I have a 89 GTA and bought it with 20,000 original miles. I would get startup smoke with it but thats it, never smokes under load or when Im getting on it. I have added more than a quart since i changed oil in it probably 2000 miles. I thought maybe it was my valve guide seals but I have had to replace the number 8 plug twice since i bought it and have only put 3000 miles on it. I dont think a guide seal would wreck a plug that quick. Im thinking it might be a scraper ring. Im sure its sat a lot over the years and seals have gottin dried out. I want to put new heads and intake on it for a little more power and to solve the problem of smoking but if I have to pull the bottom end out I might as well stroke the engine out while im at it. Didnt want to do major work to it so soon but not to many other options. If anyone has any ideas I would like to hear them.

THANKS

 

is it white smoke?

her 88 formula 350 was smoking on start up
has 85k on it
plugs weren't fouled though

after loosing the lst quart of oil, i put marvel mystery oil in, and it stopped ther oil useage plus smokes alot less on startup

it would be like a cloud of smoke on initial start up, then go away.

since yours has been a sitter, i would probably say it needs valve guides, but like you said you picked up on a fouled plug, i'd say to a compression test, this might help determine if the rings/cyl is bad.

 

same things happening to me bonz. On start up. If it was the valve seals then i would think that you would see smoke under loads. I think that from it sitting some oil gets passed the ring? I have no clue. lol I have the same prob tho

 

It should be the other way. If you get smoke under load its usually rings, valve guide seals will leak while sitting since the oil will drip down.

 

Exact same thing on my car before I replaced the heads.

Even with such low mileage, (bought mine with 48000 and smoked on startup) the valve guide seals dry up and crack and allow oil to drip down into the cylinders. It would do this especially if the #8 was half way through a cycle with the valves partially open.

I ended up fouling a set of bosch +4s (#8 was caked in ash) and a set of NGK iridiums with the same problem. So I solved it by putting on new heads!

Get a valve job done on it and the startup blues should be whisked away like a cloud in the wind, literally!

You'll also stop the fouling of the #8 plug.

Valve job is all you need to stop the blue smoke on startup and oil consumption. Get a compression test at the same time to make sure the rings aren't having blow by issues. Should be in the neighbourhood of 150-170psi but all cylinders should be relatively consistant in pressure regardless of what PSI the cylinders read at.

Oh and one more thing...
If you think having the blues on startup is bad...wait till you pull the heads and look at your piston heads! Say hello to thick caked on carbon!!!

 

I am planning on doing a head, intake, and cam swap just didnt want to do it so soon. Hopefully i can get my garage insulated soon so i can work on it this winter.

THANKS for the help.

 

y not just change the seals and see what happens? its not that hard.

 

Because I want more preformance out of it. I might as well do everything at once instead of sticking money and time into something I will be changing anyways.

 

Well if you can afford to do a head swap you should also make sure you have headers, a better cam and some intake work while you are at it. If you want to make a good difference at once and use the least amount of time and money on gaskets and other nickel and dime stuff that is. If you dont have the money to do all that i would sugest buying some fel pro valve seals (under 30 bux), pulling those valve covers and investing a few hours to change some seals.

 

Yep I plan on doin everything at once, cam, intake, heads, headers. Depending on how things go I plan on doin this but if worse comes to worse I will just change the seals.

 

Imagine that a sbc with hardened valve seals!! The seals harden up over time from engine temp and allow oil to run down the valves when the car sits. Start it and a big puff o blue. No smoke any other time. You can try " high mileage oil". It has additives that are suppose to soften them up again but it doesn't really work that well. Mine has the same problem and I am ordering the sdpc vortec head kit because changing 16 valve seals while the motor is in the car is a PAIN IN THE ***!! Trust me.

 

my brothers 85 tpi Z28 would smoke alot on startup, and foul maybe 1-2 plugs per summer, we did the valve seals this year, didnt foul a single plug, no more smoke and uses absolutely no oil now.