Smokin at an idle..

[JTProuhet]

I've tried the search button and doesn't come up with anything.. But I've got a 93 xj. It's got 201k on the clock.. And it's started to smoke at an idle. Oil pressure is fine. The longer it sits at an idle it'll start smoking more. But as soon as I take off going down the road it doesn't smoke or atleast from what I can see in the headlights of the car behind me at night.. I've been told its the valve seals and then someone told me the rings are worn.. I don't wanna replace the valve seals if it's the rings.. Any help would be great.. And then yesterday I noticed that there was a little milky shit on the bottom of the dipstick.. I changed the oil last night after I seen that. It only had about 2000-2200 on that oil change.. I'm using a wix filter with castrol gtx 10w30. Thanks in advance..

[BlueXJ]

To determine if the rings are the culprit do a compression test. If that indicates rings then it is time for a rebuild. If that is good then it may be the seals so then pull the head and take it to the machine shop and do a valve job and new seals. That is what I would do to mine.

[xj4life2]

The milky oil bothers me , the fact that it clears up while driveing is weird also, I would do a compression / leak down test on it as Blue said but I also think I would do a head gasket check you may have a head gasket that is starting to go on you. How's the temp on the rig ? Have you run it hot at any time recently? Haveing the head done would solve 90% of the issue as you would get a new head gasket at the same time,with the valves and seals.Good luck !!

[JTProuhet]

Temperature stays in the normal. Guess I'll go borrow a compression tester from oreillys or napa and do that and see where that points me. Thanks for the quick replies guys.

[4.3LXJ]

Since there is milk on the dipstick, the question is whether it is oil smoke or steam. More than likely steam which would indicate a head gasket or possibly a cracked head

[JTProuhet]

It's blue smoke

[4.3LXJ]

Have someone watch your tail pipe when you let off the gas. If the smoke increases it is valve seals. If it increases on acceleration it is rings.

[JTProuhet]

Alright thanks

[JTProuhet]

What's compression supposed to be?

[uberxj92]

What's compression supposed to be?

8.8:1 on a stock ho 4.0

this an test trick too...take the radiator cap off & get the motor to operating temp & watch for the water to "bubble" or blow back out of the filler neck on the radiator. that may indicate a leak in the head gasket too

[Firemanray]

I had a 4.3 chevy that did this. Turned out that it was slugged up real bad and the oil return ports in the heads were stopped up. Oil would pool up under the valve cover untill it was deeper than the valve guides. The valve seals won't stop that much oil from getting through. I cleaned the return holes out and never saw smoke again.
The milky oil could be any of the problems mentioned above. Drive it with fresh oil and see if it continues.

[JTProuhet]

I had the valve cover off to replace the gasket and there wasn't much oil pooled up on top of the head.

[JTProuhet]

Alright I just changed the oil about 600 miles ago and I just checked my oil and this is what the dipstick looked like.. Head gasket? http://img.tapatalk.com/a6898ecc-203a-fc51.jpg

[N8N]

well, that ain't good whatever it is. Does look like possible head gasket or cracked head, although I thought it was the Y2K+ ones that were supposed to be the "bad" heads. I wouldn't drive it much like that because water does bad things to your main/rod/cam bearings.

[4.3LXJ]

Yes, at the very least. I think yo had better plan to pull the head and the pan too and get that crud out of it.

[JTProuhet]

I stopped driving it after I seen that. I never ran it that hard so hopefully I didn't hurt anything too bad.. Just came at a bad time.. I fractured the cup in the my shoulder 2 weeks ago and find out tomorrow if I'm gonna have to have surgery on it.. I've got a few buddies that said they'd help me out.. Has anyone tried welding the exhaust manifold where the 2 collectors come together? It's not a noticeable exhaust leak but it's starting to crack..

[JTProuhet]

Also when I pull the head, where should I look for cracks? Hopefully it's not cracked.. I've only had the damn thing for about 4-5 months and I've already dumped a bunch of money in this thing..

[4.3LXJ]

It probably is not cracked. But between the valves is a usual place. When you pull your head, look at the head and block. You should see where the head has the sticky stuff from the head gasket on it. If you have a place where it does not stick and or is moist, that is where it is leaking. The first place it will let go usually is at the back, the hottest part of the engine.

[Mudderoy]

Also when I pull the head, where should I look for cracks? Hopefully it's not cracked.. I've only had the damn thing for about 4-5 months and I've already dumped a bunch of money in this thing..

I know you'll get several opinions on this, so I'll give you mine for what it is worth.

You'll need to plan on the head being off at least a few days, to a week.

Once the head is off, you'll need to take it to a machine shop so they can check it for cracks. I would have them mill it and do a 3 angle valve job replacing any parts necessary. I would change the lifters and depending on price the push rods. Use a good head gasket like Felpro and remember the head bolts can only be used twice, so unless you are sure they haven't been used before you'll need to get a new set.

[JTProuhet]

Alright thanks guys. I have no idea if the head has been off before or not.. I bought it with 198k on it and it's got 202k on it now. I'm gonna pull the head and see what I'm working with. Good thing I've got a back up car!

