Hey, I did a quick search and didn't find much. As the subject implies, my car has recently started to smoke at startup, like oil is getting past the valve guides, pooling in the cylinders, and then burning off when the engine starts. It never did this at all until recently.
I don't know much about these engines. Is this a common problem? Is it related to the Toyota Sludge Problem? And of course the big question, how can I fix it?
Thanks much in advance.
Oh yeah, it's a 4a-fe, the base fuel injected motor.
It's oil for sure, blue in color and uh... smells exactly like oil smoke.
To be more specific, it smokes only for a matter of seconds. By the time the seatbelt is on and I drive away, it's very nearly entirely gone. Except for the lingering cloud where the car once sat...
these cars are getting older, yours is now 15. If it only smokes a bit on start-up(ie after it sits for a bit or overnight) then your valve guide seals are dry/cracked/failing. My 89 does this also, but it only consumes .5 litre of oil in 5000k of driving so I'm not worried about it. It is however a fairly simple fix, and even if you pay someone to fix it it should only cost a couple hundred max. Unless your car is immaculate condition I would live with it to be honest.
It's not in show condition by any means, but I thougt it would be nice if it didn't smoke, since I think i'll be selling it soon. People get scared when a car smokes...
Doesn't it seem odd that it didn't smoke at all on startup just a few months ago? Does it just happen like that all of a sudden?
my 89 GTS doesn't smoke.. it's 16yrs old and has 340,000+ km on it. It depends on your driving style and how you take care of your car, I take car of my cars well enough that things like this won't happen.
.....this car has spend years in the California sun, these valve seals are just basically o-rings....they dry/crack/break, etc. On some engines you can remove the valve cover and see little bits and remnants of these seals. How long do you think these little rubber seals go before they breask down, especially with all that heat.....this is a very common problem.
When I look in the service manual, it says the intake and exhaust valve seals have different oolored tops. But in the aftermarket engine rebuild kit I got, they were all the same color (brown tops). I oiled the seats but when I was pushing in the intake valves through them, one of the seal tops tore off. They do seem rather fragile. I imagine the heat from the valve stem is worse than the effects of the sun.
When the engine is shut off, what is the oil level in the head? Is there a big puddle that comes up over the valve seals?
When the engine is shut off, what is the oil level in the head? Is there a big puddle that comes up over the valve seals?
Well I don't know, I haven't had the valve cover off. That is what I'm wondering though, if I have some clogged oil return passages? I suppose I could look sometime. Is the valve cover gasket a reuseable type, or must I replace it if I remove it?
Oh yeah, I have considered just starting it up before anyone looks at it. I would just feel bad doing that... I would have to at least tell them that it smokes a bit on startup.
My 1991 Sedan has rust holes in it so large that you can put your fist though them, and has 197,000 miles. It doesn't burn oil, it leaks it! As for my 1991 SR5 (with a bit less rust, but 30,000 more miles) doesn't burn or leak any oil at all.
*edit* 100th post! woot!
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Last edited by emiliorescigno; 09-07-2005 at 11:00 PM.
IT'S NO BIG DEAL. IT'S NO BIG SECRET. THE CAR IS 15 YEARS OLD. THE VAVLE SEALS ARE LEAKING. THERE ARE NO BLOCKED OIL PASSAGES THAT WOULD MAKE IT SMOKE ON START-UP. HOWEVER MAYBE A FORTUNE TELLER COULD FIND SOME OTHER PROBLEM IF YOU ARE STILL UNSURE...BETTER YET TAKE IT TO XYZ GARAGE AND HAVE THEM DIAGNOSE IT, THEY LOVE TO HELP PEOPLE OUT.....
Well I don't know, I haven't had the valve cover off. That is what I'm wondering though, if I have some clogged oil return passages? I suppose I could look sometime. Is the valve cover gasket a reuseable type, or must I replace it if I remove it?
No oil return passages dont really clog up, I dont see how they can either. If your valvecover hasnt been opened recently, you're gonna have to get a new valvecover seal and the 3 seals under the top nuts, chances are they're so hardened that they'd start to leak afterwards. But then again, if you have to ask these questions I'd say you'd be safer off taking it to someone who knows how to do this and has done it before.
thejmfc,
I'm not suggesting that a big puddle of oil in the head is your problem. I'm just asking, out of curiosity, if anyone knows these engines well enough to tell me what the normal amount of oil in the head is. By coincidence, I'm putting in valve seals. But the head is sitting on a workbench, not in an engine, so I can't observe the oil conditions.
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