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Old Feb 6, 2005 | 10:15 PM
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legend@lowcountry.co's Avatar
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Lightbulb I see smoke

When i crank up my F150 in the morning, i see smoke. I have 15000 miles on the truck, only one year old. Just change oil last week. I have seen smoke on several occassion. Anybody else have this problem.
 
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Old Feb 6, 2005 | 10:22 PM
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it's not just water vapor (or whatever it's called) that happens when it's cool/cold outside? if it only does it some after an oil change could it be slightly overfilled?
 
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Old Feb 6, 2005 | 10:38 PM
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It could be the weather conditions.. is it cold where you start your truck?

If its not cold I would probobly check for a leak somewhere, that can cause smoke. Also your leak could be small and get bigger over time. I had a few leaks in my old work truck and smoke came out when I started it. But remember it could be anything or just bad gas or something?
 
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Old Feb 6, 2005 | 11:59 PM
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Is this smoke coming from the tail pipe??
 
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Old Feb 7, 2005 | 01:57 AM
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If you just changed the oil at 15,000miles for the first time, is is not abnormal for the truck to "smoke." You should change the oil every 3K no matter what!
 
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Old Feb 7, 2005 | 06:34 AM
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Yup. I've lost count of the number of Fords I've owned and this is the first one to ever produce a puff of smoke when you start it. It's fairly common with GM products, but unheard of with Fords.

Personally, I'm operating on the assumption that it may be the 5W-20 oil recommendation that is the issue. Near as I can tell, the only reason Ford went that route was a very minor improvement in gas mileage at the possible exepense of somewhat poorer lubrication.

For that reason and since I tow a 5th wheel, I'm going to go to a full synthetic heavier weight oil with my next oil change.

Enjoy.
 
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Old Feb 13, 2005 | 07:51 AM
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I see smoke

When I back my truck out of the garage and shut it off and let it sit it will always smoke on restart.If it is driven for any distance and restarted it never smokes.There is unburned fuel in the system due to the short run time and this is what causes the smoke.I was told this by the dealer and it makes sence.Could this be your problem?
 
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Old Feb 14, 2005 | 10:32 PM
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I stop by my Ford dealer last week and they check it out, everything looks good. No more smoke so far. Thanks Everbody............
 
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Old Feb 15, 2005 | 06:45 AM
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My 04 never smokes.. My 98 smoked on occasion on start up (Blue), did not like it but never had to add any oil between changes..Both have same engine 4.6.. Just ignored it never a problem??????
 
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Old Feb 15, 2005 | 08:11 AM
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It condensation! Especially in colder weather conditons. As far as Chevy's do vs Fords don't that 's a crock! Condensation has no brand loyalty! All internal combustion engines do it. The mere fact you have different temperatures lends to condensation build up!
 
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Old Feb 15, 2005 | 04:59 PM
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Originally Posted by KevinM
As far as Chevy's do vs Fords don't that 's a crock!
I'm not talking about condensation. Ford's blow condensation also. That does not bother me.

What bothers me is the puff of oil smoke that GM products put out after sitting for a while. On GM products (not Ford) when they get past around 50,000 miles, the oil starts slipping by the valve stem seals and gets burned when the GM vehicle is first started up.

I'm guessing your not a baby boomer generation auto enthusiast or you would know this.
 
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Old Feb 15, 2005 | 05:06 PM
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Every chevy I had, never smoked because of valve stem seals.
 
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Old Feb 16, 2005 | 06:45 AM
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Originally Posted by KevinM
Every chevy I had, never smoked because of valve stem seals.
You've been lucky. My father in law traded an S10 last year with 67,000 easy miles on it. It puffed a big cloud of oil smoke every time he started it after it sat over night. About half of the GM's owned by my relatives have developed the same problem.

The last GM I will ever own was a Chevy Van with a 350. Both heads cracked at around 60,000, a common problem at the time due to cost saving design modifications to the heads involving removing too much metal. I had them replaced, but the van performed poorly from then on.

But back to the point of this thread. At around 6,000 miles, I started my F150 after sitting and got a puff of oil smoke, not condensation. As I said, I don't like seeing that at all.
 
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Old Feb 16, 2005 | 06:09 PM
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I've had chevy's all my life... (this is my second ford among about 15 chevy's) and have never had a vehicle I've owned produce any oil smoke at start up. Chevy's (as a whole) do not somehow magically all produce smoke after a while. That is nonesense.
I have a 47 Chevy Stylemaster, 63 BelAir, 64 Impala, and a 94 camaro currently and none of them blow any smoke at startup or otherwise. They also have never been rebuilt.

Proper maintenance is the key to prolonging engine life, however, skipping an oil change or two will not cause a vehicle to smoke. Is it bad for the engine? yes it is, but it will not somehow magically cause the engine to smoke, unless this engine has 100,000 miles on it and has never had proper maintenance.

One of the byproducts of burning gasoline is water vapor. It's a chemical reaction. Also, different gasolines contain different amounts of water. I wouldn't worry about it unless you really start to notice a huge smoking problem.

MK
 
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