[Mudderoy]

Alright thanks guys. I have no idea if the head has been off before or not.. I bought it with 198k on it and it's got 202k on it now. I'm gonna pull the head and see what I'm working with. Good thing I've got a back up car!

Keep us updated, and pictures of what you find would be great! :popcorn:

Everyone's pocket has different limits, but I would recommend getting a new set of head bolts just so you don't have to take the head off because a head leak develops later.

[denverd1]

Don't skimp on head bolts... IDK what spec torque is but some are designed to stretch in some applications. I wouldn't reuse them personally

[JTProuhet]

I don't plan on reusing them. They can't be that expensive? I don't want to run the risk of tightening the head down an snap one off in the block..

[JTProuhet]

And I will get pics if I can. I might have a friend do it for me since I'm having surgery in the morning so if I am able to get pics I will definitely post up pics and what is found out. Thanks guys

[JTProuhet]

Alright I've got a friend that's gonba help me pull the head this coming weekend. But I just went out, pulled the plugs on it, and none of them are cleaner than the others.. But I also just replaced all the plugs probably 2k miles ago.. But sitting there idling there is constant bubbles in the coolant reservoir.. I don't see any oil in it tho..

[Mudderoy]

Alright I've got a friend that's gonba help me pull the head this coming weekend. But I just went out, pulled the plugs on it, and none of them are cleaner than the others.. But I also just replaced all the plugs probably 2k miles ago.. But sitting there idling there is constant bubbles in the coolant reservoir.. I don't see any oil in it tho..

Maybe you should do a exhaust gas in the coolant test first.

[JTProuhet]

I'm headed to town in the am to pickup a block checker and a compression tester..

[pvt.tadpolxj]

Sound's like a Head Gaskett...JT

[JTProuhet]

This doesn't look good.. Block checker checked out fine.. Test shows no exhaust gasses in coolant.. Compression tests on the other hand.. Not good.. #1-83psi, #2-83psi, #3-97psi, #4-95psi, #5-98psi, and #6-96psi... What's compression supposed to be?

[4.3LXJ]

Jeremy

Your compression is low. It should be up around 130 psi. So the question remains is it rings or valves. I think since it is consistent that it is valves. I suggest you still pull the head and get the valves done. You will notice an improvement in power and milage and probably fix your cooling system as well.

[JTProuhet]

Alright thanks. I'm gonna try one more compression tester to make sure that the one I got from autozone just doesn't read low, then someone suggested I put a couple drops of oil in the cylinder and then do a compression test again, was told that would help "seal" the rings and see if I have an increase in compression, and if there is, then it's the rings. Is he correct in that statement? I'm pulling the radiator today and gonna have it fixed to get rid of that known problem and then continue on my quest..

[4.3LXJ]

You also might want to get a second opinion on those gasses in the coolant. I am not a fan of Autozone.

[JTProuhet]

Yea but they were the only ones that rents the block check in this area..

[4.3LXJ]

Yea but they were the only ones that rents the block check in this area..

OK, now you really need a second opinion. Every Tom, Dick and Harry with an overheating problem has used it. I would suggest calling a radiator shop and asking them the minimum sample needed to have them check it. They will know what they are doing.

[JTProuhet]

Well I took the radiator out today and took it to a radiator shop.. One of my buddies was working and he was asking about the jeep. Well the owner over heard the Convo and was asking what was going on.. He said that I might have a leaking intake manifold gasket.. Umm even if the intake manifold gasket was leaking.. It wouldn't put coolant in the oil.. But he said that where my radiator is leaking it may not be fixable since its up in the top corner.. So he said he'd check on a new one for me too. Once I get a new radiator, I'm going back to testing.. Gonna pressurize the block and check for leaks and leak down.. Then do another compression test with a different gauge and then borrow another block check from a buddy who is a mechanic and go from there.. Mean while I found a motor out of a 94 that was parted out because the guy couldn't get the title for the jeep. He claims it has 102k on it with pics of the odo when it was pulled. He said that he pulled it last July and was gonna keep it incase his other xj blew up but he said the wife wants the motor gone. Complete motor minus power steering pump and I think maybe the alternator with the full wiring harness for $500..

[JTProuhet]

Minimal sample of what to test?

[4.3LXJ]

The coolant for exhaust gasses

[JTProuhet]

Alright I got the new radiator in today. Then pressurized the cooling system. After I retightened all the radiator hoses, it held 16lbs for damn near 20mins then I figured if I had a leak somewhere it would have leaked down by then.. Then I pressure tested the cap and it was bad.. So I went to oreillys to return the tools and got a new radiator cap. Someone had a 16lb cap on it and oreillys said it calls for a 13lb cap. And then I also did another compression test and with this other gauge it might be a 2-3psi increase across the board over the other gauge I had.. Soo.. I guess I'm just gonna drive it and keep an eye on the coolant and make sure I'm not losing any.. Idk what else to do

[JTProuhet]

But now it's smoking more sitting at an idle.. :-/

[4.3LXJ]

white smoke?

[JTProuhet]

Nope still blue. But more than before.. I drove probably 80 miles today total. Haven't noticed any coolant loss..

[4.3LXJ]

Blue smoke is generally oil. Your low compression numbers may indicate bad rings that may have been too hot at some time. Happened to me once.