Blue Smoke

PioneerLS

New Member
Okay so here is what you need to know. 126K miles, 4k~ since last oil change, not beaten on really (almost never go higher rpm - it's auto), recently changed the valve cover gasket and cam seal.

SO! Basically just a week or two ago I noticed a puff of blueish smoke that comes out of my exhaust when I'm idling for a minute or so and then get on the gas. My last oil change I switched from conventional to synthetic/conv mix IIRC. (I take it to get oil changes, but do everything else myself ironically)

Valve stem seals? Or just a change in oil? I checked my oil and of course it's pretty low. Gonna get an oil change asap but it's not so low to where I feel unsafe driving or anything. It's just above the bottom dot.

Any input is appreciated. I've done a lot of searching but some comments lead me to believe it's worth asking about my specific situation.

Thanks guys :)
 

Muckman

Not a M0derator
The test for valve seals is they leak when the combustion chambers are in vacuum and oil gets drawn in. So this would be on deceleration. If it smokes under heavy load - acceleration then its not the seals and its the piston rings.

A 3rd, less likely cause is a plugged PCV valve.
 

PioneerLS

New Member
It doesn't smoke under heavy load just after I idle for a bit and then start going again, like at a redlight.

Also, I don't know anything about PCV valve. Pretty sure I haven't touched mine in 26k miles though haha.

Edit: Maybe we messed something up when we did the valve cover gasket and cam seal? That was like 3k miles ago.

Edit2: Just went and changed the PCV anyways since it was 3 dollars. Maybe I'll see results tomorrow if Jesus loves me.

Funny thing is I thought hearing rattling in the PCV was bad. In my stock one, it was a very light rattle. When I went to put in my new one it sounded like it had a damn rock inside of it for comparison. I thought that was bad, like it was already broken. Then I realized that the noise is good and that my stock one barely making any noise was a bad thing... learn something new everyday!
 
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94RS

No fucks given.
PioneerLS said:
It doesn't smoke under heavy load just after I idle for a bit and then start going again, like at a redlight.
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Have you checked your plugs?

I'm not necessarily saying yours are shot, but my car was just doing the same thing last week (in addition to shitty gas mileage and rough idle), swapped them out and the smoke/rough idle went away.


Mine went bad due to running 3 year old gas through :lol:
 


PioneerLS

New Member
94RS said:
Have you checked your plugs?

I'm not necessarily saying yours are shot, but my car was just doing the same thing last week (in addition to s***ty gas mileage and rough idle), swapped them out and the smoke/rough idle went away.


Mine went bad due to running 3 year old gas through :lol:
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I'll check them out. Not too experienced with spark plugs, only had to change them once on a car i had 2 years ago.

edit: apparently copper should be changed around 30k miles. Since i've had the car for 26k miles so far, it could be time for new ones. Hasn't really hit me how many miles I've put on this car lol.
 
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PioneerLS

New Member
Well, the PCV valve didn't do much.

I still get a bunch of smoke after taking off from an idle at a stop light or traffic.

126k miles, never beaten on, just spirited driving here and there on backroads.

What the hell?

My 1994 with 165k didn't even burn oil.
 

rivman05

Member
Does it do it worse than it did before your switch to synt/conv mix? The reason I ask is that some motors that are with in spec for runout or ring gap will sometimes leak wth lighter more slippery oils. Used to see it with all of our old Fords/GMs. My 72 Riviera was the only thing that would hold synthetic. Our Edsels, T-Birds, Caddy's wouldnt hold anything but 10-30/40 conv oil..I would say to go back to conv and try to see if it still smokes if your going to dump it.
 


R13

The other asshole
Check around your block for oil seeping out from the headgasket, Mine has recently started doing something similar because my headgasket isn't holding super well, I don't have any oil/coolant mixing but I'm leaking/burning a little oil and I get some smoke occasionally.

Unlikely but it just eliminates one more possibility.
 

DB7ish

New Member
R13 said:
Check around your block for oil seeping out from the headgasket, Mine has recently started doing something similar because my headgasket isn't holding super well, I don't have any oil/coolant mixing but I'm leaking/burning a little oil and I get some smoke occasionally.

Unlikely but it just eliminates one more possibility.
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Yeah, I think I have the same issue. I have a pretty bad oil leak (my tranny and just about everything behind and under my engine is covered in oil), I was losing a good amount of oil and seeing some smoke when I would get on it pretty hard. I replaced my valve cover gasket but I was still losing oil. I switched from 5w30 Mobil 1 High Mileage (Synthetic) to 10w30 Valvoline High Mileage (Synthetic Blend $16 a gal@ Walmart) before my road trip to Miami recently (~1400 miles roundtrip) and its been holding up a bit better.
 

PioneerLS

New Member
Thanks for the suggestion guys. And yeah I switched to valvoline high mileage and then a couple miles later I replaced my valve cover gasket and cam seal and then a week or few after that is when this started happening.

Before that I didn't burn oil afaik.

A lot of my engine and under it is covered in oil but I'm not sure if that was from earlier or if it's new really. I never clean the engine bay lol. I guess I could clean it and see if it starts to leak from anywhere...

But yeah, only time I get smoke is after a decently lengthy idle, usually at stop lights.
 

rivman05

Member
is your rear main seal soaked? I dont know if you can look at it on a honda, but if it as an inspection cover by the flywheel bottom, take it off and look at it. I had a rear main seal that would leak periodically due to temp variations. It would get on the flywheel, and then get shot all over the inside of the trans bellhousing then leak at the top and get blown around from there. Have you checked out your oil pan gasket for leaks?
 

Silver2

DB7 Driver
I read that once you start using the high mileage oil, you have to keep using it because it does something to the valve seals. Mine uses a quart every 1,000 miles and you can smell the exhaust and tell it is using oil but it doesn't smoke.
 
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