TurboDiesel (John),

Before the Diesel Meet I thought the smoke was blue when I started the car after it sat for more that 4-5 hours. The day of the meet I drove for 3 hours in the rain to get to the meet and it was still raining when I got there. I'm wondering if there may have been some condensation built up in the engine during the day and it combined with the oil. Since the meet every time I start the car in the morning I get blue smoke only on startup after a long period of rest. I have not seen any change in the coolant level but have noticed that the oil level is dropping a little. One morning it was cold outside and when I started the car I did have a little white steam coming from the tail pipe, like you would on a cold morning, and when I reved it up the smoke turned to blue.

What do ya think...am I way off base here?? I figure the valve stem seals would be a cheap experiment before I go to pulling the head.

Phil

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1981 300SD 164K Miles