Smoke on start up

[tire_fryin89]

Ok, I have an 04 Cobra 48,000mile, your typical pullied/tune/exhaust car. Today on my way home I stopped at the store, when I got back into my car and cranked it I had a big puff of white/greyish smoke come out of the exhaust. At first I thought it would be valve seals, but after I got home I killed the car and instantly cranked it back up and I got the same puff. About the same amount everytime for about 1.5 seconds and then its gone. It does this everytime, wheather it sits for an hour or for just 1 second. It doesnt really smell like oil and doesnt really look blue. Now, right before I noticed it for the first time, I had pulled out into traffic and the traction control had kicked in and did the whole motor studder thing, So Im kinda wondering if it doesnt have anything to do with the fuel? Also something else I havent noticed is when I turn the car off, the PVC valve sucks alot of air for about 5 seconds and is very loud and then stops. I even removed the pvc valve to see if it might have been sucking anything into the engine, but it still has the same puff when cranked. What could that be?

 

[WhiTriCobra]

Sounds like oil getting sucked in by the PCV and it's normal but not the best thing for it. some get the oil seperators but for me, i put oil breathers on both valve covers.

 

[tire_fryin89]

If that was the case then would it still do it with the pcv valve pulled out of the valve cover? I pulled it before I killed the motor and it still did it when I cranked it.

 

[redfr03svtsnake]

white smoke sometimes means hg's.... thats just a thought of mine.... i would do this- with the car running, take off valve breathers or oil cap. If this results in oil/smokey air puffing out with each stroke, then i would say valves/oil rings(blowby), if not, then maybe HGs. I AM NOT an expert on this, but in my past experience, i had melted 2 spark plug ground straps, and i almost immediately after had smoke on startup, sometimes on idle, and a DEFINITE blowby situation..... i got rid of the car soon after. Hope its something simple, not any of the above described....

 

[ib_604]

Was just doing some searching, and came across this thread.

I get white smoke (maybe a bit blueish) on start up. Only after the car has sat and cooled down, or sat overnight, etc...

I have oil separators on both PCV valves, but only the drivers side one collects oil.

Any ideas? Is that smoke something I should be worried about? Thx...

*edit* - the car has about 80,000 KM on it, so maybe valve seals or valve guides? (been searching some more...)

 

[Black306]

I recently had to deal with smoking startups. My reason was due to oil being sucked through the PCV valve.

There are a few things you can do to check. Pull the PCV hose and hose on the passenger's side valve cover. If there is oil in the PCV hose, use an oil separator and a JLT PCV filter. I had an oil separator, but the filter element was damaged letting oil pass through. Check to make sure your filter is in good shape. Plus, my oil separator was collecting oil when it was working properly. The JLT filter does significantly reduce the amount of oil that collects. If you are getting oil in the passenger'a side hose, then install a check valve on the PCV hose.

Another thing you can check are your plugs. If you are sucking oil through the hoses, all your plugs will have about the same amount of oil on them. If it were a valve stem seal, usually only 1 is affected.

Even after fixing my problem, I had a couple times where I would still got a puff of smoke at startup. That was only the residual oil working its way out. So it is possible to have smoking startups after the PCV system is corrected and/or removed.

 

[ib_604]

thx for all the info Derek, I am going to order the JLT PCV filter and add it on.

So you just have the PCV pre-filter?

Is it worth also getting the metco valve cover breather?

 

[Black306]

I have an oil separator, filter, and 2 check valves. The 2nd check valve was installed when I was doing research on my problem. It's not needed and I haven't bothered to remove it.

A filter is used with a PCV system. A breather is used when you want to eliminate the PCV system. You don't need both.

 

[ib_604]

cool, just ordered the filter. thanks again!