Car starts smoking after oil change

[donnyj08]

Quote:
Oil Changer, is it just MaxLife that is cheap or all Valvoline products?


http://www.pqiamerica.com/June 2014/consolidated highmileage2014.html

Everyone has their opinion, However if you look at the specs from the PQIA tests you will see that Maxlife is arguably the best HM oil tested. It has a strong TBN as well as a low Noack value, which is indicative of a good quality base stock, so it isn't "cheap" at all in terms of value. The issue your having doesn't sound like an oil related issue. Good luck in finding out what exactly is wrong.

 

[Oro_O]

Wow, a lot of supposition here but has anyone done the due diligence to verify what engine is in this car - two were available and with VERY different issues. One with very well documented oil problems. It is clear if you know the model and some inadvertent fats the OP dropped, which it is. But I see no one acknowledging that and just shot-gun guessing instead of working up from basic facts.

Let's start from facts and then work up from there?

 

[tvaughn0712]

It's the 4 cylinder 06 Camry. I guess as long as the smoke doesn't return I'll just keep an eye on the oil and coolant level and go from there. Thanks again for the help

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: tvaughn0712
It's the 4 cylinder 06 Camry. I guess as long as the smoke doesn't return I'll just keep an eye on the oil and coolant level and go from there. Thanks again for the help


I'm still thinking it's because the car sat unstarted for a long time. I've seen this happen time and time again,with different types of cars. If you're now daily driving this car and it doesn't return (or if it does) keep us updated.

 

[CourierDriver]

I like guessing as well as anyone, but..............take a deep breath, go out side, look up and just start laughing...imho

 

[camperbob]

Originally Posted By: tvaughn0712
Recently I changed oil in my 06 camry with 165K miles and switched to maxlife HM 5W-30 oil (got a good deal). Prior to this I always used mobil super 5W-30. After putting about 500 miles on the new oil I had to leave for a business trip for 2 weeks and the car sat without being started. After returning the 1st time I started it the car smoked heavily for about 5 minutes and then started to taper off until now it is barely noticeable a couple days later. I checked the oil level and it was still fine, but noticed it was almost a mustard color when wiping off the dipstick whereas the mobil tended to just have darker shades of brown throughout the service life of the oil (maybe this is typical for maxlife). My questions are what do you think caused the heavy smoking (sitting idle for 2 weeks, the switch to a different oil, or something totally unrelated). Looking through the cap I do see a little varnish on the valve cover is it possible the maxlife is cleaning this off and caused some of the smoke or the mustard colored oil (IF so should I reduce the OCI of 5000 miles I usually do?)


First of all do not just follow the "yep its head gaskets" rule of thumb. There are way too many good products on the market to check this. Head gaskets also do not "seal themselves" if it has stopped doing it, then don't borrow trouble. Sitting for 2 weeks could be a couple things. Leaky valve seals, or even an overabundance of moisture from sitting.

If the coolant level hasn't moved, and you saw no signs of coolant when you drained the oil (as they don't mix), and the cap doesn't have a milky residue, then either run it or have more test done.

Pressurize the system with a hand pump, and watch for a drop in pressure. Pull the plugs (if its leaky they will either have a coolant colored tint, or be caked up. There is also a blue water kit that will detect combustion gases in the coolant.

My first step would be to pressure test and even see if you have a coolant issue first.

 

[crazyoildude]

what engine??

 

[crazyoildude]

max life is not cheap but its a good oil

 

[Falken]

aquariuscsm may be correct, sometimes the valve guide viton seals will allow oil to seep down into the combustion chamber along the Valve Stems.

Old tired valve stem seals are diagnosed by smoke when started in the morning.

The best way to know if coolant is involved is there may be a slight burned cotton candy smell.

 

[turboseize]

Mustard-coloured oil, such as on the dip stick shown here may indicate a head gasket issue. May!

It clearly indicates water in the oil. Water and oil form an emulsion that may be mustard-coloured. Oil (non-diesel) should be a clear fluid, a water-oil-emulsion will not be clear, but yellow-ish and also be more cream than viscous fluid. In german forums, often the word "mayonaise" is used to describe this.

This may come from several sources, the most annoying being a damaged head gasket (cracked heads may also do this). The most common source, however, is condensation coupled with very short driving distances.

Getting the car to operating temperature should make the water evaporate out and make the oil clear. If this does not happen, there may be two reasons: the first being the engine not getting to operating temperature for the required amount of time, the second being a water source to constantly replace the evaporated water.
Here the head gasket raises it's ugly head again. But there may also be other culprits: many cars have oil-water-heat exchangers.
I'd strongly recommend to have an indicator fluid test done to confirm or rule out combustion residues in the coolant. This will show whether the mayonaise is due to driving profile or whether there is a technical problem.
It will not, however, show where to look for the problem: a leaky heat exchanger, a worn head gasked or a cracked cylinder head are all possible causes.