Honda Car Forum

Hi all,

I have recently changed my car's oil at a mechanic (not the usual
place where I change it)...and didn't really ask about the type of oil
or its grade after he finished the job.

I find now that every time I start the car in the morning, a huge
cloud of a blueish tint smoke (which is oil burning) rise..and the
cloud is really big! I'm ashamed to turn on my car when there are
people on the street waiting for the bus.

The car is a 1996 Honda Accord (4-cyl, automatic) and this is the
first time I notice this problem...however the cloud of smoke
disappears when the engine warms up.

Today (after about 2 weeks) I wanted to check the oil level to make
sure there is a little bit left in there...and to my surprise when I
pulled the gauge (before I start the engine), the oil level was about
3/8 of an inch above the upper limit.

Do you think that is the cause of the smoke and if so what should I
do? re-change the oil or take the excess oil out? will there be a lot
of harm done on the engine now?

Thanks in advance,

mixitinc@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I have recently changed my car's oil at a mechanic (not the usual
> place where I change it)...and didn't really ask about the type of oil
> or its grade after he finished the job.
>
> I find now that every time I start the car in the morning, a huge
> cloud of a blueish tint smoke (which is oil burning) rise..and the
> cloud is really big! I'm ashamed to turn on my car when there are
> people on the street waiting for the bus.
>
> The car is a 1996 Honda Accord (4-cyl, automatic) and this is the
> first time I notice this problem...however the cloud of smoke
> disappears when the engine warms up.
>
> Today (after about 2 weeks) I wanted to check the oil level to make
> sure there is a little bit left in there...and to my surprise when I
> pulled the gauge (before I start the engine), the oil level was about
> 3/8 of an inch above the upper limit.
>
> Do you think that is the cause of the smoke and if so what should I
> do? re-change the oil or take the excess oil out? will there be a lot
> of harm done on the engine now?
>
> Thanks in advance,

-------------------

Is the smoke coming out the tailpipe or from under the hood? Are you
warming up the car before driving? Does the smoke happen right away or
after the engine gets hot?

'Curly'

On Apr 14, 6:33 pm, motsco_ <mots...@interbaun.com> wrote:
> mixit...@gmail.com wrote:
> > Hi all,
>
> > I have recently changed my car's oil at a mechanic (not the usual
> > place where I change it)...and didn't really ask about the type of oil
> > or its grade after he finished the job.
>
> > I find now that every time I start the car in the morning, a huge
> > cloud of a blueish tint smoke (which is oil burning) rise..and the
> > cloud is really big! I'm ashamed to turn on my car when there are
> > people on the street waiting for the bus.
>
> > The car is a 1996 Honda Accord (4-cyl, automatic) and this is the
> > first time I notice this problem...however the cloud of smoke
> > disappears when the engine warms up.
>
> > Today (after about 2 weeks) I wanted to check the oil level to make
> > sure there is a little bit left in there...and to my surprise when I
> > pulled the gauge (before I start the engine), the oil level was about
> > 3/8 of an inch above the upper limit.
>
> > Do you think that is the cause of the smoke and if so what should I
> > do? re-change the oil or take the excess oil out? will there be a lot
> > of harm done on the engine now?
>
> > Thanks in advance,
>
> -------------------
>
> Is the smoke coming out the tailpipe or from under the hood? Are you
> warming up the car before driving? Does the smoke happen right away or
> after the engine gets hot?
>
> 'Curly'

The smoke is coming from the tailpipe...and it happens seconds after I
turn it on...when the engine gets hot (when i see the temperature
gauge started to move up) the white cloud stops...but sometimes I can
smell some oil....however, there is nothing from under the hood....nor
there are oil leaks (at least I haven't noticed any so far).

What do you think is happening?

mixitinc@gmail.com wrote:

> The smoke is coming from the tailpipe...and it happens seconds after I
> turn it on...when the engine gets hot (when i see the temperature
> gauge started to move up) the white cloud stops...but sometimes I can
> smell some oil....however, there is nothing from under the hood....nor
> there are oil leaks (at least I haven't noticed any so far).
>
> What do you think is happening?

---------------------

Is your oil filler cap in place properly? You may need a good flashlight
and some paper towel to check everywhere to see if there's a hose off or
just a bunch of oil dribbling off the suspension (below the cleverly
concealed oil filter) onto the exhaust pipe. Check your coolant
reservoir too, and the rad, per the Owner's manual.

