when i got off of work today and started my pro......there was smoke coming out the tail pipe...blue smoke...and it lasted about 30 seconds and went away ...wtf...i thought that i was hearing sticky lifters.....and a little engine noise lately (past month or so) ...is this just that my piston rings are shot and that i need new ones....or is it my head gasket....i don't know what to do ...it's running fine... but i don't know for how long....

Input anyone..???? what could this be????

 

i think you should check your compression. it seems unlikely that your rings would be shot but i'll defer to the more experienced members here on that one....

it's probably more likely that you have a valve issue? maybe one isn't seating correctly.....

anyway, i guess the usual barrage of compression tests should give you a good idea.

like i said earlier, i'm certainly no expert but i read a lot.

 

i did the comp. tests 2 weeks ago.....it was between 150-160 consistantly...
the book says -
min comp. 120
average. 172
(i'm not looking at the book now....i read it yesterday *haynes manual*)

so that should be good right?

 

Pull your spark plugs and take a look at what they look like. There should be a section in the Haynes manual for reading spark plugs. This will give you a better idea of where the oil is coming from. Also check your oil level, as low oil level will make the lifters tick more often.

 

if you have blue smoke when you first start up the car and then it goes away....sure its burning oil...but what the most likely problem is....is you have leaky valve seals/guides

when you shut off the car some of the oil in the head slowly leaks past the seals/guides and gets on top of the valves...and as soon as you start the car it burns it off....the smoke you see when you first start up....then you don't see any more for the movment of the valves the the presure in the manifolds keep any oil from leaking in while the engine is running. .....

 

could that also be the noise that i thought has been the lifters?
....

if so ....what should i do.....piston rings?.....

 

maybe that was the noise....

as far as what you need to do, IF its the valve seals/guides as it seems, then you're looking at a head job - not *necessarily* a need for a complete rebuild including new rings....