engine smoking?

[rcombs18]

I have a 97 mustang gt and it has started smoking over the last few months. it has been burning oil pretty quickly also. I have been told that it could be the valve seals? Would that be a pretty good possibility? If that is the case what would be the best way to fix that? I'm really looking for a fairly inexpensive route because I'm goin to school so don't have the time to work a whole lot. thanks for the advice guys!

 

[patman0911]

Does it smoke at idle and shoot out a big puff when you pull away - most noticeable at stoplights and drive-throughs? That's the classic signs of bad valve seals. If that's the case then they can be replaced. You can do it yourself if your comfortable doing engine work but it is a pain in the butt.

If it's smoking all the time or at WOT then it's more likely that it's worn rings and a rebuild is in your future.

Check the PCV system out first though as a problem there can cause excessive oil consumption too.

 

[patman0911]

Forgot to add that valve seal replacement can be pretty cheap if you have the tools, time and skills to do it yourself - $20 for seals, $30 for the Trick Flow Specialties OHC valve compressor tool, save a few more $$ if you can reuse your valve cover gaskets, borrow or rent the other special tools you need. Not sure how much a shop would charge but it could be really expensive if they wanted to pull the heads to do it.

Mustangs consume some oil, especially if you spend a lot of time at WOT and high RPMs so don't be alarmed if it still uses some oil after you get it fixed.

 

[rcombs18]

yeah i was gonna add that it basically just smokes when idleing and just a little puff of smoke when i take off... I doubt that i would be able to do it myself... I almost wonder if it would be worth it to just pick up some pi heads and do a head swap on it while they had it out and everything but thanks for the advice