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I just came in from lighting up one, but that is from a bad head gasket - my head.
A bad turbo will cause white smoke in most cases, the oil not burning completely and getting into the exhaust. So will antifreeze from a bad head gasket, which is more likely in these engines.
Black smoke will come from rings, highly unlikely in the 5 cyl engines, or valve stem seals that are leaking badly. A compression test is needed before you fix the car.
Blue smoke is from too rich condition, usually a fuel pressure regulator that died, but that normally goes away once the cat gets hot enough to burn the excess fuel.
A head gasket fix would be the best case scenerio, valve stem seals are second best but expensive, rings are a new block.
Beg, borrow a compression tester. If the engine is cold, check it twice. The second time, add a little oil to each cylinder using a drinking straw (less mess) - about 2 inches of oil in the straw should do it. If the compression goes up, then the rings are OK.
Ask the owner about any over heating conditions he might have had. Any oil leaks? You know the PCV system needs to be redone, as well as copious vacuum line replacements.
Klaus
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Praying for Cynthia Amendt, heaven bound
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