'93, 2.5L, 170K

I inquired about this Dakota that was for sale. I started it up It smoked bad. I never saw smoke like this B4, I couldn't see the dash, sitting in the seat.. The owner said he brought it up from out back 2-weeks ago, and it never smoked, ever. I believed him. There is a small hole in the exaust and it was dripping oil. I figured when the oil burned out of the pipes, it would stop smoking.

I bought it, cheap. Guess what, it has stopped smoking. I know it has alot of miles, and I am willing to change engine. But, Why isnt it burning now? It reminds me of when I tip the lawn mower up to clean under the deck. Oil gets up in the cyclinder and burns like crazy for a while.

What do you suppose is the cause of the oil burning?

My first thought was the PVC. a quick check under the air cleaner relealed no oil in the airbox.

Also, I am thinking of trying that 'RESTORE' product. Is it any good?

 

Are you SURE it was oil that was burning? Could it possibly have been COOLANT?

Check the coolant level. If it's low, refill it & look for more smoke. Probably a head gasket or cracked cyl. head. Both were incredibly common on these engines.

 

Don't waste your money on Restore or a similar product. These products can mask mechanical problems, but they don't actually fix anything. Restore can also plug oil filters & actually damage the engine.

 

smelled like oil, blue and radiator is full. I know it sounds pretty weird. Plus definitely oil in exaust header pipe.

Its didnt smoke until it ran a couple minutes, until the exaust started to get hot. Somehow oil got into the exaust and it was burning off in the pipe. At least it seems that way. I dont know. Its strange that it smoked so bad and now there is nothing.

Ill start it tomorrow when cold and see if it has really stopped smoking. maybe it will be like it was.

 

I agree with Knuckles. These engines are heaps.

It sounds like it's a load of trouble and has a lot of issues. Hopefully you didn't pay more than 500 bucks for it, as a used engine will likely cost you that .

Pay close attention to the color and odor of the smoke.

Blue-oil burning, internal failure, barring the PCV is working OK.
White and syrupy=cracked cylinder head/blown head gasket. $$$
Black=running rich (can be cheap to fix).

 

Under $500. I figure Ill have about $1500 when Im done Overall is very good shape exept for engine/trans.

I started this morning no blue. Is burning a little rich. I look into a rebuild...maybe I can talk our head mechanic at work into a side job.