silversprucesc3

My 94' es300 smokes lightly from the back of the motor almost at the header area at startup. The smoke kind of resonates up the firewall and can be seen through the gap in the hood and windshield. If you turn on the heater with outside vents, a smell is apparrant inside the cabin.
After the car is driven for a while it stops, however I believe it can only mean a couple of things. I have not noticed any functional changes in engine response or anything. Does this mean one of the below?
1) Engine coolant burning = cracked head?
2) Possibly oil burning maybe valve cover gasket of head gasket?
3) Exhaust leak which I doubt
I would apreciate any help as to possible source of problem, corrective actions and how much $$$$$ to get things fixed.
Thanks
blktiger12

silversprucesc3

just returned from an oil change and coolant flush. The shop says that my oil leak is from the pan and is getting on my exhast pipe. They claim that it burns off at start up and thats why the only smoke I have is coming up from the firewall area and not the exhaust pipes and only is visible at start up....
Does this sound possible? They say there is nothing wrong with my block and I have no coolant loss only oil loss.
this would be a blessing if correct but I always tend to lean on the side of worst case scenarios and anything better is gravy.
I am planning to schedule the work next week.

whitcobra

To think about the oil leaks on the es300-s and smoking I can only think of these area-s

1.Valve gasket seals

2.Piston rings worn causing smoke

I had my 96- es300 looked at and saw that it was leaking oil from the rear gasket cover its a common problem as the oil seal wears out causing oil loss. The valve seals which is a big job is probably the most likely problem. In my opinion the es300 has a good engine, but the oil must be changed on time and maintined, I wish i had a stright 6 engine instead of a v-6 engine.

JPI Racing

Do you have any leaks? Smoke coming out of your tailpipe when first started up could be two things: sludge and valve seals. I would pop the valve cover off and check it out.
JPI

whitcobra

to me it sounds like your valve gasket cover seals are in need of replacing. it is a pain in the neck because some much has to be removed in order to get to the rear cover. I had mine done just last week and it wasnt done right. as the mechanic placed the cover over it brushed against the camshaft gear and ripped the seal. We only found that out after a few days, so it had to be done agian a new seal was agian placed in this time carefully and I am still having a small leak and can smell oil burning. Obviously the mechanic has done something wrong 2 times and I cant figure out what. It is really getting frustrating.People always mention the timing belt seals but it is not as common as the valve seals.

whitcobra

Yep Jpi you're right I saw a bunch of sludge which really dissapointed me had the rear valve seal replaced and still getting leak driving me crazy, smoke stopped but i have a feeling it will come back.
with 125 k miles and all that sludge is their any major trouble I may face in the future other than this car is good. Sell or keep!?

silversprucesc3

The odd thing from my original post is
There is absolutely no smoke from the tail pipe.. All smoke is coming up the firewall area which was claimed to be from the oil pan...

Also, after driving for 10 minutes the smoking stops assumably when the leaking amount burns off..

Does that sound like valve seals or sludge build up???

JPI Racing

To do clean the sludge out the right way. You will have to pull the heads off, clean them off, replace valve seals and all the gaskets, pull the oil pan, replace the oil strainer, oil pump. This job will run around $2-2.5K . If you try to take any shortcut it will come back and bite you.
JPI