There is smoke my exhaust pipes everytime I Shift. It sucks. I am thinking valve cover gasket or valve seals, but nor really sure. Its not blue smoke. just blackish gray color.
I have 188xxx miles on my car.

Any ideas of what it might be? How to look for it? and what I can do to fix it?

b/c I don't want my car to keep looking crappy when I shift >>

Jeremy

With that high of milage, chances are changing a few seals couldn't hurt. Pick up a value cover gasket, it should come w/ spark plug seals. You will need a big ass socket too, like 24, or 24mm.

-Jeremy1210+Jun 20, 2004 - 7:05 PM

ok, if its a blueish, especialy after a start up for sitting, that is oil seaping through your rings . and as it first combusts its burning like that... The black smoke could be your vavle seals, I get that only so often with mine.. but with that milage.. Its about time to redo most of those.. So I would say start with a rebuild.. pull it apart see how your block and the rest of the components are warn.. then get all new rigns an gaskets.. that should give you another hand full of miles..

blue smoke after its been sitting a while is not oil seaping through the rings its oil seaping through the valve stem seals , as the valves are above the combustion chamber i think gravity has a bit to play in this but as the rings are in the pistons and there under the combustion chamber then i find it hard to believe the oil would travel up the way ...

U can get seal conditioners for the seals but as ur car has so many miles i dont think they would work but u never know it might be worth giving them a try , if they sell forte over there then try finding this stuff http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b13s26p496.. hope u get it fixed m8

Kevstir

I bought my gaskets at napa. I think it ran me about 30 or so bucks. The huge sockets are for these weird bolts on the top of the valve cover, one over each spark plug