Occasional white exhaust smoke

[MACHTASTIC]

I've done some searching on this site and have found out that a lot of people seem to get the occasional white puff of exhaust smoke and is apparently normal on the 4Vs. Especially on start-up.

My question is, has anyone here changed the valve seals and if that has solved that issue? My mechanic seems to think that's what it is and is probably caused from a lot of downshifting, which I do.

Thanks in advance for the input.

[Kove]

I don't have white smoke from the exhaust. My motor is built though, and my heads have been re-worked.


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[st0ck Mach 1]

Originally Posted by MACHTASTIC

I've done some searching on this site and have found out that a lot of people seem to get the occasional white puff of exhaust smoke and is apparently normal on the 4Vs. Especially on start-up.

My question is, has anyone here changed the valve seals and if that has solved that issue? My mechanic seems to think that's what it is and is probably caused from a lot of downshifting, which I do.

Thanks in advance for the input.

True that the downshifting can be hard on the motor but the typical white/blue smoke you see on startup is typically due to oil accumulated in the intake manifold and is no cause for worry. Alot of members reroute their evac lines to a catchcan to solve this.

[mr-proper]

start up smoke is leaking valve seals !and NO it is NOT normal! white smoke yes(cold days) is normal. BLUE SMOKE on start up is not normal, mine does it sometimes too, and yes i got oil separator. mine just turned 29000miles so it has been sitting for while, so its normal that the seals starting to dry out with the age.. try some valvoline maxlife 5w30, it helps the seals
iam not worried about, if it gets really bad ,then its time for some cams

[st0ck Mach 1]

Originally Posted by mr-proper

start up smoke is leaking valve seals !and NO it is NOT normal! white smoke yes(cold days) is normal. BLUE SMOKE on start up is not normal, mine does it sometimes too, and yes i got oil separator. mine just turned 29000miles so it has been sitting for while, so its normal that the seals starting to dry out with the age.. try some valvoline maxlife 5w30, it helps the seals
iam not worried about, if it gets really bad ,then its time for some cams

I should have been clearer, OCCASIONAL not everytime you start. We all know white is water, blue is oil and black is fuel. You shouldnt let your car sit so long! And yes my mach when it was stock with less than 70,000 miles on occasionally smoked at start up. The first time it smoked on startup was with less than five thousand miles. So do you think the seals were bad at 5000 miles...NO. It is a common issue with these motors. Dont worry about the seals its from the intake unless you have literally beat the crap out of the car.

[gvervoren]

I do believe st0ck Mach 1 is correct. Mine has had the "occassional" white/blue smoke on startup since the day I bought it. And yes I bought it brand new. And by the way, I never beat on my car either. I doubt my seals we dried out when the car was new.

[MACHTASTIC]

Thanks for the input guys but I was hoping someone that has replaced the seals can add his 2 cents.

I was wondering if it came back after a while even with the new seals so I know if it's worth doing or not.

Anyone out there that has replaced them?

[blown03Mach1]

When I had my Mach occasionally it would puff smoke on start up so I changed the stem seals. This did not help. Took it to four different shops and all said it could be the guides as the mod motors are notorious for sloppy guides from the factory. Bottom line was they told me don't worry about it till you pull the heads.

And this is normal for these motors to puff some smoke from time to time. Google or search here and you will see.

[newedge32v]

I put half a quart of marvel mystery oil with my recent oil change and my car hasn't puffed smoke on start up for quite a while as it did before once a week. I'm at 104k miles.

[mr-proper]

Originally Posted by st0ck Mach 1

I should have been clearer, OCCASIONAL not everytime you start. We all know white is water, blue is oil and black is fuel. You shouldnt let your car sit so long! And yes my mach when it was stock with less than 70,000 miles on occasionally smoked at start up. The first time it smoked on startup was with less than five thousand miles. So do you think the seals were bad at 5000 miles...NO. It is a common issue with these motors. Dont worry about the seals its from the intake unless you have literally beat the crap out of the car.

thanks, that makes feel better too. nope car has never seen the track, only weekend toy ! i never rev higher then 2500rpm until the OIL TEMP is up,and i never shift higher then 6000rpm ! so i drive it more like a grandpa! but it has seen 140mph on the autobahn

[MACHTASTIC]

Has anybody figured out a permanent fix to this issue?

[OWmach1]

Mine does it once in a while which I don't care & it's a brand new oversize remanufactured Ford engine & I doubt something's gone bad. My oil level never decreases & I downshift before every stop to keep my foot off the brake pedal less.

[OWmach1]

Originally Posted by MACHTASTIC

Has anybody figured out a permanent fix to this issue?

oil separator or catch can?

[MACHTASTIC]

Originally Posted by OWmach1

oil separator or catch can?

I've read that guys with oil catch cans and even new valve seals have it show again. I was going to do the valve seals but if it doesn't permanently fix the issue then it isn't worth it.

I was hoping somebody by now had figured out a permanent fix.

[OWmach1]

Originally Posted by MACHTASTIC

I've read that guys with oil catch cans and even new valve seals have it show again. I was going to do the valve seals but if it doesn't permanently fix the issue then it isn't worth it.

