Another Oil Consumption Problem?

[Dan England]

Not a Ranger this time, it is my granddaughter's 1989 Cutlass Ciera. It looks like someone is fogging for mosquitos when running. This was not a gradual change, it went from no smoke to heavy smoke in less than one day. Changing out the PCV valve has not helped the problem. Could an oil ring suddenly stick in a contracted position and be the cause of the problem? I am visiting in Monroe, where she lives, and so can check the vehicle if you have questions and also try solutions which you might suggest. Your input is appreciated. Meanwhile, I will see if we can get it started and check the color of the smoke. Dan

[George Willer]

Dan,

This may just be a wild notion but is the car's parking place fairly secure against vandalism? Under the right conditions someone may have found a way to dispose of their drain oil.

My youngest son, Professor Willer lives in Monroe, just west of Loop road.

[Dan England]

George: I remember from an earlier conversation that your son is at UAM. I am rarely at the college so have never met him. My granddaughter finished her sophmore year there last week. I asked my SIL the color of the smoke and he said that it was whitish in color. Maybe a head gasket? That would make more sense in it appearing suddenly than if it were an oil problem. If it is water, will this show up on the oil dipstick? Thanks, George. Dan

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

I'm not sure, but I think I remember a discussion another forum about them being bad for the intake manifold gasket on the V6 going bad and letting antifreeze into the intake.

[Harold R]

If I remember correctly, the GM's in that era had a problem with the aluminum intakes and corrosion from glycol. You might check the water level, or taking a brief whiff of the white smoke. Burnt glycol smell like caramel.

[WKPoor]

Dan, Does the problem start a few minutes after initial startup?
I had a car just like what you describe. When its running look inside the valve cover through the filler opening. You might see oil filling up there do to restricted return passages thus spilling over in to the valve stem area and being sucked in the cylinders. This problem can start with a neglicted engine that has sat for a while allowing the sludge to harden a little seemlingly creating an over night problem.

[Dan England]

I believe WK has nailed it. I saw the car run yesterday afternoon. There was no smoke for two or three minutes. A trace of smoke then appeared and the amount of smoke increased as it continued to run. Raising the hood, one could see a small amount of smoke coming from the region of the valve covers. The smoke is light blue in color. Now a question. What can be done to cure the problem? The car is old but runs well. They would probably spend a small amount of money fixing it but I think they would not invest a lot due to the age of the vehicle. Harold: I talked with Jesse a couple of days ago. He tells me that you are progressing nicely and will soon be able to fly again. That is good news. Dan

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Dan the simplest thing to try would be a can of sea foam in the motor oil and put it on the highway for an hour or two. If that doesn't help, many shops offer a commercial flush package for around 100 including labor.

[WKPoor]

Dan, Remove the covers and fish a old speedo cable down the return passages. Just getting the oil back to the bottom will most likely fix the smoke.

Now I'll tell you in order for an engine to get that bad someone like never changed the oil. LIKE NEVER!!!

I've seen it many times though.