Blue smoke when starting

sratta

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Hi all,
I was wondering if any of you have had this issue,
I have a 2002 Lincoln LSE, only 45K miles on it, Occasionally when I start the car I get a puff of Blue smoke that comes out of the exaust and then it quickly clears up. I have had the car about a year and it has happend about about a dozen times.
I have no oil consumption and no engine codes car runs fine just wondering if any of you have had this issue or know if it is anything to worry about.:confused:
Thanks
SRatta
 
blue smoke is burning oil. likely worn piston ring (s) and/or valve train components. In theory you could also be running the wrong weight oil.
 
I suppose a faulty pcv valve could cause this as well.
 
I purchased the Car a year ago from a Lincoln Dealer, it is a certified car and came with a 6 year 75K warrenty, It has always been dealer serviced, it was a leased company car before I got it and the dealer had all the service records. I also have been sevicing it at the dealer because they do the oil changes for $25.00 for synthetic blend 5W-20. I change it every 3K miles The Smoke only happens on startup and not to often. I have tried flooring it on the highways and get it up to high RPMs but cannot get any smoke to come out of it. This one would be tough for the dealer to diagnose since I cannot repeat it at will.

Thanks
SRatta
 
piston rings,, valvetrain, or maybe pcv. if your not consuming oil (technically your are) then you'll probably just have to live with it...and no harm done.
 
If it doesn't smoke under accelleration, you can pretty well rule out rings. If you are really concerned about that, have the motor leak checked. Any competent performance shop will be able to do that for you.

The PCV valve is a good idea to check. I doubt that is it, but it's a quick and easy item to change and see...unless you have a V6...

Almost ALWAYS....smoke on start up after sitting is valve guide seals. Whether it's from a worn guide or bad seal...what happens is oil will seep down the guide when the motor sits and puddle on the back of the valve or in the combustion chamber. Either way, it burns off when you start the car...thus the blue smoke. This can usually be determined by deposits on the back of the valves of the offending guides. Unfortunately, unless you have a bore scope, this will require head removal.

It is possible you can check the guides and/or seals while the head is on the car by the way...but it's difficult in many cases...unless the seal is totally destroyed.
 
beaups said:
I suppose a faulty pcv valve could cause this as well.

maybe, but when my pcv valve went earlier this year there was no smoke.
 
I agree, it's valve seals. Since it burns off quickly, I'd just let it go unless it keeps smoking after the car is running.



2001LS8Sport said:
If it doesn't smoke under accelleration, you can pretty well rule out rings. If you are really concerned about that, have the motor leak checked. Any competent performance shop will be able to do that for you.

The PCV valve is a good idea to check. I doubt that is it, but it's a quick and easy item to change and see...unless you have a V6...

Almost ALWAYS....smoke on start up after sitting is valve guide seals. Whether it's from a worn guide or bad seal...what happens is oil will seep down the guide when the motor sits and puddle on the back of the valve or in the combustion chamber. Either way, it burns off when you start the car...thus the blue smoke. This can usually be determined by deposits on the back of the valves of the offending guides. Unfortunately, unless you have a bore scope, this will require head removal.

It is possible you can check the guides and/or seals while the head is on the car by the way...but it's difficult in many cases...unless the seal is totally destroyed.
 
I agree with the valve seals but couldn't it also be the valve cover gaskets leaking oil into the plug wells and then that oil getting around the plugs into the combustion chamber? Just an idea I'm throwing out there.
 
Thanks to all for you ideas, I was looking into the PCV valves since it sounds cheap and simple, But no where to be found on my engine, I have the V8 nothing on either valve cover. I went to the Autozone site and it said not required. Does the V8 have a PCV valve?
Thanks
SRatta
 
sratta said:
Does the V8 have a PCV valve?

Nope, only the V6's do.

FWIW, if you let the car run only a minute or two (or less) then park it, the next time you go to start it, the car may produce a puff or two of smoke. Kinda like moving it from one spot in the driveway to another spot in the driveway. Happens on my SHO all the time. Something about the mixture condensing in the cool exhaust. I forget.
 
mholhut said:
Nope, only the V6's do.

Seriously??? The V8 HAS to have some sort of crankcase evacuation system on it. Otherwise, you would end up with a milkshake in the engine from condensation. I'm not trying to start a war with you here...but there has to be something there. I don't have the car here in front of me to check...but there has to be one.

TheRebel.....GREAT IDEA!!! I hadn't thought of that. That is entirely possible...actually, very likely!! It's very possible the plug is a bit loose and it's leaking past the threads. Loose plugs are VERY common on 4.6 2V and 4V engines...along with the V10's. They actually end up blowing the plug out of the head...and ruin the head. I haven't heard of that problem on this engine, but I would sure check it out.
 
I wouldnt worry about it. I have almost 70k on my 2002 V8 LSE, and on occassion, this occurs on mine...on rare occassions it's more than a puff...it's enough to half fill the driveway. It rarely occurs when driving, although once about a month ago, I had to floor it while accelerating from a stoplight. Prior to that, the engine hadn't been over 2krpm for about 6 days straight. But when I floored it at the light? A ton of blue smoke in my rear view mirror. Hasn't occurred since. My engine uses maybe a quart of oil (synthetic) every 4000 miles or so. If she lasts me another 80-90k miles, Im good.
 
As an aside, I had my Valve Cover gaskets replaced at the dealership early this summer. My symptoms then were a slight bit of blue smoke emanating from the windshield wiper area once the car warmed up fully.
 
2001LS8Sport said:
Seriously??? The V8 HAS to have some sort of crankcase evacuation system on it. Otherwise, you would end up with a milkshake in the engine from condensation. I'm not trying to start a war with you here...but there has to be something there. I don't have the car here in front of me to check...but there has to be one.

There are vents from the valve covers to the intake, but no valve. I often wonder how much sludge has built up in my engine after 118,000 miles. This is also why I was considering some type of catch.condensation can for the V8's.
 
I had the same issue [2001 V8]. Started out slowly, then over time more smoke and a developing gas smell; only happened at startup. Turned out to be leaky fuel injectors.
 

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