I have a 1988 Camaro with the 305 TBI engine. When I start it there is smoke coming out of the tail pipe and then when I am at idle it does the same thing. I dont notice it as much when driving down the road. Could this be bad rings or bad valve seals? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

First off, what color is the smoke?

From the way you have described it, odds are it is just the usual valve seal/guides that are causing it. It is just one of those things that happen over time.

You would notice rings going bad more while driving.

 

is it just smoke because it's cold? Is it blue smoke?

unless you want to drop money into the engine, and it is in fact buring oil, just keep an extra quart with you.

 

It is white smoke. I just pulled one of the spark plugs and it was black and coated with oil. I did realize the guy that I got the car from used the cheapest plugs so that is the reason I am not getting fire. Is it easier to climb under the car to change the spark plugs?

 

cheap spark plugs????

coated with oil on the spark plug is probably not due to a "cheap spark plug"

FWIW, I run NGK's in all of my cars and they cost me $2 each and not a lick of problems.

 

What I mean by cheap spark plugs are Champions. I have never had luck with them I am more for using NGK and Bosch. I am just curious on to if I need to pull the heads to have them rebuilt or what to do because the car sat for a long time before I got it and I am wanting to enjoy it rather than see it sit in my drive way.

 

I found it was a lot easier for changing 5 out of the 8 plugs on my 91' WS6(LO3) from below....

 

just drive it the way it is and keep checking the oil level.

If it gets real bad you might want to look into rebuilding the heads, but if you go that far you might as well do a full rebuild.

 

Thanks for all the information. I have been told if i go and pull the heads that I should do a full rebuild but I am having a time finding a shop that would do it. Seems as if no one wants to make money around my area.

 

do you have the tools and the time to do it yourself?

 

a quick/cheap fix that will help/may fix your problem . remove valve covers , clean all sludge from heads & valve covers . make sure drain holes are cleaned at lower front and rear of each cylinder head . they allow oil to drain back down to the crankcase where it belongs . with a lot of sludge build-up oil will not drain & seep past valve stems causing smoke . it WILL be messy , did i mention it WILL messy . clean everything , run some engine flush for 15-20 min. at idle , CHANGE OIL . eng. bay will be a mess , clean it up . drive again for a few days , and repeat flush . has worked for me & others in the past . good luck .

 

@ 3rdgencamaro: I have the tools to pull the heads off but to pull the engine I dont.

@Uncle Tom: I may try that but I have to figure out why its not getting fire. I think because the plugs have a bunch of buildup on them.