well it onley happines with start up sometimes and sometimes are worse than others but what would cause this all my miles are higeway and im a regular oil changer, but my mini does have 63,000 miles now so please dont tell me i need new rings or something, im hoping its all head related so when i change the head this problem will be gone,

any ideas anyone!!!!! :???:

 

Are you sure its smoke and not condensation,steam from moisture in exhuast
What is the outside are temp.,humidity .Does it go away?

 

oh yea its smoke at start up its a lingering white blueish cloud thats oil if it where a white smok cloud that lingers everywhere thats coolant and if its black thats fuel and if its white whispy clouds thats the steam, this is oil smoke coming out and it goes away a few seconds of start up and dosent return for the day, onley in the morning does this happin its weired but i know its not condensation or steam

 

63k miles is getting up there but WE all hope it's not blow by(rings)maybe at 163k miles
Hope things work out,keep us posted

 

well im thinking it could be oil that pools at the valves and drips into the combustion chamber or at least that was the problem with my old charger i replaced the heads and the problem was gone. i know with rings your car will smoke as you acellerate and some times in bad cases constant but im not shure does this sound resonable to you now granted i should know this would happin since i drive the car hard usually but any other thoughts out their

thanks to all
:smile:

_________________
BOOYA!!!!!

 

I often get a good-sized puff of smoke upon starting in the morning. In my case, I think it's fuel and is related to the overall richness with which the MCS runs (especially at start up)...and that's further evidenced by the constant black soot that I'm scraping off the tailpipe. I also seem to recall a thread from some time ago (a year?) about injectors or something on the MINI leaking a bit at shutdown, thereby letting a bit of unburned fuel pool in the cylinders. I don't remember if this was a flaw in particular cars or whether it was a "they all do this" issue. Maybe search over on MINI2?

But, you say you're sure your smoke is oil... if you're absolutely sure, then I'd suggest checking your oil level over time. If it's really smoking that consistently at startup, then I'd think you'd notice your oil level declining relatively rapidly. I, for example, NEVER burn oil (my level stays pretty much rock solid between 9 - 10K changes). What's yours look like?

Also, I'm a bit mystified about your "it'll change when I change my head" nonchalance. Sure, maybe it will...but there's no way that a car should NEED a head job at 65K miles So either way, I hope you get to the root of the problem and don't just end up making it go away by changing something that wouldn't otherwise need to be done. 'Cause I sure as heck know that I'm not changing the head on my car...and I sure don't want to be burning oil in another 30K miles (I only have 31K now).

 

sorry if ya took it wrong i just want to try and figure the problem out thats all if for some reson the head is bad wich is unlikley but always possible then i hope by changing the head will help but i was told that the blue smoke at startup was caused by oil and not fuel because oil gives off the blue smoke and running rich gives of black smoke please tell me if im wrong about this new knowledge is always apreciated. by the way what do you mean by the nonchalant way when i was refering to the head replacment.

like i said it was something that had to do with my head on the 71 charger i have and when i replaced the heads the blue smoking stoped at startup its just the vlaves where worn and i just thought this could be the case but ya never know!!!

 

>>Also, I'm a bit mystified about your "it'll change when I change my head" nonchalance. Sure, maybe it will...but there's no way that a car should NEED a head


well i was thinking of going to a performance head so if it where the problem then changing the head would help if it where the rings then youed have to do a complete engine teardown and rebuild it wich would be way to costley and something i dread

thats all i was thinking!!!

 

Blue smoke does indicate oil burning, and white smoke means coolant/water is burning. At least that's what I learned in auto shop.

That being said, my guess is that what you're describing is caused by running rich. Like jsun said, these cars tend to create a lot of black soot on the pipes, and generally run rich. This is moreso the case on startup.

When I picked my car up from the dealer, I had to follow my MA to return my rental car, so I got to drive behind my brand new MCS. I noticed a lot of smoke coming out of the pipes, and it kind of concerned me. But I came to figure out that it was normal MCS behavior; it just makes a cloud when it's cold.

If it was a problem with the head, or some other oil burning issue, it would happen all of the time, not just on start up. IMHO, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Now if you start getting a big blue puff out of the tailpipe every time you let off the gas, like my high school girlfriend's VW Rabbit, then you DO have oil pooling in the head. But that doesn't sound like it's the case here to me.

 

4GAZM, sorry, no offense intended. All I meant was that if my car was burning oil, I'd want to find out WHY (which, obviously you're doing) and not just figure that a performance upgrade would take away what I at least think is a serious underlying issue. I should have been more clear.

 

thanks guys for the info it helps me out bundles and thanks jsun no prob here, i was worried id upset ya thats all, i figure since i am out of waraty all i can do is buy and replace and dont want to give the dealer 100 an hour i figure their are better ways to spend that money :smile: but yea if everyone thinks its cause of running rich then thats what ill stand by, i just thought that to much fuel wouldent cause blue smoke but maby i was wrong witch is the case usually :smile:

thanks again guys for all your help !!!!!!

 

>>thanks guys for the info it helps me out bundles and thanks jsun no prob here, i was worried id upset ya thats all, i figure since i am out of waraty all i can do is buy and replace and dont want to give the dealer 100 an hour i figure their are better ways to spend that money :smile: but yea if everyone thinks its cause of running rich then thats what ill stand by, i just thought that to much fuel wouldent cause blue smoke but maby i was wrong witch is the case usually :smile:
>>
>>thanks again guys for all your help !!!!!!

If you are worried about the state of your engine, find you an independent shop that can do a "leak down" test (NOT a compression test). The procedure, when properly carried out should be able to tell you if a) you have a ring problem, b) you have a valve problem or c) both......I am guessing at 63K, it is all in YOUR head....kidding...just kidding.....

 

Smoke on start-up can indicate worn valve guides. As the engine sits after being turned off a little oil will settle down the valve stem and can seep through a worn guide into the cylinder. On the next start it will of course burn off the oil in the cylinder until it clears itself. A leak-down test can tell if you have worn rings. If the rings are OK (which they most likely are if your not experiencing loss of power or smoking on acceleration) and still get smoke at start up, then valve guides are a likely culprit.

The real fix might be head work, or you could try some various 'snake oils' if your so inclined....


Good luck with it and I hope it turns out to be nothing.