Blue smoke right side exhaust on start up

[JMR]

 I know what you think.....guide seal or very bad valve guide. Long story short....my brother recently bought a "Mint" 86 off this board. After owning a bike shop and being around bikes for over 40 years, (and owning an 87 FJ since new that now makes 160HP)....I can honestly say the bike is fairly clean but has many hillbilly repairs and poor installations that actually ruined some new, good parts. Still.... a solid platform.
Anyway.....the burning oil on start up really puzzled me as the engine only has 20,000 or so. Well....one of the "hillbilly" repairs included gooping tons of sealant around the cam cover bolt rubbers but they still leaked oil badly. Bike has a Stage 3 jet kit with individual K&N's. Turns out the #3 K&N was so soaked with oil it would pull it into the engine and when cold it smoked badly. Replacing the bolt rubbers and filters (with some I had on hand from previous use) solved the problem. It took a bit to burn all that crap off of the inside of the pipes but the problem is solved,
As I said ....this bike was "Mint". Somebody was going to "fly from Australia and ride across the USA" on it. Good luck with that.
Pics don't tell the whole story and that is the caveat we should all be aware of.
Bike is much better now with an Ohlins rear shock (off my 87 FJ), full front Brembo brake set up, gaskets, valve adjustment, complete carb rebuild which was badly needed (using the great Yamaha Carb Cleaner), replacement stainless clutch line as the new one installed was pinched very badly when installed. Other things too. Next season front fork valves to balance the suspension out.
So....the word "Mint" varies from person to person. And....blue start up smoke isn't always seals or guides.

[Pat Conlon]

Hey Mike, how are you doing? Good catch on the bolt grommets.

If the PO did shit like that, pull the oil pan and check the pick up screen....bet you a jelly donut it's full excess Permagasket goop.

That bike is in good hands now....

[JMR]

 I am doing well Pat...hope you can say the same brother.Wish I could get some more riding in then I do....working on other people's stuff. Should be finished with the RC Engineering Triple engines next week.....can't wait to get that project done.
Dropping the oil pan drop is a good idea....thanks! This bike my brother bought does run very well now. In fact it is one of the quietist FJ's I have ever heard.....no weird mechanical sounds at all which makes all the work I did to it worthwhile.

[RPM - Robert]

I came across this yesterday. It had the description. "I asked him who did the oil change last time, he replied 'My buddy, he is a mechanic. Why?'" Fits the bad mechanic motif.

[Motofun]

A diesel glow plug?   

[JMR]

 I have seen a lot of things but never seen that.

[FJ_Hooligan]

That'll never work, the plug is cracked.  :-)

[FJmonkey]

The plug is too long, it is cracked from a lack of ground clearance. Hard to tell but the heat range might be a bit high. Might be okay, depends on what oil is used.