One cylinder leaking oil -> Opinions wanted

[DutchPride]

Hey all,

My girlfriend just bought a Kia Pride from 1997. It was sold as having a leaking head gasket, leaking cooling fluid. After some research we found out that it isn't leaking cooling fluid, but oil. When starting the car after a couple days of stand still there's a lot of white-blue smoke.

This is happening since the former owner had the distribution (timing?) belt replaced. Could he have used the wrong head gasket?

Also, this just affects one cylinder. A greasy spark plug confirms this. A befriended garage owner suspects that it could be the piston rings. Are these easily replaced, and do I have to rehone the cylinder if I replace a piston ring?

[lessersivad]

First of all, welcome to the forum.

You'll find a LOT of knowledgeable people on here that aren't afraid to share.

So, just to confirm, the previous owner definitely had the head gasket replaced? Or simply the timing belt?

IF it was only the timing belt then my guess is, going by the description you provided, "When starting the car after a couple days of stand still there's a lot of white-blue smoke." It could simply be bad valve seals on one cylinder.

This is simply a guess on my part and some most testing (compression test) would help to possibly reveal the true problem.

I'm sure there will be others who chime in who are more than qualified. This is a simple 'spitball' guess.

[Dragonhealer]

Before you jump off.... Use an engine cleaner that goes in the oil FIRST, like BG44K #109 "compression restorer" or similar.
This will clean the carbon deposits from the ring lands, soften valve stem seals, and clean out the hydraulic lifters.
Follow instructions EXACTLY or engine damage could result. Change the oil and filter, drive 50 miles and re-asses.

[WmWatt]

You could do a compression test. Another indicator is to take off the valve cover, turn it over, and look for carbon deposits over the suspect cylinder. Exhaust gas escaping around a valve can stain the valve cover. When mine did that years ago a cleaning like the one mentioned by Dragon cured it. A compression test before and after the cleaning confirmed carbon buildup at the valve was the problem.