burning/leaking oil? white/gray smoke cloud billowing out of exhaust pipe

[Camry LE 94]

i have a 96 Camry LE I4... the problem with my car is when i stop in traffic or at a light and then i start going, a large amount of whitish/grayish smoke billows out of the exhaust. this happens every other time i stop, maybe every 2 stops. at the same time, my car burns or leaks oil, probably both. anybody know anything about this?

[bigbird]

sounds like a head gasket leak.

[toyotanos]

x2 for the blown HG. Sorry to hear it. Get it to a good reputable shop, the 4 cylinders kinda suck to work on with the tilted engine and all. Lots to mess up with them.

[Luckynumber5]

How many miles on the engine? Sounds like valve seals, which are 100% easier to fix than a head gasket.

[toyotanos]

Valve seals...could be, but I usually see blue smoke out the tailpipe, primarily on startup. Still a possibility. They should be replaced when a new head gasket is installed, though. You also need a special tool to do valve seals on car. I have one from snap-on ($200), but I even use it when the head is pulled, it's that nice. Good point.

[Camry LE 94]

the car has 175K on it.. i just bought it from a dealership recently and its still under warranty. ive brought it back to them 3 times so far, about an hour away, and every time they say its fixed but when i check the oil the next day it's back down below full. apparently one of the o rings was broke the second time, and the third time they said it was the valve seals, which they apparently replaced. i forgot what they said it was the first time. im bringin it back tomorrow morning though and im gonna tell em to check the head gasket. all this pisses me off

[CharmCityES]

probably bad valve seals or head gasket...if youre losing coolant id say head gasket, but most likely worn valve seals if the car has 175k, and this would also explain the burning oil
older toyotas, esp camrys with the 2.2 L 5SFE engine tend to have several leaks, from the cam, crank, oil pump seals, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, rear main seal just to name a few...theyre famous for burning and leaking oil to say the least
these are al easily repairable, but be prepared to dish out some $$
if you plan on doing cam, crank and oil pump seals, id also do waterpump and timing belt as well since they have to be removed to acess these seals