what do these Symptoms sound more like to you?
my car burns the oil, and will not burn it right when the motor starts, but after the engine is warmed up it will then shoot it out the back... but untill then it's fine.. it will also puff a little every time i switch gears, just a puff, but then when i mat it she will spew it untill i stop. Under normal driving i think it's fine. any ideas on what more it sounds like would be great
thanks guys

 

it could probably be both. how many miles you have?

 

the car is an 82, it has about 240,000KM on it. so yea i guess at that many K's the oringal valve seals are probably shot. what tends to burn more oil? shot valve seals, or piston rings that are starting to go?

 

valve seals would definetly smoke at startup...but unless they are really toasted they wont smoke while the engine is running

 

i think the valve seals smoke at start up and when you rev the engine. i think its pistion rings when you see oil when you shift.

 

at start up it wont smoke at all untill the car is almost or at the point where you can kick the idle down, which takes about 5 minites if it's not to cold out..

 

BTW, which motor oil would you recomend to put in to reduce the oil burning. i guess an oil that is high is viscosty is good because it doesn't break and as much as get sucked in the combustion chamber.. right now i just started puting in castrol GTX 20W-50.. just because it's a thick oil.. what do you guys think..?

 

You forgot the other option - valve GUIDES. That is the likely source of smoke when you change gears (lett off the throttle). That means the seals are probably hard as diamonds, too.

As for the other oil consumption, look at the rings.

In the interim, make sure the PCV system is clean and operating. A clogged PCV will contribute to the smoking and oil consumption if crankcase pressure is alowed to build. You could do what I did, and install a CCV filter in place of the regular breather. I adapted one from a truck engine to limit smoking on a Fiero four cylinder, rather than re-ring the little POS. It's really just a temporary fix for the inevitable rebuild or replacement.

You might get by with thicker oil during the summer months, as long as you let the engine warm up before loading it down. 20W50 mineral oil should minimize the burning. I wouldn't waste money on synthetics on an engine that is using oil like that, but still maintain a regular 3,000 mile change interval.

At 240K (150,000 for those south of the border) you likely have some ring wear.