Smoking issues, advice?

I am new to this forum. I've had good experiences with solving problems from advice from other forums so heres the problem.

I bought a reg cab, 2000 tacoma, 2.4L 4 cyl, yesterday. The truck has 43,000 original miles on it, and mileage and one owner checked out on carfax. When I went to test drive it yesterday, I checked all fluids and everything looked good. The truck did look like it had set up for a while and this was confirmed. Engine was cold so the person hadn't "warmed" it up before I arrived to prevent initial smoking. I Cranked it, test drove it about 5 miles, and drove great! No smoke or any issues on test drive. The engine is very clean as is the entire truck inside and out. I purchased the truck. It was from out of town so I drove 80 miles to uncles for the night. The next morning I checked the oil and it looked ok but the truck puffed out white smoke when I cranked it. Of course this freaked me out. On the way home I stopped often to check oil, and it DID burn oil! the truck has not puffed smoke anymore today on the ride or any time I cranked it, but it was "using" oil. Could this be a temporary thing related to the "sitting up" or does it sound like a major issue? Please voice your opinions or advice... I need it! Oh and I was given the option to return the truck for a full refund but it is a long drive to bring it back..

 

check the coolant level, white smoke could be head gasket, is the oil murky?

 

If the truck had been sitting sometimes the gaskets get brittle which would allow for seepage. That's why it's always a good idea to start a car that's sitting for a while and run everything - the a/c, heather, run it for a few miles, let it get hot. Keeps everything from drying out.

 

I have ran everything, coolant level has not changed, oil is not murky, oil level just got lower as I drove so I added a little oil every couple hundred miles.

 

What I'm saying is the previous owner probably didn't do that. So the gaskets and seals may have become brittle.

 

I got ya, I'm pretty sure they didn't... But would that mean that there's a greater chance that that's the problem rather than bad rings or something like that? Even though it is using oil, there are no funny noises, and it drives and operates great.

 

Check the oil pan, valve cover gaskets (and the ground where you park) for oil leaks. If the engine isn't burning the oil it must be leaking out somewhere. Check the oil filter!

Just because the oil is clean doesn't mean the engine is. I would use an oil detergent additive like CD40 to clean the engine (and oil rings specifically) while you drive.


Steve

 

Thanks steve I will definitely run the additive in it. Found out the PCV valve was plugged. Took off the valve cover and found slug. A mechanic friend came looked at it and gave a few tips on cleaning the engine. After changing the PCV and his cleaning tips everything seems to be just fine. 500 miles and oil level is good and hasn't smoked at all. I will keep monitoring it and probably change the oil again before too long.

 

Glad to see you tackled it with results. Thanks for the update.

 

PCV valve. Perfect. Keep using that CD2 (or whatever it is it's in a yellow plastic bottle) for the next few oil changes and use GUNK crank case cleaner and let it idle for 5 minutes just before you change the oil. Then if possible let the oil drain out overnight (go to bed) and by morning most of that crap will be out!

Good luck; very glad to hear it's running well.


Steve