What is causing my car to smoke?

Question

I have a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS and I just noticed that there was smoke coming out of my exhaust. Since it was night time i couldnt tell what color, but there is black stuff on my bumper and my exhaust pipe. I changed my spark plugs, ignition coils, and wires today (cause of a multiple cylinder misfire code) and there was oil in 1 or 2 of my spark plug wells, if i fix the leak will it stop the smoke? I don't think its antifreeze cause its not overheating. Thanks -Heylookitsbret- If i forgot something let me know and ill add more details!

Answer 1

Oil in the tops of the spark plugs is the valve cover gasket leaking. The car is running rich. It sounds to me like something that has been driven hard for a while. You probably need some head work to get the vavles to start sealing good again. of course before all that You should run a comprssion check and leak down test to check the engines integrity

Answer 2

it could be valve seals. oil leaking down on the valves.

Answer 3

It most likely the piston rings if your burning alot of oil and its smoking

Answer 4

if you have oil in your plug wells then yes, the leak must be stopped... my question is how is the oil getting into your cylinders? If you have black specks on your bumper then you are burning oil through your engine. The most common reason for this is over filling the engine with oil. Make sure you are reading your dip stick correctly. when you check your oil your Eclipse should be parked on level ground and the engine should be cold. If you are over filling your engine with oil then the oil in your plug wells has weeped by the plugs through the cylinder. Basically you have no leak... just too much oil. If you are confident that you are not over filling your engine with too much oil then your leak is significant because its in your head gasket or very close to it.  I can tell you from experience that an Eclipse head gasket replacement is a nightmare. Did it myself and it took 3 days!