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Blue Smoke from tailpipe


dapqam

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I have an 2000 Camry 4 cylinder with 102K miles. Only on cold startup does a bit of blue smoke come out of the tailpipe. It just occurs right at startup and disappears within a second or 2. Warm startup no smoke at all. It is worse in cold weather than warm weather. What could be the problem? And what could be damamged if I let it go and didn't fix it. Are the valve guides leaking? How would I fix this? How complicated is it? Or could it be just a need for valve adjustment?

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  • 1 month later...

I've got the same problem with my 2001 Toyota Camry, really hoping it's not transmission or anything else major. It's not had to have any major servicing since I purchased it other than regular maintenance. I've hesitated taking it to Toyota dealership as they run around $100.00/hour - the last time I took it a simple diagnostic ended up leading me to spend over $600.00 !!!

It's a 4 cylinder as well, LX model.

Mo

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  • 2 years later...

Do you still have this car and how is the blue smoke issue after this long?

The blue smoke issue has disappeared. The car now has 120,000 miles and I change the oil regularly (every 5K miles). The problem came and went away just as mysteriously. It may be that I was using thinner synthetic oil and have changed to a regular 10W-30 conventional oil.

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The blue smoke issue has disappeared. The car now has 120,000 miles and I change the oil regularly (every 5K miles). The problem came and went away just as mysteriously. It may be that I was using thinner synthetic oil and have changed to a regular 10W-30 conventional oil.

That is so crazy.. my sister's old Camry did the same blue smoke disappearing act... Since the incident she had just relied on her regular mechanic to take care of all of its maintenance.

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  • 1 month later...

I have a 2003, 4 cyl Camry that had 75k miles when I purchased it. It has always emitted a puff of blue smoke when starting after sitting overnight. It now has 132k miles, and still does the same. I change oil every 5k miles, and never add oil between changes. The exhaust pipe is light tan, and free of carbon. I replaced the spark plugs at 120k miles, and they were all clean, dry, and free of any carbon residue. This seems to be a very common problem, and I have been unable to find a definitive solution. The consensus seems to be valve seals, but some having them replaced report a return of the blue smoke problem.

Some years ago, I purchased a 1997 Camry that had just turned 100k miles. This car would go through one quart of oil in about 250 miles. However, it didn't smoke. The tail pipe was black. It turned out that the engine was badly sludged, which tore up the valve seals. The cylinder head was removed and reconditioned under factory warranty, which corrected the problem. This is not the same problem as the blue smoke at start-up problem.

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Sludge and its effects seems to be a big problem with these cars. I have started using Auto-RX since it is a mild cleaner and should keep engines clean. I do not recommend an aggressive cleaner since it can clog up filters and perhaps cause more harm than good. Also be alert for sludge if you do a lot of low speed and short distance driving.

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