minstrel1

Can any tell what might be happening? When I crank my car, it smokes white/blueish. Have had head checked, new rings, water pump, timing belt, plugs, flushes, etc. When I drive about 200 to 400 miles, it needs a qt of oil.

JSM1284

Valve seals

minstrel1

Thanks for the advice. I am tired of hearing the mechanic say, "drive for a while to see if the oil level drops". Then, I take back, he keeps it for a week and returns it with the same results.

If the head has been taken off and rings, would not the mechanic be able to see this problem, especially a certified in particular car?

PFB

Before doing anything else, check your PCV valve to make sure that its not blocked. Its a VERY easy DIY 5 Minute Job.

Phil

BoostedE21

Is it only smoking on start up?

minstrel1

Yes, it only smokes on start up. My mechnic informed me that he did replace the valve seals last week. They were after market seals, but he replaced with oem parts.

So if it is not the valves them he will go into the oil rings. But i will have him to check PVC as well. Only 135,000 miles on it.

minstrel1

Yes, it smokes only on start up. This week my mechnic informed me that he did replace the valve with oem parts. Next, he will go into the oil rings to see if this is the cause.

After another 400 miles, it needs 1 quart of oil. The car only has 135,000 miles on it.

We wil check the PVC valve as well.

mooseboy84

How much is he charging you? You keep taking your car back, getting down to piston rings etc usually aint cheap. A cylinder balance test should show what cylinder has bad compression or may have broken rings etc. 1qt every 400 miles is pretty severe.

BoostedE21

Honestly, unless you're bothered by adding oil every 400 miles, I wouldn't really fix it. It's something that happens to older cars depending on conditions - my neighbor has an old Mustang that does the same thing. adding a quart of cheap oil is going to be much cheaper than having a mechanic pull the heads and rebuild them.

hypervish

1 quart every 400 miles, is terrible. It should be repaired. The mustang is made by Ford, you come to expect such problems when you buy that. Eventually if you don't fix the oil problem, your catalytic converter will clog up and that won't be cheap. You're best off fixing the problem.

03 ES

was the car not maintained by the previous owner or you?
the only way Ive ever seen a 1mz burn mass quantities of oil is if the car did not receive regular oil changes....the engine will sludge up very quickly and start to burn oil if it does not receive regular oil maintenance
my 03 ES has 85k on it and doesn't burn a drop of oil..
of course i do 3k oil change intervals with Mobil 1 and Toyota filters, and the previous owner did regular 5k Lexus dealer interval services.

BoostedE21

I would expect it of any 40 year old car, really.

SickES350

iTrader: (-1)

i assume smoke from the tail pipe... blown head gasket is my guess

BoostedE21

If it's only on start up, not likely. Valve seals are probably the culprit. OP, get an estimate - maybe a local shop can rebuild your heads for moderately cheap. It's not a horribly complicated thing to do if you have mechanical skill, but it can get costly if you have someone else do it.