I've noticed this a few times on start up, the car will blow some blueish black smoke out it's tail pipes for about a second, then the exhaust looks normal (the smoke lingers in the air awhile is why I notice it). It is still having that weird problem starting, just takes a few tries cranking before she fires up, sometimes it starts after the 2nd crank on the first tire… (I need to get to the bottom of it). Do you think it might be flooding itself on startup? I know blue smoke generally means oil, but it doesn't appear to be burning even a drop of the stuff according to the dip stick. Any ideas? thanks all in advance!

 

Possible valve stem oil seals, a bit of leakdown whilst sitting? This would give a blue puff at startup. How many miles on the engine? Is it a nikasil? have you done a compression test?

Also, I wonder if a later throttle calibration reflash to the Engine Control Module will cure your startup issue. Jaguar released various updates because of overfueling on startup to combat the cylinder wash issues....maybe find a local Jag indy shop with IDS system hardware/software....

 

Blue=Oil. I like the compression test idea.

 

I had the same problem with one of my cars. What oil viscosity are you using? If you are using 5w10w you may want to consider 10w30w and see if it as well for you as it did for me. The idea that it does not do it all the time and that it is on startup I would say it is seepage at one of the valve guides.

 

I'll be doing a compression test either this weekend or early next week, as I will finally have the time... The engine has now 106k on it, I've put about 2500 on it since I re-did the timing system, and it hasn't burned any oil (according to the dipstick), so I'm not too concerned about the nikasil being an issue. That and it has PLENTY of power, especially for an older car. I did a mix of 5w-30 and 10w-30 cause I grabbed a second jug of 5w-30 instead of 10w-30 by mistake. I'm not in any hurry to replace what is in there either. Its royal purple and that stuff is not cheap.

Also, will it hurt anything? I can’t imagine that it will, its such a small amount of oil. Thanks all in advance, I’ll post my compression findings in a few days.

 

The only reason I ask is that when I changed from 5w30w to 10w30w the smoke went away. It is a but embarrassing when you start the car and a plume of blue smoke appears from one of the exhaust pipes. You could also consider using “Restore”. As for the mix of the two oils I would not be concerned.