I was hoping somebody by now had figured out a permanent fix.

Well from my past experience with the Honda scene, my integra type-r engine had some worn valve seals and it would cause the car to smoke during start up, WOT & down shift.


Ever since I installed this on my car last month I haven't notice any smoke during start up and my car gets driven twice a week. I think someone started a small thread on this & It lead me to purchase it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[jbrad88]

mine does it every once in a blue-moon.
happened yesterday for the first time in a long time. I put the car away last weekend immediately after a spirited 2-4 run.
puffed a little when I started her yesterday.

not a big concern.

now if it is doing it every time you start the car then you have a problem...

[MACHTASTIC]

Originally Posted by OWmach1

Well from my past experience with the Honda scene, my integra type-r engine had some worn valve seals and it would cause the car to smoke during start up, WOT & down shift.


Ever since I installed this on my car last month I haven't notice any smoke during start up and my car gets driven twice a week. I think someone started a small thread on this & It lead me to purchase it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Seems too good to be true...
Did you install this on your Mach or Acura and it stopped smoking?

Anybody else that has one of these breathers installed and can confirm a permanent fix?

[OWmach1]

Originally Posted by MACHTASTIC

Seems too good to be true...
Did you install this on your Mach or Acura and it stopped smoking?

Anybody else that has one of these breathers installed and can confirm a permanent fix?

On the Mach


edit: this was the thread http://www.mach1registry.org/forums/...ight=purolator

don't count on it though haha

[MACHTASTIC]

It seems like these breathers and oil catch cans are a hit and miss or just temporary fixes.

I don't know what to do....

[OWmach1]

Originally Posted by MACHTASTIC

It seems like these breathers and oil catch cans are a hit and miss or just temporary fixes.

I don't know what to do....

Just let it be... It's normal on these engines. I will check to see if there is a TSB today at school for smoke during start-up. As long as your oil level isn't decreasing dramatically and there isn't any smoke during wot/downshift your engine is fine. You can always do a compression test/leak down test to see where your engine stands. I believe the 03/04 cobra guys have the same issue.

[mstangtony]

Hey Guys,

I apologize I opened this can of worms, I know its been a few years, but thought to ask about a few things. or else I can make a new thread. I haven't seen this anywhere but:

I have this problem with the smoke, occasional of course. when im at a red light, once in a while it will puff our some white smoke. but then my buddy told me it looked blue ish, as well. sounds like oil to me. I was told I could get a thicker oil weight and it would help it smoke less. So I thought okay, Mobile1 EP 10-30.. I have not done this yet, because I wanted to do more research.

Im told that synthetic oil is thinner and could be also the reason why im getting smoke, and should try Dino oil? I thought maybe I could get some help with this.. I do agree though when I bought my Mach last year I didn't notice smoke.. 6 month ago I changed it to Mobile1 EP 5-20. Also, its a garage queen, don't drive it everyday, maybe 5 times a month. not sure what previous owner used then for oil... any ideas folks? Thanks.

again, if I apologize for adding to this thread and I can re create a new one if needed.

Tony

[j rick kirby]

Originally Posted by mstangtony

Hey Guys,

I apologize I opened this can of worms, I know its been a few years, but thought to ask about a few things. or else I can make a new thread. I haven't seen this anywhere but:

I have this problem with the smoke, occasional of course. when im at a red light, once in a while it will puff our some white smoke. but then my buddy told me it looked blue ish, as well. sounds like oil to me. I was told I could get a thicker oil weight and it would help it smoke less. So I thought okay, Mobile1 EP 10-30.. I have not done this yet, because I wanted to do more research.

Im told that synthetic oil is thinner and could be also the reason why im getting smoke, and should try Dino oil? I thought maybe I could get some help with this.. I do agree though when I bought my Mach last year I didn't notice smoke.. 6 month ago I changed it to Mobile1 EP 5-20. Also, its a garage queen, don't drive it everyday, maybe 5 times a month. not sure what previous owner used then for oil... any ideas folks? Thanks.

again, if I apologize for adding to this thread and I can re create a new one if needed.

Tony

Try a different oil. it won't hurt anything.

[mstangtony]

I suppose I can just change the oil.

Does anyone think 10-30 M1 EP is too much for this "try" ?

[Khyren]

I'm currently using 5-30 M1 EP with a Wix XP filter. Seems to be pretty good thus far. The car seems to prefer Penn Plat with the same filter though. The XP filter was designed to take the market from M1 and their filters. I got to talk to one of the engineers of them since they are made here in Gastonia. The filtration performance just starts to take a slight curve down at around 5-6K miles and capacity is usually reached around 12-14K miles depending on the car and conditions. The media is synthetic but wire mesh coated so that the media doesn't collapse after it goes into bypass. It's good for high flow/pressure pumps as well because they went with a slightly thicker case on them.

[mstangtony]

Yeah. I always used M1 EP 5-20 on all my Stangs. But my Mach is the first mustang to start doing he little white smoke and or sometimes a small blue smoke when I go from a light (at regular pace). So maybe I should go with 5-30 instead of 10-30. See if that helps any. I've used the motor craft filters with my M1. I guess I could try a better filter? See if this takes the smoke away. Or at least some..