05 Colorado Smoking

[fast401]

My sons 05 Colorado smokes real bad on startup. Can someone tell us what might be wrong and what repairs can we expect. The truck gets regular service and is very well maintained.

[reggiecab2000]

dont you know that if smoking isnt good for your health, it cant be good for your trucks health either....

fluid residue in the engine compartment?
leak somewhere, being burnt off as components heat up?

where does it leak from? how long? what color is the smoke?

oh and welcome to the club!

[fast401]

dont you know that if smoking isnt good for your health, it cant be good for your trucks health either....

fluid residue in the engine compartment?
leak somewhere, being burnt off as components heat up?

where does it leak from? how long? what color is the smoke?

oh and welcome to the club!

It only smokes on start up. If it sets for a few minutes and is restarted it smokes like crazy out of the tail pipe. I am thinking valve seals but I am by no means a great mechanic.

[RayVoy]

You didn't say if it was the I4, or the I5 engine; doen't matter much, they're basicly the same engine. Part of the Atlas family, derived from the I6 used in the Trailblazer and Envoy trucks. All are double overhead cam engines.

You didn't say what colour the smoke is, grey/blue usually indicates oil, while white indicates coolant.

A coolant leak is probably a bad head gasket. Oil, as you suggest, could be valve seals, or ring blow by.

If oil is the problem, I'd try a conditioner before tearing the head off, something like Seafoam, or Lucas.

[fast401]

You didn't say if it was the I4, or the I5 engine; doen't matter much, they're basicly the same engine. Part of the Atlas family, derived from the I6 used in the Trailblazer and Envoy trucks. All are double overhead cam engines.

You didn't say what colour the smoke is, grey/blue usually indicates oil, while white indicates coolant.

A coolant leak is probably a bad head gasket. Oil, as you suggest, could be valve seals, or ring blow by.

If oil is the problem, I'd try a conditioner before tearing the head off, something like Seafoam, or Lucas.

It is an I5. The smoke is blue and lingers for a while. What does the treatment in the oil do? Does help open drain back holes in the head? Thanks for helping, Rick

[RayVoy]

If the problem is a stuck oil ring, the oil treatment may free it.

Like you, I suspect a worn valve seal, but you never know.