Oil in Exhaust - Hyu Excel 1991

My guess would be either bad valve guides/seals or a plugged up PVC valve.

Jack Cassidy

It could also be poorly sealing piston rings (for one reason or another). Any way you look at it, it's not likely to be inexpensive unless it's pcv related.

Unless it's something simple like a PCV, you're likely looking at more money to repair the engine than the car is worth. Sometimes it's better to cut your losses and move on.

Does it smoke out the exhaust when you take your foot off of the throttle (valve guide seals) or when you step on the gas (rings)?? Seals would not be so expensive as the rings.

Another sign of bad valve guide seals is that it smokes badly when you take off after idling, such as at stop lights.

Change the PC valve yourself. Autozone will show you where it is.

If that doesn't do it you have to balance:

1. The cost of a newer Hyundai
2. The cost of just adding oil more frequently
3. The cost of a new engine (don't buy a junker)
4. Your loyalty to supporting your mechainc's boat payments. (Cartalk)

Thank you all for your posts. The car fumes the most just after starting. I see a lot of smoke smoke during idling and some when I step on the gas.

Sounds like valve guide seals to me.

What does the oil look like on the dipstick after running the engine? Clear or foamy?

It should never be foamy. Water in the oil. Time for a visit to your friendly mechanic.

In a '91 Hyundai, I would agree. And foamy, yes.

But people shouldn't mistake some white, especially on their oil cap, for foamy. This is oxidation in the oil

Every car I have ever owned that did not have a PCV valve would do this, and usually within about 2500 miles or so. If you have a car doing that, I learned that you just have to be content to change the oil more often. It seemed worse in Winter in those cars, for some reason. And even using synthetic oil, it would do the same thing. You just had to keep the oil meticulously changed and it worked out fine.

In fact, each of those three engines (including one Korean engine) ran great and trouble-free, and even when I had to get rid of those cars (with over

200,000 miles on them each) it was not because of a problem with the engine.

Tom Wenndt

I was always told it was an emulsion of the oil with condensation. That is why it tends to collect in the parts of the engine that are coolest, like the underside of the filler cap and the inside of the valve covers.

I believe that is because there is much more condensation in winter as the engine often isn't run long enough to get it hot enough to thoroughly evaporate the condensation in the engine.

Pretty amazing, eh? I've only had one car that I got rid of because of engine troubles in 30+ years of car ownership. That was a POS 84 Honda Accord that I purchased new, maintained meticulously (it was my first ever brand new car), used Mobil 1 and genuine Honda filters, etc., and the top end of the engine self-destructed at about 72,000 miles.

Honda wouldn't stand behind it even on penny. They first accused me of not maintaining the car properly. I sent them more than 20 pages copied from my fuel purchase and maintenance log along with receipts for their GENUINE Honda oil filters and other parts. They replied back acknowledging that maintenance deficiencies didn't appear to be the issue after all, but then told me that the car was out of warranty (duh, I knew that) and they felt that 72,000 miles was within their "normal manufacturing tolerances" for engine life and therefore they were "unable" to "subsidize" my repair.

That's OK. They saved $300-600, but have lost thousands since. The repair was around $600 and since the warranty had expired I didn't expect them to cover the full repair, but I thought they at least might throw in the parts which came to a little more than half of the bill. So, by saving $300 in 1984, they cost themselves the sale of at least the four new vehicles I've purchased since then. And, though I can't be sure, I think I've talked at least four other people out of buying a Honda.

Matt

Sorry for the delayed reply. I did not have access to internet the past two weeks as I was traveling.

The oil in the dipstick is clear. So I think I will go with changing the PCV valve first and see if the problem persists.

If your Excel leaves others in a bluish-gray cloud of smoke after every stop light, or when you start it up in the morning, and people think you work for an extermination company, then it's a sign that the valve stem seals in the engine need to be replaced. This is a common problem with these engines, and the seals can be changed without removing the cylinder head by a competent mechanic for a few hundred $.

Please note that if this has been going on for several weeks, there's an excellent chance that your catalytic converter will be toast, burned out, You'll notice it the next time the car fails your state emissions test with high NOx and passing (but not low) CO & HC.

The EGR passage in the intake manifold will be clogged with carbon and should be cleaned out along with the EGR valve, but this won't be enough to fix the NOx problem.

Bob