I read alot on here about valve stem problems being very common. I have a 92 rs305tbi and it just started smoking at startup and when you rev it up quickly. The smoke is white......could it be a stuck ring or can valve stem seals smoke at start up and also at acceleration. My local shop told me that this year model had good valve stem rings? I just need some advice.....it runs great...almost as good as new with no overheating problems......is there an economical fix if it is a stuck ring.....HELP?????????????

 

Is the smoke white, or bluish?

White is water/coolant. Bluish is oil, and typically when it happens at engine start-up it's valve stem seals.

To the best of my knowledge they didn't change the valve stem seal design during the 3rd gen years.

 

It is white.....I agree with you on the valve stem seals.....there are many post on here about this being a very common problem. Would it smoke when you rev it up if it was seals? Also, is there a check I can do to see if it is a stuck ring. This car runs great and just started this. I put injector cleaner(2 bottles) and that seem to be when it really started? Thanks for any help.......could it be stopped up pcv?

 

If it's white, it's coolant, not oil. So it isn't the valve stem seals or the piston rings.

By any chance was the engine overheated?

Valve stem seal smoke is from oil getting down the valve stem. The amount is so small that it typically doesn't cause smoke when the engine is running. After the engine is shut off, oil goes from the top of the engine where it has been pumped down wherever gravity carries it. If the valve stem seals are shot (hard, cracked), oil seeps down the valve stems into the combustion chamber and "pools". When you fire it up the next time, there is enough of a concentration to produce visible smoke.