1995 Mitsubishi Diamante blue smoke from tailpipe

1995 MITSUBISHI DIAMANTE

158,000 MILES • 6 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC

MISS LYNN

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i have a 95 mitsubishi diamante - 158,000 miles. this car runs great, everything works well, decent gas mileage - i love this car. i bought it used 6 years ago and within 6 month of purchasing it a lifter began ticking. had it to the warranty assigned mechanic twice but the ticking was never resolved. the car runs fine and it only ticks when there is a temperature change in the weather and once the car heats up it stops. within the past 6 months i noticed intermittently blue smoke coming from the exhaust - especially if the car has idled for any length of time. i assumed it was burning oil because i also assumed some sort of seal associated with this particular valve/lifter was bad. because it was so minor i asked questions of my mechanic, but could never replicate the problem so let it go. just took the car on a 400 mile road trip. incredible smoke upon arrival! but no loss of oil in the crankcase when checked. coolant was low but not empty-and the smoke is not white anyhow so i dont think it is the headgasket. the smoke STINKS. drove home with no incident - no loss of oil, no loss of performance with the car, but the smoke is now consistent upon acceleration and intense when idling.
no one seems to be able to pinpoint where the smoke is coming from. could it actually be the headgasket damaged just enough to compound the bad valve seal? and if it is the headgasket would the car overheat of quit?

Jun 1, 2008 at 2:39 PM

YIGYYO

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4 POSTS

Hi, I am having a similar problem. I've had some feedback to my issue, and I'll share the info. Most have said it is the lifters and valve seals, which it may be. However this may be worth a try before replacing the lifters.The smoke may be from carbon build up in the engine and a possible build up on the catalytic converter.
I have not tried this yet, but I will within the week and let you know how it turns out.
(its possible the tick is from a build up as well)
Ok what I am going to try is: I am going to purchase some sea foam
after you burn up some sea foam in your engine take your engine to a garage and have the engine flushed. Hopefully from the sea foam and the flush it will get rid of a fair amount of carbon build up. for the new oil, add some 10W40 synthetic oil and a good oil filter with an anti drain valve like WIX, FRAM TOUGHGUARD, or the best there is AMSOIL filters. the anti drain guard will keep a portion of the car pre-lubed for start ups. and the thicker 10W40 is good for an engine with lots of kms, the engine and bearings are a bit loose at this stage and could use the extra weight.Synthetic is more stable and has less combustible atoms within the mix. As for the catalytic converter, you can either have it replaced, or puncture the mesh like I am going to try. Hope this helps. Oh and make sure you have a clean airfilter to go with the mix. and if your loosing some coolant, aside from a possibly fluid leak some where like the radiator or a hose, you could have a blown head gasket. there is also the possibility of a cracked head causing some of your problems as well.

Jun 20, 2008 at 12:53 AM