Occasional smoke from exhaust ??

The erratic idle could be early signs of a bhg, I had the same issue. It was indeed a bhg, but mine was more severely from ignoring the signs. The vacuum and coolant seals on the hg began to seep and then blew. Ofc I had no coolant in my oil or even smelt it in my exhaust but occasional smoke after idling followed by erratic idle when the motor is warmed up. To the point where the vacuum plugged all flow of coolant through the motor, so I replaced the thermostat, coolant temp sensor, and radiator to find out i was a bhg.

I would try to cleaning the fuel system but Im afraid it might be a bhg.

well i know the bhg is a possibility but i should have added that my idle did straighten out after the coolant bleed, so the idle is fine now, just still have the occasional smoke, but it isnt thick at all, you can just barely tell its smoking at idle, and you can see kind of a haze when you go down the road for a few seconds.


I should also add that i have never had any overheating problems, car barely gets to the half way mark, even in stop and go traffic, i also have never had to add any coolant until i did the bleeding process today.

Rings could be a possibility, have you checked compression and are you burning oil?

WickedShepard said:

Rings could be a possibility, have you checked compression and are you burning oil?

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Have not checked compression, trying to figure this out at home before i take it to a shop, and im not sure about the burning oil, because i have only had the car a short time and its been about a week since i changed the oild and its not even touching the STICK !!! Going to go get some oil treatment like RESTORE or something and add that. Will post up video as soon as it uploads but the smoking is so faint you can hardly see it.

wont let me post URl so if you want to see smoke vid go to Youtube and type in anthonyott99 and the video is labeled smoke !!

video coming , just need one more post ! LOL

And here it comes !!! Sorry Mods !!

smoke - YouTube

Did another old school test of the head gasket on the radiator and there was no bubbles. Not 100% accurate i know.

head gasket test - YouTube

Valve seals are pretty typical on Legends with high mileage too, might want to try changing oil to rotella to see if it gets rid of the smoke.

ari_one said:

Valve seals are pretty typical on Legends with high mileage too, might want to try changing oil to rotella to see if it gets rid of the smoke.

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The 40 weight rotella ? And why this particular oil ? Would a heavier weight high-mileage oil work also ??

Rotella T6 15W40, because a number of people have used it when they've had valve seals leaking and it has stopped or greatly reduced the smoking. I'm guessing it has something that makes the seals expand a little so that they seal better. You can read more by searching "rotella".

Ok, Thanks, I will try that after I have left the Restore in it for a few hundred miles, also to add to thus problem, I am now experiencing LOW IDLE again , ????

With no bubbles in radiator , no oil in water, no water in oil, and no oil or water on the ground , I do have a valve cover leak but that's all. Could this still be a head gasket ????

Just wanted to add, even though i havent put many miles on since putting the oil treatment in, that it really only does it after idle for a minute or two, then when you increase RPM's after a short period of idle, is when it smokes, does it for a few seconds after taking off after idling and thats all. Anyone that has experienced this and resolved it, please chime in !! Thanks !!

bump... My 91 Legend is having the exact same problem(s) - both the erratic idle at stop and light grey smoke coming from exhaust when accelerating from stop.

Erratic idle is probably from air in your coolant system. You know, you do the bleed procedure the best you can, but over the course of a few days, add a little coolant if possibe to the radiator once the engine is cool. If after days and days you keep having to add coolant... well guess what... you are part of the BHG club. Check for oily residue on your cap and overflow bottle.


Your video doesn't not look like coolant to me, it looks like oil burning a little.

I also think it may be simply valve guide seals. I wouldn't try heavy weight oil, because that's usually when you get smoking at first startup when your car has been sitting all night. If it's valve guid seals the way you are describing it's pretty bad. Replace them. They are cheap and there is a DIY to do it posted by Telion.

Good luck.