Burning Oil, Rough Idle, and newbie introduction.

[ahalfacre5]

Hey guys first of all, I'm new to the forum, and bmws. Bought my first bmw after my truck's tranny busted into a thousand pieces. Traded it for a 1987 325is. Body and under carriage are in great condition. has a dent in the passengers side door, front drivers side fender is pretty bent up in the front from PO hitting a tree. otherwise it starts everytime, runs well (aside from what im about to list) and after 5 and a half hours last night, it has a good sound system. anyway, ive got some questions for you guys. first of all, I needs a new valve cover gasket, but as of last week, everytime I start it up until I take of down the road and hit about 4th gear, white smoke pours out of my exhaust. it smells a little like burning oil, but I was told that it is burning oil. the oil itself is only 500 miles old, and the old oil was clean. so is it valve cover related? or something else?

and... one more thing. its idling somewhat rough. ive heard the air intake boot will cause this if it has a crack in it, but I just want to make sure...

and if anyone has anything else I should check or replace let me know.. thanks in advance

-Adam

[sayed ali]

Check for vacuum leaks, and replace the valve cover gasket too..

Do a smoke test

[ahalfacre5]

Check for vacuum leaks, and replace the valve cover gasket too..

Do a smoke test

How is that done?

[dnguyen1963]

Well, not only you have vacuum leak, but I think your head gasket is history too (white smoke). Bring the car the a shop to have a smoke test done.

[F34R]

The head gasket is easy to change, just remember to set the timing on the cam before you remove the belt. It sets the crank's timing FYI.

Good luck and welcome, you will find all information you need here to get you running! The r3v family is great :)