gregloren1

HI!
i bought my 2000 ls400 (190k) 6 months ago and fell in love with it !!
Weeks after purchase i started seeing small amounts of smoke coming out of exhaust on sat up, but it was cold outside (chicago winter) so i didnt care about it much..
after first oil change mobil 1 syntetic + lexus oil filter (recommendations from this forum) smoke started to come out heavier !!
now when i start up its huge cloud of white/blue smoke.
i think its oil burn because of color, and lose of oil

i seen a lot of post about power steering fluid but thats not my case because fluid stays the same.

since its oil burning it could be piston rings$$ or velve stem seals my friend told me.

-car is smoking heavy on startup with decreasing smoke, after 5 min smoke is gone (if i start driving, after 2 min gone)
- the longer car sits the bigger cloud, if i start car worm (30min-1h brake) no to little smoke noticed
- if i accelerate very hard all the way, huge smoke left after me(happened to me once driving)

PLEASE HELP ME !! I LOVE HOW THIS CAR LOOKS AND FEELS AND WANT TO KEEP THIS BEAUTY ON THE STREETS ALIVE !
I WANTED TO GIVE THIS CAR ALL I CAN SO IT FEELS AND RUNS STRONG FOR YEARS ! BUT IF ITS GOING TO COST ME TOO MUCH MONEY ILL JUST SELL IT AND LOOK FOR ANOTHER LS400 BEAUTY.

THANKS,GREG

YODAONE

Is oil level decreasing?
Is coolant level decreasing?
Is the cloud unburnt fuel?
Are you able to discern odor? Sweet, gasoline, or oily haze?
Have you examined spark plugs?
O2 sensors?
Coolant Temperature Sensor?
Were PCV valve , hoses, grommet ever replaced?
What is condition of valve cover gaskets...spark plug tube seals?
Are engine vacuum hoses in good condition?
Check inside steering (idle up) vacuum hoses for power steering fluid.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Any error codes?

YODAONE's list is a good one to check through.

dicer

What is the viscosity used? It could have been run with the airfilter not properly seated and ingested some dirt, or a massive overheating event, even a dishonest mechanic admitting dirt into it, rings could be toast, start up smoke is some times valve stem seals leaking too. But I guess your friend already told you all that. Even a build up of sludge blocking drain back holes can cause it. The car must have been poorly maintained.
If the body is in tip top shape, like factory paint and no dents or wrecks, the underside is not messed up from making it a low rider etc. then it maybe worth the cost to fix it depending on what you paid for it. Just have to weigh the good and the bad, the next one may be better or worse.

python

iTrader: (4)

power steering fluid being sucked in the intake? i dont know if this year is like the earlier models..

gregloren1

most of answers for your questions are in my first post, so why ask again >?
-pcv valve and hoses were replaced.
-coolant level stable
-have not examined spark plugs but i dont think it has anything to do with it
-no codes
-IT IS NOT POWER STEERING FLUID PROBLEM

gregloren1

-during my first changing of air filter i was surprised how much dirt was in it.. car could be poorly maintained. i replaced with brand new and it sits good now.
-im almost 100% sure its valve stem seals, but if im wrong ill spend a lot of time and money into this car for nothing
- will compression test will tell me alot about condition of engine ??
- before i start replacing velve stem seals i want to make some tests to make sure that engine is in good condition, piston rings etc. what do you think ?? is there any different test (than compression) for checking engine condition ??
- thanks for advise and good info !!

gregloren1

whats YODAONE's list ?

YODAONE

Check earlier in this thread for list.

Tiagz

you can have a cylinder leak down test performed after you run the compression test.

this will help you find where the lost compression is going. It could be a fried intake or exhaust valve or fried rings in one or more cylinder.


is your power steering fluid low? not sure if the idle up valve can leak into the intake on a 2000 model but that can cause tons of smoke for first gens.

i would run the compression test first. get an idea of all 8 cylinders. there is no point doing valve stems if your motor does not have strong compression. then work towards the leakdown test. this can point you in the direction that you may need 1 or both cylinder heads rebuilt with new valves, springs, seals. but if you need to have pistons changed and the block overhauled it can get quite expensive.

a donor engine is always an option if you can find one pulled from a good running car that was rear ended or something.

Lexw

On my car, the symptoms have been the same as the thread poster experienced. Blue smoke emanating from the exhaust on cold start, when the engine had been driven hot before turning it off (nothing when turned of with cold or slightly warm engine), no other driving problems, though.

On opening the engine, it turned out that thick old oil was everywhere. Seems the former owner had run down the engine and when I rode the car, in the first years, mainly short distances only, the problem slowly manifested more until the smoke appeared on every cold start. I went for a donor engine rather than deep cleaning the old (170000 miles) engine.

sdls

If you can swing the repair a low mileage engine is always a good choice!