Blue smoke from exhaust on startup?, whats that mean? Options

[bonzaisushi]

im gettin some blue smoke when i start the car, but only when i start it.. does that mean my valve seals are bad? and what are valve seals?

[x_itchy_b_x]

yeah valve seals, its notorius with the 5sfe go on the rav4 boards. the valve seal cant keep a good seal so very small amounts of oil with drip down eventually into you cyclinder(s) and on start up be consumed.

i have it, sucks. when i have time college and all i plan to replace them and my valve springs with 2jz ones.

This post has been edited by x_itchy_b_x: Jun 24, 2004 - 5:19 PM

[shid]

I've got it too.. Itchy, whats this about replacing them and the valve springs? Could you go into more detail?

[hyp3rk1d]

I have it also

[Jeremy1210]

I have it also... damn old seals.

[S_C_M]

Same here. I remember reading something a while back that the valve stem seal problem was pretty widespread in all "F" head Toyota engines, but that may have been speculation...

[shid]

its not, my mom's minivan has it too

[x_itchy_b_x]

well i read somewhere that tehy are stonger than ours.

[shid]

well of course they are, but specifics man! they're interchangable? what are the valve stems? edumacate me!

[x_itchy_b_x]

[Jeremy1210]

Yeah itchy, fill us in when you find out info about replacing and maybe better seals out there for us.

Jeremy

[Guest_DJMC_Celica_*]

I have it also, any way of getting rid of it?

[brianforster]

one thing is for sure, theres no cheap fix for it, ive tried quite a few of the stop smoke bottles

[Hanyo]

oh the blue smoke problem.
My dads s-10 has the same problem, as the engine heats up the valve seals expand and the oil leak dissappers. The sad thing is the engine only has 99,500 miles on it.

The only way to fix this problem is to change the valve seals, but this doesnt last very long either because the valve stem seat has worn down and starts to wiggle over time; this causes the valve seals to wear down faster and the leak returns.

I had to change valve seals 3 times on differnt cars. its a bitch to do.

[Yota]

So eventually, would you be losing oil? Because mine does the same thing, and it prolly takes a month or so before I notice my oil is down. My dad says I have scarred cylinders and oil leaks through the scratches. But this seal problem that you're talking about seems feasible also.

[Hanyo]

well, if the valve seals continue to degrade then you will start to burn oil continously, and you will eventually lose oil.

[Yota]

This seems like a pretty common problem? Is there any recalls on any parts of the F series motors?

[Hanyo]

actually its a real common problem in ALL cars..

not specifically the f motor.

[Yota]

Is it just a "ware and tear" thing, or is it caused by rough driving, or both?

[Hanyo]

From what I have seen are these seals start to harden up over time. When they get to the point where they no longer can seal the moving valve stem, oil gets in.
So I assume its from wear and tear? I dont exactly know the reason.

[Yota]

Is there any way to contain the blue smoke (i.e. use heavier oil)?

[Hanyo]

I assume using the heavier oil would work, but i don't think that would be healthy for your engine.

I would not worry about it when it smoke on start up. When you start to smoke continuously then its time for a repair.

[Yota]

Is 10W40 not a good idea?

[snadman]

You know replacing the valve seals and valve guides will rid you of the wiggling problem as well as the smoke problem...well at least until they start to go bad again...just a thought.

This post has been edited by snadman: Jun 28, 2004 - 9:47 AM

[brianforster]

[Jeremy1210]

[Hanyo]

replacing the valve guides is a machine shops job. I dont think the average joe has the tools to do that.

This post has been edited by Hanyo: Jun 28, 2004 - 4:17 PM

[1bwilson]

itchy,
When you do the valve springs make sure you do the shimless bucket conversion also.

[Jeremy1210]

[1bwilson]

we can use s2000 shimless buckets in replace of our shimmed buckets. Really not something you NEED but it will come in handy if you plan on working the head to rev higher.

[shid]

a coupla days ago I raced an old Nteg.. I was winning repeatidly, so it wasn't til I turned left that I saw that he was venting blue smoke from his exhaust 100% of the time lol

[Hanyo]

[soltrain]

Sadness... I checked today, and my celi is putting out blue smoke on startup as well. only 72k miles too. Hmmm.

I don't think I've noticed it before - the last time I changed the oil, I put AutoRX in it. I wonder if it ate the seals somehow..

[kevstir]

im not sure if u guys get ot over there but castrol have a new oil out just for high milage engines, it has seal conditioners in it that are ment to swell the seals up , im not sure how good it works but its worth a try , also stp do an oil treatment thats in a black bottle that does the same job ..

if they do work they wont last for ever but its worth ago if changing them is an $800 job ..

[OOBE]

Valves look like golf tees.

[neoklis]

Yeah the high mileage castrol oil should work. Also, have you tryed any additives like STP engine treatment etc. I do, and i always notice a difference on the performance and how the engine works.

[toyotatech3]

you will have to remove the head to replace the valve seals

[Digndoug]

Vlave seals are pretty easy, ALso mine did the same, at start up, every time I do an oil change witch is 2500-3000 miles. I add a seal additive, they make a bunch of dif ones, but they work great, I only burn a lil bit of oil just cause il drive it had somtimes, Also Iv noticed a better mpg incress as well, that might because of somthign else , but you get it. they onyl cost an extra 2-3 bucks an oil change too.

[jayi12-15psi]

mmm, I must be pretty lucky, mine has about 230,000 miles on the old 5s, and I've owned it since 117,000. I haven't seen a puff of any kind of smoke yet.

[laff09]

The only way to fix this problem is to change the valve seals, but this doesnt last very long either because the valve stem seat has worn down and starts to wiggle over time; this causes the valve seals to wear down faster and the leak returns.

What can I do to repair the 'seat'? Sorry, I know its an old post, but I've just started having a problem with my ST burning oil and blowing light blue smoke...and I want to do something about it.

[56willysnut]

Just replaced mine last week, PITA can be done on the engine with the proper tooling, check out this thread to get an idea;
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=43825