Burning Oil/Exhaust Smoke

[tomsawyer]

I believe this is the dreaded Valve Stem issue which happened to me. You can read my posts about it. I was losing oil and after idling, huge plume of exhaust smoke. Had the repair done and its been fine ever since.

[BeckMule]

A sincere thanks to everyone who answered this. The cost of a valve stem replacement is pretty scary. Is there a consensus for a fair price for an indy shop to do this? Anyone with a recommendation for such a shop near Chicago?

[edogg]

Originally Posted by BeckMule

A sincere thanks to everyone who answered this. The cost of a valve stem replacement is pretty scary. Is there a consensus for a fair price for an indy shop to do this? Anyone with a recommendation for such a shop near Chicago?

My extended warranty covered the repair. The indy I used quoted about 20 hours of labor, so multiply that by the shop's labor rate. Parts are pretty cheap, I think. I've read on some other forums (Bimmerforums maybe?) about a guy in New Jersey or somewhere like that on the east coast who will do it over a weekend for about $1500. But that's a long drive from Chicago.

The valve stem seals are not a cheap repair. And from what the indy shops I talked to told me and what I've read, the smoke doesn't really do any damage other than causing you to top off the oil on a regular basis (check every gas fill-up).

If you want to put off the repair until you can save up for it, you can try a high mileage oil or a stop-leak, seal-swelling oil additive. Liqui-Moly is a brand which I've seen mentioned and recommended frequently. But I don't have personal experience with it.