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Puff of blue smoke when starting

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Old Jun 7, 2004 | 07:33 AM
  #1  
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Default Puff of blue smoke when starting

My 1995 SC 400 emits a puff of blue smoke from one of the exhausts when I first start it up in the morning. It doesn't do this after I have run the car. It doesn't seem to be burning any excessive amount of oil. Any thoughts? Is this a cause of concern? I have 82K miles. Thanks.
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Old Jun 7, 2004 | 07:36 AM
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B -

Check out this similar post where I pasted in a good smoke writeup.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hreadid=114333
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Old Jun 7, 2004 | 08:36 AM
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Have you checked your power steering fluid level? You may have a defective valve that is allowing the fluid to be drawn into the engine.

Read the thread entitled "PS Pump" near the bottom of the Maintenance page.
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Old Jun 7, 2004 | 05:31 PM
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Default valve stem seals

You might want to check your valve stem seals. Toyota 2.2 liter 5SFE's this was pretty common. If it is them its very expensive and no loss in performace that warrants it.
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Old Jun 8, 2004 | 10:24 PM
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Have to agree on the theory about the Toyota 2.2 liter 5SFE's. White/blue smoke means oil in the cylinder. You would see this after the car has been sitting overnight. If the valve stem seals are defective, oil will very slowly sip in the cylinder(s) and when you first start the engine, the oil will get burned and you will see the puff of smoke after initial start. It is expensive to repair because normally shops would replace all stem seals and figure all the parts (8 cyls X 4 valves/cyl) plus labor. I have the same problem on my 97 Camry w/ the 2.2 (I purchased new and the problems started around 75K miles) and my dealer quoted me $900 to fix... Sure it's a lot more on the SC V8... Lastly, I would also agree that you will not see much change in performance unless it gets excessive. Good luck!
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Old Jun 8, 2004 | 10:36 PM
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I don't recall that being a recurring issue (or any that I've read of) for the 1UZFE that's in his SC400. Worth asking about though
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