Oil in cylinders after sitting for 3+ days... smokey bear.

[alrightroad]

I've noticed after not driving the car for 3 days or more that I get a puff of smoke out of the exhaust when I fire it up. Its not a large amount of smoke but you can see it a little in the rear view mirror from the driver's seat. Only on startup. I've never noticed it smoking any other time. I have 50K miles on the car. The first owner let it sit a lot during the first 1/2 of its life. He only drove it 10K miles up until late 2009. This could be the cause of internal breakdown so early.

I assume my rings are getting tired. or, valve rod seals are seaping. Whats the experience out there on this with the Cossy motor? I'm under warranty which covers this type of of issue (and much more, thankfully!). Question is how hard do I push the warranty company to cover this and is it worth a rebuild?

TIA

Eric

[Brav]

And that's why I don't see value in ultra low mileage cars that aren't regularly driven. This was discussed a while back.. Most likely a dried out seal in your case. Valve guides maybe. Leaking from top end after sitting, into cyl. Your symptoms are rare.. these motors are pretty solid. Doubt you have bad rings. Somewhere in the head.. maybe gssket. Good luck with warranty claim.

[Shoppinit]

I'd say valve stem seals, too.

Are you sure it's oil smoke and not smoke from overfuelling at cold start?

[4.2Crew]

I'd say valve stem seals, too.

Are you sure it's oil smoke and not smoke from overfuelling at cold start?

This is a good point... My RS6 (50k miles) will occasionally puff, but it's a slightly different odor and color than the puff I'd get from the 2001 A6 4.2L with 240k miles. The A6 definitely had worn valve seals, the RS6 is most likely an over fueling on start-up.. Just my guess...

[alrightroad]

I'll need to get behind the car next time and smell it and see color. It looks light blue but then again it could just be grey. Blue=oil; gray=fuel. As Brav said, these low mile cars are nothing really special except for appearance. Regular driving keeps the Dr. away for the most part. I hope this is just overfueling at start-up. However, I cant see how that would be the issue if it only occurs when the car sits for several days without driving. If it was overfueling then it would do this nearly every start. Correct me if my deduction is jaded.

[Shoppinit]

Mine will give a little puff of grey smoke on start up sometimes. I find that oil smokes takes longer to dissipate, too.

I'm thinking that the valve stem seals is *not* a fun job.

Can you get someone to follow you and see if you get blue smoke on WOT? Should be more obvious if it's oil or soot then.

[hahnmgh63]

I'd also say Valve stem seals as the most likely culprit from above draining down. To be sure it isn't another problem you can have your cylinders scoped. I have a Snapon BK6000 Video Borescope and it is one of the neatest things since sliced bread. I can look at the cylinder walls, it has a zoom feature as well as an adjustable light and a reflective mirror so I can check out the valves and can do video or still pics and record it all on an SD card.

[Shoppinit]

^^I want - no *need* - one of those...

[Elevens]

Mine used to smoke a bit upon cold start up. But recently has stopped, which leads me to think its a fueling issue. It really became pronounced after I went Catless, since the Cats I believe mask this condition by burning any excess fuel. I also thought it may have been Turbo related, but this only happened on cold startup and the condition still existed shortly after I had my Turbo's rebuilt. It would seem that quite a few of our cars exhibit this condition and my guess would definitely be a Fueling condition, and lets hope that's all it is....................................

[Brav]

It should be very simple to determine if its fuel or oil.. fuel is black sooty fine smoke... oil is blueish, and thicker, and lingers more.

[Shoppinit]

That's what I thought, but it's not as easy as I thought it would be. The puffs are only small. At least, in my case they are.

Would it be possible to see oil in the cylinder with the endoscope I wonder? Or are the quantities too small?

[Brav]

Have a friend start it next time when cold, and stand behind it and watch.

[ttboost]

Pull your spark plugs? If they look OK, could be a bad turbo too...

[Shoppinit]

Probably not burning enough oil to foul the plugs, though, so that might be inconclusive.

[SteveKen]

I was going to suggest the turbos as well.

Oil could be settling in there over extended periods of time maybe?

[Bigglezworth]

Forced induction cars 'consume' oil. it's a fact. Not uncommon for a car to use a 1/2L between oil changes. My high mileage ride has a confirmed wet/dry compression that is less than 3% off OEM spec. Rings an unlikely cause. Seals use to always be the cause for small puffs of blue on start-up with N/A cars, but FI cars introduce the turbos whcih someone else mentioned might be letting in a bit of oil around the bearings only to be burned later. How much oil are you consuming. If it's not excessive (and by that I mean more than a couple of litres per 10000kms), then I wouldn't even bat an eye at things.

[Bigglezworth]

I was going to suggest the turbos as well.

Oil could be settling in there over extended periods of time maybe?

IF it's your turbos, the oil will start settling in the bottom galley of your intercoolers..... I know this well as I just drained out a 1/4 cup from the drivers side one that I've been overhauling various components on.

[4everRS]

First of all. Some oil in the IC is not due to bad turbo seals. 1/4 cup is a lot though. The PCV system vents into the charge pipes. This is coming straight from the crankcase (hence Positive Crankcase Ventilation). The warm, oil filled air condenses at the cooler IC.

Second, it won't be turbos causing the puff on a COLD startup. They're not hot enough yet to burn the oil. If it even is oil that's burning on startup, it is going through the combustion chamber first.

Valve seal.