Blue Smoke, Ticking...

Long-time Reader, first-time poster... (Feels like a radio show, doesn't it?)

So, I searched, but to be honest, I'm not sure what exactly I'm looking for...

I recently went on my first wheeling trip(at Paragon), and while I did have an awesome time, I now have concerns about my Jeep.

On the way to Paragon, we went up a very steep hill, for quite sometime. When I got to the top, I realized there was a cloud of blue smoke following me... and it continued to follow me for awhile, but then went away. Later on, when we stopped for lunch the guys that were following me on the trail joked that they were high from all the blue smoke my Jeep had been putting out. I watched the video and it is true... there is constantly blue smoke coming out of my exhaust. I got a small video of an example here... http://benlewman.com/Movies/Smoke.mov

Since I've had my XJ, August of last year, I've noticed a ticking whenever I give it some extra gas. To get over this, I just turned up the radio. That worked for awhile, I don't know if it's getting worse or not, but I can hardly stand it. I had someone who knows more than I do about engines listen to it, while idle-ing in the garage, and they said it sounded like I needed a valve job. I contacted my local mechanic, and they said it would cost me around $800 to get one!

So all this blue smoke and ticking has me thinking it's time for a new Jeep or a new engine... but, if you couldn't tell by now, I don't know all that much about engines and am not very mechanically inclined, so I could be way off.

thanks for any help!

Oh yeah...

1994 XJ, 124,xxx miles, NP242, AW4, D30, D35, 3.55, 235/75/15 Toyo Open Country AT's, Front Drawtite Hitch, Rear Hidden Hitch

blue smoke is burning oil, ticking is probley the valves. valve job is pretty easy to do.

likely the two are related. Blue smoke is usually valve guides worn out.
I imagine that it's worst at start up and after it's ben idling a while.
$800 for replacing valve cuides seems like quite a bit, my brother bought an entire motor for his XJ for that price.

Thanks for the replies so far guys, but does anyone have any ideas or advice for me?

I guess overall, I'm just wondering how much this is going to cost me to get it fixed?

One more bump and if I still get no response... I'll take the hint and leave you guys alone.

Thanks

Had the same problem with an old ford truck with about 130k on the clock. Here is what I would do:

If your valves are sticking and not really that worn, this might work for you and it's a lot cheaper than a valve job.

Get 3 cans of rislone internal engine cleaner, 8 quarts of cheap oil (sae 30), 4 quarts of good oil, and 2 new oil filters - one cheapo and one fram or better, 1 qt of Slick 50 high mileage treatment, and a few empty milk containers (for the old oil).
Follow the instructions on the can of rislone but do it 3 times !

1) Remove about 1 qt of oil from the engine (or in your case, just drive it until it is 1 qt low. based on your description, it shouldn't take that long to do )
2) Add 1 can of rislone and run the engine for the recommended amount of time.
3) Let it cool.
4) Dump the oil and pull the oil filter.
5) Replace oil filter with cheapo oil filter.
6) Put oil plug back in bottom of engine
7) Fill with 2nd can of rislone and I think 4qts of cheap oil - what ever it takes to fill it up to the proper amount. (don't over fill it).
8) Run engine for the recommended amount of time.
9) Let it cool.
10) Dump the oil.
11) Put oil plug back in bottom of engine
12) Fill with 3rd can of rislone and I think 4qts of cheap oil - what ever it takes to fill it up to the proper amount. (don't over fill it).
13) Run engine for the recommended amount of time.
14) Let it cool.
15) Dump the oil and pull the cheapo oil filter.
16) Replace oil filter with the good one (Fram or better).
17) Put oil plug back in bottom of engine
18) Put 1 Qt good oil in engine.
19) Put Slick 50 in engine
20) Put 3 qts or what ever it takes to fill the oil to the manufacturers recommended amount.
21) Drive your XJ for 1 hour and pray the ticking goes away.
22) Put what ever oil you have left over under your seat for future use.
23) Use Slick 50 high mileage treatment or booster every time you change your oil from here on out.
24) Good Luck !

This worked for me and I now have 171k on the clock and no more ticking and no more oil burn. Let us know if it works for you.

If this does not work, get some more bids on the valve job. Sounds like you need one. $800 does not sound that bad if it includes parts and labor. Swapping the whole motor will cost you much more since you can't do it yourself. And if it is just the valves, swapping the motor is like tossing out the baby with the bathwater. But I will say that when the valves go, it is usually time for an engine rebuild. 124k on the clock is not bad. Let us know how it works out.