I think I am burning oil.

[haro1225]

When I first start my car after its been sitting for a while, or overnight, there is a puff of blue-ish smoke. And the oil level keeps going down. Is there any way to fix this?

[Ultra Boost]

A quick puff of blue smoke is usually a sign of worn valve guide seals. How many miles on the vehicle?

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

Rings coked up, maybe? My brother had a Camry with the sludge-monster V6 that went through a quart every 700 miles. Diagnosis was the rings were coked up.

If it's not a mechanical problem, try some Auto-RX. It's the closest thing to a miracle engine elixir out there. Google their site, or go to the Bob is the Oil Guy forums and search for reviews of it there.

If your problem is mechanical then it'll get a lot more expensive.

Kinda off-topic, but a 160 stat?

[Hans]

is the coolant level dropping too?

"coked rings" are not really a problem with the 3800 generally.

[haro1225]

It has 163,5xx miles, and when I did the UIM and the LIM gaskets (about 4 weeks ago), I changed the hoses and the coolant level has been fine since. The smoking just started a few days ago.

[Ultra Boost]

What weight oil are you using? Is the cat still on the car? How did the inside of the engine look when you did the LIM? Clean or mucky?

Does it puff when accelerating after idling at a stop light?

I still say it is valve guide seals.

[haro1225]

Kinda off-topic, but a 160 stat?

When I first got the car, I went to get the 180, but the store was out of stock, and I was told that the 160 may effect MPG a bit, but I haven't had any issues with it.

What weight oil are you using? Is the cat still on the car? How did the inside of the engine look when you did the LIM? Clean or mucky?

Does it puff when accelerating after idling at a stop light?

I still say it is valve guide seals.

The oil is 10W-30, Thats what it says on the cap, and its all I've ever used, usually Castrol high mileage. The cat and everything is stock. The engine looked pretty clean inside.
It usually puffs when I start it cold, like after it had been sitting for hours. A couple times it did it when I started it warm.

[2000Silverbullet]

For a motor with that mileage, it's normal and nothing to be worried about, yet.

The fix would be to remove your heads and have them rebuilt. About a $1,000 job

Live with it. It doesn't sound that bad.

You need to worry if you get clouds of blue smoke all the time.

[Ultra Boost]

A quick fix may be to replace the valve seals. It would only involve removing the rockers and valve springs and replacing the seals.

I have a 2001 Mustang GT with a 4.6L SOHC that would puff blue smoke after sitting at a stop light on a hot day. I would always smell oil buring from the exhaust. I ended up replacing the valve seals and it cured the problem. It only had 103K miles on it at the time.

[2000Silverbullet]

I agree and it's not a difficult job. It will buy you some time.