this is 4 all of you mechanics out there!

when i start the car in the morning, it blows steam outta the exhaust and well yeah, my automechanics teacher said it was prolly the valve seal guides and that its a bitch to replace cause of the timing and all of that...

has anyone else had this problem and would it affect smog?

my motor has like 75 k miles on it

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It does sound like your seals, at night when all the parts contract cause of the cold, the seals will let a little oil seep into the cylinder. then in the morning when you start the car you will burn the oil that is in there and will cause the white smoke. Then as your car warms up, everything will expand with the heat just enough to keep the oil from falling in. It might not affect smog but i would keep a closer eye on your oil level. Dont let it get too low.

This post has been edited by eggman40: May 2, 2006 - 8:29 PM

at idle pull a vacuum line and suck some auto trans fluid into the motor, rev up the engine and suck more in until it starts to bog a little then kill the engine while its sucking fluid. let it sit over night or longer, when you start it it'll burn oil (trans fluid burns whiter), thats normal. let that clear out at idle for a couple minutes then go take it for a hard romp, winding the engine up and down through 1st gear alot and working the engine hard. change your oil and filter, then keep an eye on the oil burning problem.

also at the next oil change at 1/2 qt of automatic trans fluid to the oil 50-100 miles before you change it.

trans fluid has alot of red dye, detergents, and seal conditioners. the detergents gently clean the engine and the seal conditioners are GREAT for leaky valve seals. think of all of the rubber seals in an auto trans that last for hundreds of thousands of miles. they last that long because trans fluid has additives that keep them pliable and in good shape. motor oil has some of that, but not to the extent that trans fluid does.

i know this must sound weird, but it works. your oil burning may not cease immediately but it'll go away (if its not really severe). i had a mild problem, couple puffs on startup, and doing the above has fixed it. i burn NO oil at any time now, even when the car sits undriven for several days.