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Posted on Nov 14, 2008
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Blue smoke out of tailpipe both at idle & acceleration

'91 Mustang 2.3 4 cylinder stick with under 90k. car leaks oil on driveway so I've put STP additives or similiar into crankcase. doesn't overheat but after 10 days of continual oil leak & my putting in heavy additives including stop leak it has all of a sudden started smoking both at idle & while acceleration . the smoke is bluish & is excessive! Would get ticket if I drive on highway. I used a motor flush on the assumption that I had clogged up the oil passages then drained it & put in regular oil & a product called no smoke but oil pressure gage reads 140, Very Low & car continues to smoke. What i wonder is a solution/ Sincerely, gary

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Evan Jenson

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  • Posted on Nov 14, 2008
Evan Jenson
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Gary,
The initial oil leak will most likely be attributed to a worn seal or gasket. I'm sure your aware of this anyway. My concern is that the additives, although advertising a sure fix, may have made your problem worse. I personally don't believe you can buy any product that will fix faulty seals and gaskets as you drive. Typically we as drivers do not pay attention to a fluid leak in it's early stages. There might be a chance that then would be the time that these "gasket in a can" fixes would treat or slow down the leak. What will ultimately happen is the gasket goes bad anyway. Most of us don't notice the drips until they're all over the driveway. You see, if you were adding these things and not actually putting in the proper viscosity oil during this time. The oil got diluted and internal engine component wear may have been accelerated.The internal oil passages can clog and bearing surfaces can lose they're critical tolerances. In many cases causing low oil pressure. Your engine's oil pump pickup screen may be partially clogged with sludge as well after the motor flush knocked all the gunk into the pan.
As for the smoking, the oil rings on one or more pistons probably have broken. Your engine's pistons will have a couple of "rings" that seal the piston in the cylinder. There'll be a set of compression rings and an oil ring. The bottom ring is the oil ring that keeps excess oil out of the cylinder. What happens is the oil ring breaks and allows the engine oil up into the combustion chamber. There it's burned producing your cool James Bond smoke screen. Unless you plan on rebuilding the engine, chances are you'd be better of replacing it with a used one. It's usually much less expensive that way.
*personal experience*
My vehicle at the time was a 1990 Acura integra w/200000 miles on the engine. One day as I was happily driving down the road....poof....James Bond!.. Car lost power and I couldn't see for blocks behind me. Didn't need GPS to find my house that day, just had to follow the cloud. This particular vehicle actually never smoked prior to that day. Anyway, I pulled the engine, and took it apart. Sure enough, as I had feared, the oil ring on #3 piston was broken. Ultimately I replaced the engine.
Good luck with yours, and I hope this helps.

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If your pressure gauge is reading 140 you have excessive oil pressure it should be around 40 ish.(Psi)Unsure with your oil pump but they generaly have an inbuilt pressure relief valve and it sounds like yours is no longer working.No smoke oil is very thick oil and resistant to flowing.Try draing oil replace oil filter and find out if your pressure relief is where the filter screws onto the engine or if its in the pump,Replace with correct oil for your engine and do a compression test to determine if your engine is still worth spending time and money on,should be around 140 Psi give or take but too much lower and its time to look at replacing.You could have also clogged up the oil filter It will take a little time for the oil to burn off after you have tracked down your problem.

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I'VE GOT NEWS FOR YOU. AN OIL PRESSURE READING OF 140 IS EXTREMELY HIGH, LIKE OFF THE SCALE HIGH! THIS IS LIKE HAVING MOST OIL LINES PLUGGED WITH GOOP YOU HAVE BEEN DUMPING IN YOU POOR CAR TO TRY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I REALLY HOPE YOUR OIL READING IN WAY WRONG, BECAUSE YOU ARE ABOUT TO BLOW THE RINGS AND MOST GASKETS AND MISC. PARTS OUT THE SIDE, TOP, AND BOTTOM OF YOUR ENGINE, FIRST OFF, I WOULD NOT DRIVE LIKE THIS UNTIL YOU DO THIS. PLEASE! DRAIN YOUR OIL AND GUNK, ALL OF IT AND CHANGE YOUR FILTER. THEN ADD A OIL LIKE STRAIGHT 30 WEIGHT OR 20-40W AND PLEASE HAVE A CYLINDER COMPRESSION TEST DONE ON YOUR VEHICLE TO SEE HOW BAD YOUR COMPRESSION LOSS IS. REMEMBER, STOP LEAK AND SUCH ALL PLUG YOUR HEATER CORE, SO DON'T EXPECT HEAT THIS WINTER. SORRY, NASTY SIDE EFFECT THEY DON'T BOTHER TO TELL YOU! GOOD LUCK! LET ME KNOW HOW THINGS TURN OUT! JUST REPLY TO: ARCLIGHT1217

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Why is my 2000 kia sephia blowing blue smoke from the tailpipe. it has 86,000 miles. the check oil warning light is on even though the dipstick reads full.

The most common cause of blue exhaust smoke is oil leaking past engine seals and into the cylinders where it then mixes and burns with the fuel. This is most frequently seen in older or high mileage cars with worn seals and gaskets. It only requires a very small amount of oil leaking into the cylinders to cause excessive blue exhaust smoke.

Blue exhaust smoke only at start-up can indicate worn piston seals or damaged or worn valve guides which may also cause a rattling noise. An external engine oil leak can drip onto hot engine and exhaust parts causing what appears to be blue exhaust smoke. Other possible causes of blue exhaust smoke include: piston wear, worn valve seals, a dirty or non-functioning PCV valve, worn piston rings, an intake manifold gasket leak, worn engine oil seals and possibly even head gasket failure.