PS. Drive your car to warm it up. The book says so.

'Curly'

On Apr 14, 8:05 pm, motsco_ <mots...@interbaun.com> wrote:
> mixit...@gmail.com wrote:
> > The smoke is coming from the tailpipe...and it happens seconds after I
> > turn it on...when the engine gets hot (when i see the temperature
> > gauge started to move up) the white cloud stops...but sometimes I can
> > smell some oil....however, there is nothing from under the hood....nor
> > there are oil leaks (at least I haven't noticed any so far).
>
> > What do you think is happening?
>
> ---------------------
>
> Is your oil filler cap in place properly? You may need a good flashlight
> and some paper towel to check everywhere to see if there's a hose off or
> just a bunch of oil dribbling off the suspension (below the cleverly
> concealed oil filter) onto the exhaust pipe. Check your coolant
> reservoir too, and the rad, per the Owner's manual.
>
> PS. Drive your car to warm it up. The book says so.
>
> 'Curly'

I suspect that if the oil filler cap is not in place properly, the oil
should be sprayed everywhere under the hood.

I don't know what hose you're talking about, since there is more oil
in the engine then there should be. and the exhaust is sending out a
white cloud. not sure how the radiator or the coolant will get to the
exhaust.

On Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:18:02 -0700 (PDT), mixitinc@gmail.com wrote:

>On Apr 14, 8:05 pm, motsco_ <mots...@interbaun.com> wrote:
>> mixit...@gmail.com wrote:
>> > The smoke is coming from the tailpipe...and it happens seconds after I
>> > turn it on...when the engine gets hot (when i see the temperature
>> > gauge started to move up) the white cloud stops...but sometimes I can
>> > smell some oil....however, there is nothing from under the hood....nor
>> > there are oil leaks (at least I haven't noticed any so far).
>>
>> > What do you think is happening?
>>
>> ---------------------
>>
>> Is your oil filler cap in place properly? You may need a good flashlight
>> and some paper towel to check everywhere to see if there's a hose off or
>> just a bunch of oil dribbling off the suspension (below the cleverly
>> concealed oil filter) onto the exhaust pipe. Check your coolant
>> reservoir too, and the rad, per the Owner's manual.
>>
>> PS. Drive your car to warm it up. The book says so.
>>
>> 'Curly'
>
>I suspect that if the oil filler cap is not in place properly, the oil
>should be sprayed everywhere under the hood.
>
>I don't know what hose you're talking about, since there is more oil
>in the engine then there should be. and the exhaust is sending out a
>white cloud. not sure how the radiator or the coolant will get to the
>exhaust.


Drain it (oil) down until it is at the proper level. Possibility you
are foaming and that foam is liqufying and getting into the open
valves upon shutdown. Next time you crank up, cylinder is full of oil
until you burn it off. Not good to be overfilled, hard on the seals.

Pull a couple of plugs, see if they are oil fouled.

You contradict, is the smoke blue gray (oil), or white (steam)? Steam
comes from a coolant leak from a head gasket or condensation in your
exhaust system or a combination. Plugs will show coolant fouling
also.

Initial oil burn that goes away is oil getting through the valves and
collecting in the cylinder. Constant oil burn indicates worn rings
and or valves.

good luck

Frank

On Apr 14, 10:09 am, mixit...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I have recently changed my car's oil at a mechanic (not the usual
> place where I change it)...and didn't really ask about the type of oil
> or its grade after he finished the job.
>
> I find now that every time I start the car in the morning, a huge
> cloud of a blueish tint smoke (which is oil burning) rise..and the
> cloud is really big! I'm ashamed to turn on my car when there are
> people on the street waiting for the bus.
>
> The car is a 1996 Honda Accord (4-cyl, automatic) and this is the
> first time I notice this problem...however the cloud of smoke
> disappears when the engine warms up.
>
> Today (after about 2 weeks) I wanted to check the oil level to make
> sure there is a little bit left in there...and to my surprise when I
> pulled the gauge (before I start the engine), the oil level was about
> 3/8 of an inch above the upper limit.
>
> Do you think that is the cause of the smoke and if so what should I
> do? re-change the oil or take the excess oil out? will there be a lot
> of harm done on the engine now?
>
> Thanks in advance,

Its probably just because its too full on oil, probably no harm done
but you should drain the extra oil so it doesn't blow a seal and start
leaking
good luck