What would cause excessive blue tint smoke to come out of exhaust

1995 HONDA CIVIC
220,000 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • MANUAL
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APAC408
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I recently but a new head gasket, new valve, seals, new camshaft seal, new valve cover gasket and spark plug seals, and my car is still burning a large amount of oil. Would it be my oil control rings that are bad
Aug 27, 2012 at 3:00 AM
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DRCRANKNWRENCH
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It is probably the piston rings letting oil get by and into the combustion chamer. You took care of the head gasket and valve stem seals, so that is about all that is left.
You could do a compression test and ee if it is below spec then you would know if you might need to re-ring it which is not hard to do in a Honda. You would have to re-do the head gasket and then pull the crank with pistons out the bottom by removing oil pan. Then you would hone cylinders, measure and get proper rings for a good seal. Remember to keep parts in the same order when dis-assembling it as they must go back into the same place when assembling it.
Aug 27, 2012 at 3:05 AM
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APAC408
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seeing as I am short on money would it be wise to just change out the oil control ring or since i am down there just rering the whole thing
Aug 27, 2012 at 3:22 AM
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KHLOW2008
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You have a bad leak and you are not addressing it correctly. I have told you to rectify the leak and run the engine to get residual oil out of the exhaust system but seems you do not believe what I have told you.

Have a good day and good luck.
Aug 27, 2012 at 7:07 AM
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APAC408
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look guy no offense but I did fix the leak and I did run my engine for about a couple hours and it was still blowing lots of clouds of smoke. I have nothing against your advice its just I need a new look on things since I have done everything you said to do now. One more piece of information I did take off the head again and when i pulled it off there was nothing but oil in cylinder 2,3,and 4. Cylinder number 1 was fine
Aug 27, 2012 at 2:41 PM
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KHLOW2008
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I would recheck the valve seals. Make sure you have the correct size.
Aug 27, 2012 at 6:03 PM
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APAC408
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The valve seals are felpro they are one size fits all
Aug 27, 2012 at 10:40 PM
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KHLOW2008
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With so much oil in cylinders, I don't think they are fitting that well. For this engine I would only use OEM valve seals.
Aug 27, 2012 at 11:09 PM
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APAC408
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just throwing this out there but do you think it could be that some of the valves are getting stuck from carbon build up therefore letting oil seep into the combustion chamber. When I took off the head the last time my valves were pretty black and had lots of build up on it
Aug 28, 2012 at 3:16 AM
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KHLOW2008
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No. Carbon buildup would only affect engine compression which would result in rough idling, difficult starting and performance issues.

The valve seals are to prevent the oil from getting into the cylinders and exhaust system. If the valve guides are worn, which are rare for this engine, they would result in leakages through the seals as the valves would be tilting when in operations.
Aug 28, 2012 at 5:29 AM
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APAC408
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ok so in doing a little research i found that my pcv valve and breather box can also be causing oil do burn off. when i took off my pcv valve there was oil in it and all in the tubes when i disconnected the breather box off there was nothing but oil in it my question is if i clean it out would this have been the problem also too i replaced the valve seals with oem ones and it was still burning oil. also did a compression check and all cylinders blew 180
Aug 28, 2012 at 6:28 PM
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KHLOW2008
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You need a little trime for all these oil in the system to clear off. Whatever oil you can clear from the breather would reduce the time but this is not the main cause of the oil burning.

I would not do anything else for now except let the engine run for at least an hour or so to see if the smoke reduces. Remember to check the oil level. With what you have, a 3 day running period would be just nice before you come to any conclusion.
Aug 28, 2012 at 6:33 PM
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APAC408
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okay
Aug 28, 2012 at 6:55 PM
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APAC408
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okay so i came to the conclusion that while letting it run a guy came up to me and told me that it is the valve seals put that they were probably not seated right or may have pushed up while installing so have to take apart and reseat them in
Aug 29, 2012 at 2:23 AM
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KHLOW2008
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When installing the valve seals, you MUST not force them in. They gets seated easily while tapping on a 11 mm socket or equivalent. If you use too much force, the seals would get damaged.
Aug 29, 2012 at 10:31 AM
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APAC408
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okay when i first installed them i just pushed them in with my fingers as tight as i can
Aug 29, 2012 at 3:21 PM
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KHLOW2008
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Actually that should be sufficient but pushing on the seal lips can damage them. Did you check if all of them were seated correctly?
Aug 30, 2012 at 7:52 AM
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APAC408
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how do i check to make sure they are seated correctly
Aug 30, 2012 at 3:05 PM
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KHLOW2008
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Note the seated position. They should be uniform for each valve and ensure you are not able to pull them out after installation. If you lightly tap them in, you can feel if they are seated fully when the tapping feel is different.

If you can measure the height of each valve, that would be more accurate.
Aug 30, 2012 at 6:02 PM
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APAC408
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okay i am definitely stumped, after pulling apart the cylinder head again the valve seals weren't seated correctly reseated made sure they were all nice and tight and reinstalled everything. Ran it for two hours and still smoked. the funny thing about it this time is after i turned it off for a while and started it back up it wouldn't smoke that much at first start than a minute or two later it would start smoking a little bit more and than when i gave it a little throttle thats when it went back to its normal smoking routine. officially stumped
Sep 1, 2012 at 8:05 PM
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KHLOW2008
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That is normal. There are residual oil in the system and it needs time to clear up. This is what I have been trying to tell you all along if you do not have problems with valve seals.

