My 93', 2.5L XJ has been smoking a lot lately. I'm pretty sure its burning oil because of the smell and the whitish color of the smoke. It seems to be constantly smoking now even when idling. Does anybody know what could be causing this or what has to be done to fix it? I guess its not really that big of a deal, so I don't want to have to do anything major to it.

 

white would be water,blueish gray is oil,black is to much fuel,you might have a bad head gasket

 

Like ^mike said, if its white smoke its coolant which probably means blown head gasket. check you oil to see if its milkshake brownish, this means theres coolant in your oil too and STOP DRIVING/RUNNING IT or it will ruin your bearings

 

head gasket. cracket water jacket. needs to come apart.

 

The smoke could be a blueish gray rather than white, and the oil appears to be in a normal condition. I do have have to add oil frequently, which would indicate that it is burning oil.

 

put some restore in it and see what happens,if it still smokes its the valve guid seals,those are easier than a head gasket

 

If it smokes when you turn it on then stops it's the valve guides. If it smokes all the time it's the piston rings. Will need overhaul. Try restore it's the cheapest quick fix. If that don't work new piston rings will.

 

Since he said even at idle im guessing its the piston rings Oh what fun