95 Tbird Runs great but, smokes

I have a 95 Tbird 4.6 It runs great! Quiet and smooth but, It is blowing blue-ish white smoke from the exsaust. The tempreature is fine. I don't think that it's a headgasket. Am I simply looking at a case of bad rings or is it possible that something else is causing the smoke? I really can't afford to rebuild the engine. Any ideas?

just burning oil?

If it's smoking on start up and quits shortly after, you probably have bad valve guides and/or seals. If it smokes constantly, probably rings. I have heard of bad seals/guides on the earlier 4.6's and my old '95 was no exception.

As far as I know just oil. I have to add oil regularly. But, the strange part is I drove it all day today and and didn't see any smoke. The day before it was smoking like a camp fire. That's why I got worried. but, today, it didn't smoke drop and ran great as always. That's why I was wondering if there was something else going on.

I have a 95 Tbird 4.6 It runs great! Quiet and smooth but, It is blowing blue-ish white smoke from the exsaust. The tempreature is fine. I don't think that it's a headgasket. Am I simply looking at a case of bad rings or is it possible that something else is causing the smoke? I really can't afford to rebuild the engine. Any ideas?

My 96 TBird 4.6L used to smoke a little bit when I took off at a traffic light. It would also smoke if I left it running for a while in park or neutral for a few minutes and then rev the engine. Those two signs told me that it was probably slightly worn valve guide seals. I would also have to add some oil every so often obviously. I searched online on how to stop engines from burning oil without having to replace the rings or valve guide seals. I found this article and did what they suggested. My TBird isn't smoking anymore at all, and I'm not adding any oil between oil changes. Here's the link to the article: http://www.infobrary.com/homefamily/autos/00007.html
I hope this helps. :smile:

Thanks for the tip. Over a year ago I was going to try switching to a single grade oil like 40wieght but, my friend said that would be a bad idea because the 4.6 was designed with smaller oil passages and that thicker oil wouldn't drain or circulate well enought to keep up with the engines needs. But, I don't think that it would hurt to try. I still owe money on this car and I need it to last at least until it's paid for haha.

What grade of oil are you using? I am currently using 10w30.

Thanks for the tip. Over a year ago I was going to try switching to a single grade oil like 40wieght but, my friend said that would be a bad idea because the 4.6 was designed with smaller oil passages and that thicker oil wouldn't drain or circulate well enought to keep up with the engines needs. But, I don't think that it would hurt to try. I still owe money on this car and I need it to last at least until it's paid for haha.

What grade of oil are you using? I am currently using 10w30.

I didn't know that about the smaller oil passages. Using 30 or 40 weight oil in the warmer months though wont hurt your engine, but in the colder months I suggest using 20 weight or 10w30. It depends on how worn your rings or seals are. You'll probably have to do some experimenting with different weights of oil. My valve guide seals aren't worn that much, so I use 10w30 in the colder months and 30 weight in the warmer months. With the 30 weight I rarely or never need to add any oil between changes, but with 10w30 I usally need to add some after about 1,000 miles. Also, at every oil change I add a bottle of CD-2 Oil Treatment to help seal my worn seals. It works pretty well. Just a little caution: Only use 30 weight oil in temperatures above 40 degrees, and only use 40 weight oil in temperatures above 60 degrees.