98 Camry 4 cyl: Blue smoke on start up

[sloara]

Hello everyone

I have a 98 camry (4 cyl) and blue smoke will puff out on start up only. I was thinking maybe the valve seals are leaking. Does anyone know what would cause the blue smoke on start up?

Thanks

Scott

[TadS]

Might be, that’s a common weakness of the 5S-FE power plant. I would go get a leak down / compression test done on your motor. Make sure that it's not anything more serious. Sounds like anti-freeze is cooking to me, so look at it for sure.

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

if all you get is a puff or two first thing in the morning and never again throughout the day, then your problem is probably bad value guides or value guide seals. It will cost between $350-800 to replace the seals, $750-1,500 to replace the guides and seals. Wait until you begin to see other symptoms of this oil usage. Wait until the oil consumption is greater than one quart every 1,000 miles. And never assume that seals alone will totally fix this problem.
Yet another common 5sfe problemo...

[Mole]

it's that sludge that people have been talking about here and there.

i forgot what to do for a remedy, but just search for "sludge"

[Yanks0114]

it's that sludge that people have been talking about here and there.

i forgot what to do for a remedy, but just search for "sludge"

The remedy is you need a whole new engine. If it is sludge there is a good chance toyota will cover it though

[I4 to V6 Swap]

I used to have that when I had the I4. I switched to synthetic, and it created better seals, and stopped blowing blue smoke.

[DonkeKong]

yea, when i first got my solara it did that sometimes. then one day it starting making a knocking sound, and next thing u know... i had to buy a new engine . I don't know much about it man, but if i were u id get it checked out asap. Better than spending $2-3k on a new engine

[Porkch0p220]

yeah mine has the same problem, i called toyota about it and they pritty much told me that oil sits in the valves, and when the motor is started it burns it. they said it really wasent and problem and its not hurting anything. if you wanted it to stop blowing the smoke it needed a valve job.