blue smoke on start up

[Marcluv]

I noticed today when i started up my car, there was a puff of blue smoke.
what does this mean?

about a week ago, i changed my valve cover gasket and the o rings because there was oil in cylinder 3&4. could there be any relation?

114,xxx
98 auto

[Nervous]

If I am correct, the oil in the spark plug well appears because of bad spark plug seals (so, it comes through the top of the plug well). The blue smoke is the indicator of extra oil in the cylinder. It can't come through the spark plug well, unless you forgot to put the plug there, or didn't tighten it. You can get the oil there when you removed the spark plugs, and all the oil accumulated in the well went into the cylinder. Did you start the engine since valve cover was replaced? Did you remove spark plugs? Did you replace spark plug seals?
And another reason (more likely) is bad oil seals. IMO.

[uibalnme]

that's a sign of worn valve guides. I assume you have a 4cyl. Worn valve guides are a common problem with the 5sfe. They allow a small amount of oil to leak into the cylinders over night, and at startup, the oil is burned off, and you get the infamous "puff of blue smoke." Mine does it, but I just live with it.

[mvftw]

Blue smoke on start up is usually from worn valve seals...I've used high mileage oil with good results (it will take a few oil changes)...

[Marcluv]

I started the engine when I was done and I also took the spark plugs out I tried to blowthe air out but that didn't work well. I did change the spark seal seal.

Yes I have 5sge

I've been using mobile 1 syn

what brand of oil should I start usig now

[zythr]

Does not really matter since you're burning it.

[JohnGD]

Try Walmart. They have dino and synthetic high mileage oils.

Cheap seal material on the intake side probably. I hope by now Toyota's upgraded them to better material. Otherwise I'd pick Fel-Pro ones. Actually I personally prefer Fel-Pro seals.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=260983

It's best to change the valve stem seals during a timing belt job. The front of the timing area would be cleaned out for access to remove the cams. Adds another hour to the labor.

Here is an example of what's done:
http://www.lextreme.com/valve_seals.html

Originally Posted by Marcluv

I started the engine when I was done and I also took the spark plugs out I tried to blowthe air out but that didn't work well. I did change the spark seal seal.

Yes I have 5sge

I've been using mobile 1 syn

what brand of oil should I start usig now

[joede]

If you decide to change the valve guide seals, save yourself some time and just take the head off the car and do it on a bench. I tried changing valve seals while head was mounted on engine in the car and it was a nightmare. I used the same tools shown in the previous post.
The problem is getting the valve spring keepers (two wedge shaped pieces) on and off. I found that if I tried removing the valve keepers while the head was still mounted to the engine in the car there simply was not enough clearance to use the tools particularly on the cylinders near the firewall.
After struggling for two days, I gave up and removed the head and replaced the valve seals on the bench where I had ample clearance. Even on the bench, it was a very time consuming job. Others may have found the punch like tool used to remove and install keepers easy to use. I found it very difficult to use it without scarring the lifter bore. I ended up making my own tool to remove and install keepers that did not scar the lifter bores.
If I had it to do all over, I would remove the head and take it to a valve shop and have them remove and replace the seals.