smokes when you first accelerate and goes away

[elorenzo1]

I have an 86 2500 gmc suburban. This just started last night 06/29/05. I noticed that there was a blue smoke coming out from the right exhoust pipe when you first take off or accelerate and it goes away. Can you someone be able to tell me to what maybe the cause of this? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks
Erwin

[obadran]

You probably have some type of engine oil leak on the side of the engine that leads to the right tail pipe assuming you have dual exhaust.

The problem might be that overnight, oil accumulates in the exhaust manifold and when you take off in the morning, the hot exhaust gases are burning off the oil....once all the oil is burned off...no more noticeable blue smoke.

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by obadran

You probably have some type of engine oil leak on the side of the engine that leads to the right tail pipe assuming you have dual exhaust.

The problem might be that overnight, oil accumulates in the exhaust manifold and when you take off in the morning, the hot exhaust gases are burning off the oil....once all the oil is burned off...no more noticeable blue smoke.

I think he means blue smoke is coming out the tailpipe, not from under the hood.

Most small block chevys for many years until the late '80's had valve seal problems. The valve stems have these little rubber rings or booties on them which limit the amount of engine oil that is splashed on to the stem. After many years the rubber becomes hard and brittle and does not seal too well. Excess oil runs down the stem and gets burned in the combustion chamber. This is most noticable on cold start up and if the engine has been allowed to idle for several minutes.

Often, it does not mean the engine is worn, just that the seals need replacing. It is possible to do this by removing the valve covers and spark plugs, then pressurizing each cylinder with compressed air (with the cylinder at TDC with the valves closed. The air pressure holds the valves closed and allows you to remove the valve springs and change the seals.
If the oil burning is not too bad, the engine can be driven for a long time yet with little adverse effects.