Ok, so I've been chasing down this smoke for what feels like forever and I'm just not finding anything. There is no loss of coolant. No burning oil. I took the hose from the air pump to the valve off so it wasn't the culprit and still there was smoke. It lets out a puff of (light/white) smoke when starting cold. If the motor is warm then there is no problem. I just replaced the injector seals. There is no smoke at all when driving. Only on startup. Head gasket was replaced, head was checked for leaks, resurfaced and new valve seals. That it doesn't lose any coolant - run it 3 days a week for a few weeks with no change and it doesn't smoke when running (idling, going down the road, etc) and only when starting makes me think it's something about when it's left sitting? I thought moisture in the air pump system, but it still smoked when I disconnected the hose from the pump. Who has an idea of something else for me to check?

Thanks!

-Nate

Is it billowing smoke, or is it just a steady stream that goes away after the car has warmed up? If the latter, I think that it is normal condensation in the exhaust system. With the car parked nose down (downhill), the condensation is probably trapped in the exhaust system until you start driving. At speed you are moving too fast to see the smoke.

It is a puff. Goes away very quickly, even at idle/not moving. Just one puff. Sometimes there, sometimes not. Usually no puff when the engine is warm. I'm wondering if it's a PCV problem? Going to replace the oil trap/lines see if that takes care of it.

One puff really sounds like condensation in the exhaust system which is pretty normal. Out of curiosity, is it worse when the temperatures are cooler or when your last trip was a short one before parking overnight?

Have you put a piece of white paper behind the tailpipe and have someone else start it while cold? It is not as good an indicator as it was in the old days before catalytic converters but it does show you what is being cooked off to a certain extent.

Maybe it's worn valve stem seals. You need to have someone start the car while you're standing near the exhaust. If it smells like gas that's one thing, oil is another, antifreeze is something else.

Ok, so I've found something pretty strange..... If the car is parked nose-down (facing downhill) it does not smoke when starting. I'm thinking I need to do the PCV/Oil Trap. But why the heck would parking with the front of the car lower cause it to not smoke? Any thoughts?

No lose of coolant or oil? Then I would chalk it up to just condensation in the exhaust system, white smoke.
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But how would it be getting there and how do I get rid of it? It's a pretty big puff sometimes....

I suppose I'm a little extra paranoid because the car had a blown HG when I got it and I'd really like to not have to do that job ever again...

Well, to ease worries you could do a leak down test. But remember all fuel has some degree of moisture in it. And running around with 1/4 tank doesn't help either. Next time you're in traffic, look around at other people's exhaust. You'll see lots of moisture dripping out the exhaust.
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