Give the engine a few hours of running time, if driving time is short, it might take forever to cealr up the smoke. They would come only after the exhaust system heats up.
Sep 1, 2012 at 8:13 PM
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APAC408
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so why would i keeping losing oil as well i'm talking about a quart every two hours
Sep 1, 2012 at 8:34 PM
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KHLOW2008
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A quart every 2 hours? I would be surprised the plugs are not fouled up to stop the engine from running. If that is the case, something must be very wrong somewhere.

Remove the spark plugs and check if they are fouled.
Check for leakages.

Sep 1, 2012 at 9:12 PM
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APAC408
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they are fouled very fouled they are completely covered with engine oil as far as leaks go the only one i can see and its very little is right buy the oil pan right next to the flywheel side I'm pretty sure its the gasket that needs to be changed on it but I don't think its that bad of a leak and few drips here and there
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:05 PM
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KHLOW2008
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I still believe you have a problem with the valve seals. You might need to check the piston rings as well but piston rings should not be that bad, if it is so, you would have low compression readings.
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:10 PM
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APAC408
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but if only the oil control ring is bad wouldn't i still get good compression on all the cylinders
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:11 PM
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APAC408
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heres a question what differences would i see between bad valve seals and bad rings
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:13 PM
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KHLOW2008
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If the oil rings are bad, the control rings would most probably be worn as well. However with so much oil on them there is a possibility the compression won't drop too much. Check the compression and note what they are. Anything belwo 150 psi would mean they are worn.

When installing the valve seals, did you test if they are a good fit with the valves?
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:15 PM
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APAC408
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yes i did do that and they were a good fit as far as the pressure last time i did a pressure test on them they all were blowing in the high 200 range
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:22 PM
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APAC408
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I know the limit is between 135-180psi but any higher than that would mean what
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:22 PM
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APAC408
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also throwing this in when i am doing the pressure test there must be oil already in the cylinders seeing that the last time i did the valve seals i took the head off to reseat them there was at least about two spoon fulls of oil in the cylinders
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:24 PM
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KHLOW2008
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With so much oil in the cylinders, it can go higher. Guess the valve seals are the main culprit. Honestly I would not believe the piston rings can allow so much oil to get to the cylinders. You should be checking the valve guides as well.
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:25 PM
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APAC408
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how would i check the valve guides
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:34 PM
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KHLOW2008
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You need to shake the valves aftter removing the springs to see if they have any excessive sideway movements. Actually you need to measure them but we are experienced and can mostly gauge by feel if the guides are worn.
Sep 1, 2012 at 10:39 PM
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NIK1234554
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hey i have the same problem my engine had 320000 KM and was smoking blue the same way so i change the motor ansd took it from a car ho was runing fine no smoke and put it in my car and took 4 drive whit it and started to do the exact smoke the tow engine had a compretion of 185 all piston i took of the manifol to see if the valve seal was leaking and thay are all dry

any conclusion ?
Jun 23, 2023 at 7:29 AM
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STRAILER
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Excessive blue-tinted smoke from the exhaust is typically an indication of oil burning in the combustion chamber. While worn or damaged oil control rings can contribute to this issue, there could be other potential causes as well. Here are a few possibilities to consider:

Worn or Damaged Piston Rings: If the oil control rings or piston rings are worn or damaged, they may not effectively seal the combustion chamber, leading to oil entering the cylinder and burning with the fuel mixture.

Cylinder Wall Wear: Excessive cylinder wall wear can also cause oil consumption and blue smoke. If the cylinder walls are worn, it can affect the sealing ability of the piston rings.

Valve Stem Seals: Although you mentioned replacing the valve seals, it's possible that the new seals were not properly installed or that there are additional issues with the valve stem seals. If the seals are not sealing properly, oil can leak into the combustion chamber and result in blue smoke.

PCV System Issues: A malfunctioning Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system can cause excessive oil consumption and contribute to blue smoke. If the PCV valve is clogged or not functioning correctly, it can lead to an imbalance in crankcase pressure and oil getting sucked into the intake manifold.

Engine Overfilled with Oil: If the engine oil is overfilled, it can cause excess oil to enter the combustion chamber and result in blue smoke. Ensure that the oil level is within the recommended range.

Other Engine Issues: There could be other engine-related problems such as worn valve guides, a cracked cylinder head, or a damaged turbocharger (if applicable), that might contribute to excessive oil consumption and blue smoke.
Jun 25, 2023 at 11:49 AM
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NIK1234554
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i want to know what APAC408 finally find at the end to fix is problem my is doing the exact same thing and i already check all that you're telling me and everything is good.
Jun 25, 2023 at 2:02 PM
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STRAILER
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That was 11 years ago so I hope they get back to you.
Jun 26, 2023 at 11:48 AM