Oil leaking into the cylinders can cause a rough idle, misfire and fouled spark plugs. In addition, a reduction in power and oil loss can be indicators that the blue exhaust smoke is caused by an internal engine oil leak. Internal engine oil leaks can also allow fuel to mix with the oil in the crankcase which will degrade the oil and prevent it from adequately protecting the engine.

Operating a car with a severely dirty oil filter, air filter or improperly functioning PCV valve can also sometimes result in engine oil blow-by, oil loss and blue exhaust smoke. Periodically checking the engine oil level with the oil dip stick will indicate if there is excessive oil consumption. Higher viscosity engine oil can sometimes temporarily reduce the amount of blow-by; however, this is not generally recommended. Excessive blue exhaust smoke indicates a possible internal engine oil leak that should be inspected by an ASE certified mechanic.

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2001 Ford E-250 has excessive oil consumption with no visible leaks and has a p301 misfire code

Do you notice any blue smoke out the tailpipe?
The P0301 code means you have a misfire in cylinder 1. If I were to put these two symptoms together, I would guess that there is oil leaking into the cylinder, which is causing it to misfire. The oil then burns out the back.
If this is the case, it is probably because your spark plug tubes are leaking. Replacing the valve cover gasket or spark plug tube seals (some cars have a valve cover gasket that has the tube seals included) will solve the problem.

You can check for the leak by pulling the spark plug wire out of that cylinder and seeing if it is oily. If it is, there is your leak.

This is just a first guess. Let me know what you find.
Also, let me know about whether or not your tailpipe has blue-colored smoke coming out.
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Smoke oil? For what your thinking that is oil? Smoke coming from the tailpipe is not good news, but does not necessarily mean the engine needs rebuilding. First, you need to determine what color of smoke is coming from the tailpipe
* White smoke is caused by water and or antifreeze entering the cylinder, and the engine trying to burn it with the fuel. The white smoke is steam. There are special gaskets (head gaskets are the primary gaskets) that keep the antifreeze from entering the cylinder area.
* Blue smoke is caused by engine oil entering the cylinder area and being burned along with the fuel air mixture. As with the white smoke, just a small drop of oil leaking into the cylinder can produce blue smoke out the tailpipe.
* Black smoke is caused by excess fuel that has entered the cylinder area and cannot be burned completely. Another term for excess fuel is "running rich." Poor fuel mileage is also a common complaint when black smoke comes out of the tailpipe. Black smoke out the tailpipe is the least cause for alarm.


If you confirm us that is oil smoke, check and keep in mind that the car has many seals, gaskets, and O-rings that are designed to keep the engine oil from entering the cylinder, and one of them has failed. If too much oil leaks into the cylinder and fouls the spark plug, it will cause a misfire (engine miss) in that cylinder, and the spark plug will have to be replaced or cleaned of the oil. Using thicker weight engine oil or an oil additive designed to reduce oil leaks might help reduce the amount of oil leaking into the cylinder.

Keep us updated.
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CHUCKS OUT CLOUDS OF BLUE SMOKE.

Blue Smoke: Blue smoke is caused by engine oil entering the cylinder area and being burned along with the fuel air mixture. As with the white smoke, just a small drop of oil leaking into the cylinder can produce blue smoke out the tailpipe. Blue smoke is more likely in older or higher mileage vehicles than newer cars with fewer miles.

How did the engine oil get inside the cylinder in the first place? The car has many seals, gaskets, and O-rings that are designed to keep the engine oil from entering the cylinder, and one of them has failed. If too much oil leaks into the cylinder and fouls the spark plug, it will cause a misfire (engine miss) in that cylinder, and the spark plug will have to be replaced or cleaned of the oil. Using thicker weight engine oil or an oil additive designed to reduce oil leaks might help reduce the amount of oil leaking into the cylinder.
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Blue Smoke: Blue smoke is caused by engine oil entering the cylinder area and being burned along with the fuel air mixture. As with the white smoke, just a small drop of oil leaking into the cylinder can produce blue smoke out the tailpipe. Blue smoke is more likely in older or higher mileage vehicles than newer cars with fewer miles.
How did the engine oil get inside the cylinder in the first place? The car has many seals, gaskets, and O-rings that are designed to keep the engine oil from entering the cylinder, and one of them has failed. If too much oil leaks into the cylinder and fouls the spark plug, it will cause a misfire (engine miss) in that cylinder, and the spark plug will have to be replaced or cleaned of the oil. Using thicker weight engine oil or an oil additive designed to reduce oil leaks might help reduce the amount of oil leaking into the cylinder. I that doesn't work then i would get with a mechanic and have it leak tested for possible piston ring replacement.
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hi nishga
im dave; hope i can help

First you need to determine if it is actually black smoke or if it is blue smoke. There are three colors of smoke that can come from the tailpipe. It is not white smoke obviously because that is easily differentiated from blue or black and generally indicates water or antifreeze leaking past the head gasket and into the compression area of the motor. White smoke is the steam of the water/antifreeze being emitted

Blue smoke is caused by engine oil entering the cylinder area and being burned along with the fuel air mixture. As with white smoke, just a small drop of oil leaking into the cylinder can produce blue smoke out the tailpipe. Blue smoke is more likely in older or higher mileage vehicles than newer cars with fewer miles. The car has many seals, gaskets, and o-rings that are designed to keep the engine oil from entering the cylinder, and one of them has failed. If too much oil leaks into the cylinder and fouls the spark plugs, it will cause a misfire(engine miss) in that cylinder, and the spark plug will have to be replaced or cleaned of the oil. Using thicker weight engine oil or an oil additive designed to reduce oil leaks might help reduce the amount of oil leaking into the cylinder.

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