My 86 560SL with 133k miles emits a good sized puff of exhaust smoke after sitting at idle for a few minutes when accelerating. Would this be valve stem seals? Is there way to tell?
560SL smoking
Jul 08, 2006
4 Replies
yes, that would certainly be valve stem seals... unsightly problem, inexpensive fix
What color is the smoke? Blue is oil, black is fuel, white is coolant.
Dollars to donuts it's valve guides. A compression test followed by a leakdown test would tell you pretty much for sure.
Yep... valve stem seal.
One HOPES it's the valve stem seals, which can be replaced VERY CAREFULLY in situ, but it seldom is, it's usually the guides which means the heads have to come off. Renewing the seals usually gives you a few months relief at best.
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