won't know for sure until monday the 9th when I pick it up. I'll let you know.

Thanks!