plsc4

1995 sc 400 miles 95500
just had my timing belt change
water pump change
new power steering pump
oil change
tranmission change

will any of these changes cause for the bluish grayish smoke from the exhaust.

my uncle who did it for me said that bluish smoke is really bad and it mean some kind of oil is burning and the engine maybe dying. (Please say it ain't so!)

can my uncle be total wrong. (he works for the Ford dealership, so american car and japanese car are totally different)

i'm thinking about senting the car to the lexus dealership to get a full inspection and dyno.

does anybody know what it is? how to fix it? how much for a full inspection from the dealership?

thanks!

DaizenLex

i think you should be ready to replace the headgaskets, thats usually the sign

Bottled400

Headgaskets wouldn't cause bluish gray smoke, that's oil. Could be either your valve stem seals or guides, or maybe even the rings. Does is only do it at idle and then when you take off?

And I wouldn't go to the dealership to get it looked at unless your under some kind of warranty....which I doubt. You'll just end up getting raped on the price.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

I found this information and posted it on a prior thread a few months ago.... may be useful:

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Exactly what color is the smoke? Here's a good diagnostic FAQ I found with a quick google search...

From http://www.salemboysauto.com/faqs/faq-38.htm:

Black, blue, white or grey smoke from the tailpipe!

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Black smoke is raw gasoline burning. A rich condition can be the cause by a heavy or mis adjusted float, a choke stuck shut, a bad oxygen sensor, a bad map sensor, a bad fuel pressure regulator, a plugged up air filter or a bad injector. Typically, if you only get black smoke first thing in the morning, it has to do with the choke or the fuel enrichment portion of your fuel injection system. If you get black smoke all the time, get it fixed NOW. If you don’t, you run the risk of wiping out the catalytic convertor and doubling your repair bill.

Blue smoke is oil burning. The tailpipe will either smoke all the time or just once, first thing in the morning. If you get blue smoke all the time, that is a sign of impeding doom. That is the first sign of the beginning of the end. Broken rings, bad pistons, damaged cylinder walls, all high dollar items.

On the other hand, if all you get is a puff or two first thing in the morning and never again throughout the day, then your problem is probably bad value guides or value guide seals. It will cost between $350-800 to replace the seals, $750-1,500 to replace the guides and seals. I always tell my customers, wait until you begin to see other symptoms of this oil usage. Wait until you start fouling plugs, wait until the oil consumption is greater than one quart every 1,000 miles. And never assume that seals alone will totally fix this problem, if the engine has 100k miles plus.

Grey smoke can really be black or blue. You can usually tell which is it by the smell or by matching other symptoms you have to the color of the smoke is easier. Others will say blue is blue and all other is really grey to black and I would agree.

White smoke is either the transmission shift modulator is bad and allowing the engine to suck and burn transmission fluid (repair costs under $100) or it’s really, really bad. White smoke could also be coolant or antifreeze that is either leaking, or being forced into the combustion chambers and being burned. The exhaust will look wet and have a sweet smell to it. A bad head gasket (75% of the time), a broken head (15% of the time) or a broken cylinder wall (10% of the time) will be the reason your engine is burning coolant or antifreeze. The repairs start at $400 and go to $4,000.

plsc4

thanks everybody

i'm not sure if its just in the morning when i start it or all day.

i'll be sure to monitor it.

thanks for the info.

plsc4

been monitor it for a couple of days now

i think the bluish smoke happens for a couple of seconds when i first start the car and then it turns to white smoke.

any other early signs i should be looking for ?

thanks

just curious how much will a new or used engine would be? sc 400?

240_Keyy

I have the same problem on my SC3, however, we just took a 2300 mile round trip and it only burned about 3/4 of a quart, so I am not worried about it just yet. BTW the motor has 120k on it...