I get a short cloud of smoke from the tail pipe after the car has been parked for a day. The oil consumption is very little, and the engine performance is good. The engine has only 139,000 mi. I think it may be from worn valve seals. What is the most desirable way to replace the seals? Is it best to remove the head first? Are valve keepers hard to work with with head on?

Thanks-in-Advance.

/// What color is the smoke? Black is fuel, blue is oil, and white,(normal) is water. Abnormal water would be coolant. Sometimes a defect in the coolant system will slowly drip or seep in while the car is parked. Is there any film or oil in the coolant reservoir? Ever have a mild miss on crank up after these all day parking incidents?

The coolant is clean and the level stays constant. I need to have someone

start the car as I look. It might be gas from a leaky injector? It

sometimes does run rough for a second or two on startup. Mileage has been

averaging about 28 mpg. Smog test has not been a problem.

/// The "run rough for a few seconds," is an important clue. If an injector is draining down, the fuel rail will be empty. Does the oil smell of gas? Does it take a few seconds of cranking to start after a long stand overnight? (Compare the time first thing in the morning and the time after a short stop.)

This would not necessarily show up in smog tests. The injectors are open while the car is running. You are looking for something that holds an injector open slightly when the engine is off.

Start with injector cleaner in the gas tank. Pull the whole rail if you can, put each injector in a container and wait. This must be done while the pressure is up not first thing in the morning.

Be careful with high order solvents when you clean injectors. I don't know which have plastic parts and which don't. The earlier ones (73) did have plastic parts. I just use gas. Soak the injector in a bottle with gas up to the bottom edge of the coil.

To go back to your origional post, you would expect to see a little oil in the tail pipe if intake valve stem seals are leaking. You can see blue smoke when you pump the pedal at speed if oil is getting past those seals.