White smoke exhaust start up

[cranswick]

On 8/6/2023 at 7:25 PM, Towtruck_73 said:

 

Thanks tow truck , so does the valve stem seals explain both the high oil use and smoke on start up, how expensive do you think it would be to fix, l read there are additives like Rislone vlave seal you can use ,are they any use? Apart from the high ooil use and smoke it drives perfectly, if l dont get it repaired how much longer do you think the engine will last

[CONROD]

What you are getting on start up sounds like vapor, cold engine, cold ambient temp, hot exhaust gases, especially when you state it goes after a minute or two, our new cars do it.

One way of seeing if its Valve Stem Seals, is to go down a long incline ( Hill ) closed trailing throttle, then you should have a trail of blue smoke emitted from the tailpipe, this is caused by High Manifold vacuum drawing in oil past the valve stem seals more so if you open it up at the bottom, or hot engine after its been idling for a while then go to take off.

A blown head gasket would be causing a miss at idle, and if its corroded water passages, your coolant level would be slowly diminishing.

All engines produce some pressure when the oil cap is removed, there's a lot going on in there, more so if it's an overhead cam, some more than others, valve stems are an easy swap over, hell we are talking about an engine with 340,000km plus.

No amount of additives will help especially seeing by now the stem seals will be hard and brittle.

If it were me I'd be running a 20w 50 weight oil

The thing will go for ever, you are worrying too much

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by CONROD

[cranswick]

Thanks my coolant level seems the same as it was a couple of months ago and the car seems normal at idle and drives normally, so does that mean its probably not a blown head gasket. So its probably the stem cells, if l want to get them replaced what sort of cost is it

[CONROD]

How longs a piece of string, some might charge you the cost of new valve stem seals + hrly rate, others might just give you a price for the job.

What you need to price is a VRS kit, It has all the gaskets you will need inc Head Gasket, as well as the Valve Stem Seals,

Beware of Chinese rubbish, such as the attached Ebay link below which I used to show you whats in the kit, personally I wouldnt use it 

Engine Gasket Set + Head Bolts for Camry RAV4 2AZ-FE 2.4L Avensis Verso Previa 313041891842 | eBay

The Valve stem seals are # 10 & # 11 to give some perspective as to what they are.

Below is an Aust Seller, Permaseal is a Good Brand 

PERMASEAL VRS GASKET KIT FOR TOYOTA Avensis Camry Estima RAV4 Tarago 2AZ-FE | eBay

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by CONROD

[cranswick]

15 hours ago, CONROD said:

How longs a piece of string, some might charge you the cost of new valve stem seals + hrly rate, others might just give you a price for the job.

What you need to price is a VRS kit, It has all the gaskets you will need inc Head Gasket, as well as the Valve Stem Seals,

Beware of Chinese rubbish, such as the attached Ebay link below which I used to show you whats in the kit, personally I wouldnt use it 

Engine Gasket Set + Head Bolts for Camry RAV4 2AZ-FE 2.4L Avensis Verso Previa 313041891842 | eBay

The Valve stem seals are # 10 & # 11 to give some perspective as to what they are.

Below is an Aust Seller, Permaseal is a Good Brand 

PERMASEAL VRS GASKET KIT FOR TOYOTA Avensis Camry Estima RAV4 Tarago 2AZ-FE | eBay

 

thanks , so its really going to come down to the cost of the labor, can some cars still last a long time with leaking stem seals

[CONROD]

Sure Can, they will just burn oil, 

[cranswick]

Hi l took my camry in for the service yesterday they said the smoke on startup and the high oil use is normal for a high milage car 340,000 and nothing to worry about . Last time they put in a thicker oil 15W 40 to reduce oil use but this time they put in a thinner oil 5W 30 . l was worried 5w 30 might be too thin for an old engine with high oil use or is that OK ?  should l ask them to go back to a thicker oil. ALso since they put in the 5W 30 oil yesterday l have trouble reading the dipstick, the dipstick looks like theres no oil on it, is that normal because its a thin oil

Edited September 5, 2023 by cranswick

[ozieagle]

Hi,

 

Not being able to read the dipstick can be quite normal, with a fresh lot of oil. I find that looking on the back of the stick often shows a trace of oil, that can be referenced to the markings.

Oil thickness, 5W - 30 sounds a bit light to me, particularly for a well used engine. I would go for 15W - 40 or even 20W - 50. Leave it for now, but check your level often. Maybe consider adding some  stuff to reduce oil burning, google this "reduce engine oil consumption" for inspiration.

 

Herb

[cranswick]

2 hours ago, ozieagle said:

Hi,

 

Not being able to read the dipstick can be quite normal, with a fresh lot of oil. I find that looking on the back of the stick often shows a trace of oil, that can be referenced to the markings.

Oil thickness, 5W - 30 sounds a bit light to me, particularly for a well used engine. I would go for 15W - 40 or even 20W - 50. Leave it for now, but check your level often. Maybe consider adding some  stuff to reduce oil burning, google this "reduce engine oil consumption" for inspiration.

 

Herb

thanks, so its OK to leave it until the  next oil change or service ask for a thicker oil and additives then. So the thiner 5w 30 oil wont damage the engine or cause problems but it will be used up more quickly so l need to keep an eye on the levels, is that correct

Edited September 6, 2023 by cranswick

[ozieagle]

Yes, basically that is correct, however, I meant to put the additives in now, not at the next change.

 

Herb

[cranswick]

On 9/6/2023 at 6:29 PM, ozieagle said:

Yes, basically that is correct, however, I meant to put the additives in now, not at the next change.

 

Herb

thanks, Do you recommend a particular additive l could ask them to put in, just worried the wrong additive could do damage

[Sue May Lowth]

Hey guys I have the same issue with my Camry 2009 aurion. It only happens in the morning and particularly bad when parked on a slope downwards? Could it be related to a choke issue? It seems to stop when the engine returns to a normal idol? It doesn’t happen when driving?

the smoke is white with only a tiny smell and my oil levels remain the same?

appreciate your advice 

cheers Suw