Replace valve stem seals?

Hope I can get some advice.
After taking my boat to the water, I started to see smoke after starting my 2003 Tacoma. It quickly goes away, but started lasting longer. It still goes away, but takes about a block down the road before it stops now.

I believe this started right after I backed up too far, and my tail pipe was underwater. Could this have messed up my valve seals? I read a post by someone that stated they back up until their tail pipe is underwater all the time; so, maybe that is not my problem. I still have excellent power, and I am not losing coolant. I appreciate any advice.

 

Tail pipe under water shouldn't cause any issues. Usually white smoke could mean 2 things. If it's white smoke(steam) it's most likely coolant so check to see if it's low and needs topping off. It could be a head gasket leak issue. If it's a faint blue smoke, which can appear white, it's oil burning which means you will most likely need a rebuild.

 

I'd say it is more faint blue. I'm not losing coolant, but I am burning oil. I have to add about a quart every 4-6 weeks. So, I thought my head gasket is probably fine. I thought since the smoke went away so quick, it was probably from the stems, oil leaking down into the chamber and then, when I start it, it has to burn off what is in the chamber, but then it heats up, stems expand, and no more oil gets in. Does that sound right? I was planning on just replacing the cyl heads, cyl bolts, gaskets/seals, all belts (including timing), water pump, and thermostat. I only have about 120,000 miles on it.

 

If you're burning oil then it sounds dead on. You can drive it as is for many more years as long as you keep an eye on the oil level.

 

Smoke on start up ..... Guides and valve stem seals

Smoke acceleration or Deceleration ....... Piston rings

 

It is just upon start up. If it is not from the tailpipe in the water, any idea as to what could make the stem seals go bad at 120,000 miles? Could it be from hauling the boat? It is just a 17ft tri-hull. It's under the tow rating.

 

4-6 weeks, but how many miles is that?

 

High mileage is the main culprit but they can get brittle and deteriorate from the vehicle sitting for extended periods of time (I.E Vehicle storage )

 

Hard to say...back in forth to work about 38 miles??...so...700-1000 miles?? (guessing)

 

Are you using a high mileage synthetic oil ?? , these types of oils recondition the seals & gaskets in your engine thus slowing down oil leaks

 

Yes, I use high mileage oil. I also bought an additive but it didn't seem to help at all.

 

Sounds like classic valve seals. Although low miles for such oil consumption...pulling the heads off to replace them might be easier then removing the cams, filling each combustion chamber with air, and replacing the seals.

 

Highly unlikely it has bad guides though.

 

I thank everyone for their reply. The thing that makes me the most nervous is changing the timing belt!! But...I am not afraid to try.

 

It's 100% not from the tail pipe in the water. If your engine was running, stuff is coming OUT of the tail pipe, not going IN. But even if you sucked up water in the intake, that wouldn't really ruin the value guides and cause an oil leak (the smoke on startup).

You just have classic leaky valve guides/seals. While that's fairly unusual for a Tacoma with 120k miles on it, anything can happen even with all the proper maintenance.

Do you know the service history of the truck? Has the oil been changed regularly? If not, that could certainly contribute to leaky vales guides/seals.

 

I'm not sure of the maintenance history. I bought it from a dealership. I believe it was 6 years old when I bought it and had one owner. I still love my truck, but I need to get it fixed.

 

I would definitely get it fixed too. Just curious because this isn't something that usually happens even on 300k mile Tacos.

As for the timing belt, I did mine about a year ago. Do some serious reading on this site for tutorials and where to buy the parts (there's a guy on ebay that sells *everything* you need. I can't remember who, but search for it, you'll find it. Took me basically a long weekend. Started on Friday night after work, and had it running on Sunday.

It would be a perfect time to tear into the heads since you're taking the belt off anyway. If you have another vehicle to drive, that would be ideal, since it will likely take you a while.

 

age. Back when they were plain rubber, it was common after just a few years.

 

I did a compression test on my engine today. Here are the results...

Cyl #1 155
#2 160
#3 0 (yes-zero)
#4 150
#5 165
#6 160

When I did the leak down test on #3, I could hear air coming back out of the spark plug hole. I had it threaded and sealed. I could also hear air coming out of the plug hole for cyl #1. Nowhere else, not out of the intake, exhaust, or crankcase.

When I did the leak down on #1, I could hear air coming out of the crankcase. Of note, there was also about 1/2 qt of oil in the air intake!!

Anyone ever remove the pistons out of the top of the block without removing the engine? It actually runs pretty good. It just now started idling a little rough, but runs well other than that. I was hoping to just throw on some new cyl heads and gaskets, but it looks like the rings need replacing, too. I do not really want to remove the engine. I was just wondering how feasible it is to push the pistons out of the top and then put in new pistons and bearings.

 

Yeah, I was hoping for a head gasket and cyl head replacements...but...that's the way it goes!!