downest

I'm noticing a lot of threads lately about people blowing smoke out the exhaust. It's pretty easy to diagnose if you aren't blind or retarded, so just go through this and stop asking **** like this:
"why my jdm tyte swap smoking blue oil only when i get on it from a stop or floor it my buddy said its blue but i dont know some shop told me i need a new tranny wtf honda tech help me"

First off use the damn search button before you post, this is a common problem on older motors and I have seen like 5 threads in the last 2 days about it, there are a lot more if you search the archives.
Your car is smoking for one of these reasons (assuming it's stock non-FI):

1. bad piston rings
2. bad valve stem seals
3. blown headgakset
4. sometimes you just need to smoke with a cup of coffee
5. running too rich

So here's the deal:
#1 Piston rings. You will see blue smoke, more apparent at high RPM. You need to replace the rings, they will cost you around 80-90 bucks and take a long time to do yourself, you will also need to do the headgasket if you do this, and probably should replace the rod bearings. I would rate rings as about a 6 on a scale of 1-10. It's an easy job but it just takes a long time and it can be very very messy (if you leave the motor in)

#2 Valve stem seals. You will see more blue smoke, this time more at idle, and it will diminish as you drive the car. What's happening is the oil from the head is dripping down the valves into the cylinders when it's parked. This happened on my old CB700SC, it would smoke like a bastard for about 10 minutes, then no smoke at all until you parked it again. This is an easy job too, easier than rings. I think it's possible to do this with the head on the car, you're gonna have to research that, but I would just pull it anyway. 5 out of 10, you can get the whole top end rebuild kit for under 150, that's EVERYTHING from the headgasket up.

#3 Headgasket. If you have a Honda, especially a D series, you're going to have to do this one eventually. This smoke will be white, it's coolant. There are a lot of ways the HG can break, so just because you're not blowing white smoke doesn't mean you're ok. If you are though, I'd be willing to bet on the headgasket. After you change it you're going to continue getting smoke until all the coolant burns out of the cat. Mine took nearly 100 miles. 5 out of 10. A6 gaskets are dirt cheap, they come with the reuild kits. You can pick up a stock Y8 or Z6 metal one for 35 bucks at honda.

#4 Smoking with coffee only. Leave it alone, a little smoke once in a while isn't gonna hurt anything (1 out of 10)

#5 Running too rich. Your car is blowing black, stinky smoke. That's gas, and it probably runs really badly too. Check your timing first. Are you running an unnecessary aftermarket fuel system... have that Walbro pump and 450cc injectors in the DPFI manifold? I haven't seen this happen too much with fuel injected motors, obviously this is different for you older carbed 3rd gen civic/1st gen CRX guys.


Now before you post search. I know there are instructions for how to do all these things in the archives, because I have written them. Best thing for you to do if you're still unsure is get a leakdown tester.

jakscivic

this is some very good info. Its helped me try and diagnose what my problem was. And replacing the piston rings isnt too messy. Its actually pretty easy if you just make sure you take the time to label everything.

89 civic si

i had both problems i diagnosed them by doing a vacumn test and a leak down..i had bad rings and bad valve guides it smoked all the freaking time..but sometimes not..when i took the head off i put gas on top of the cylinder and whoop it was gone in like one minute..the trash man picked the motor up the next day and in went the d15b.. so if you take off the head and have doubts put gas in the cylinder and see what happens

ck123

for valve stem when you mean "parking" does that also mean idling at a red light?

89 civic si

generally anytime the car sits for a minute or two,my valve guides where bad so evertytime the valve opened it would suck oil down into the combustion chamber..this probobly caused the rings to go bad..

crex23

I adjusted the valves on my CRX and now its smoking alot. It looks like white smoke, and it usually only smokes alot when I accelerate from a stopped position. It smoked a little before, but not nearly this bad. Would you guys say valve seals? The motor has 150k miles.