HI there
I have a 1600 TP
often when I start it after it has been sitting for a few hours or more - I get a cloud of blue smoke
Then it runs fine after a minute

any clues?

It happens

Mine does it if i park driver front wheel lowest. And then only when people are standing near. Did it more in summer come to think of it. I posted something about it stopping when we had a cold snap just befoe winter.
Try a thicker oil - see if that makes a difference. I run a thin straight 30W

Probabally getting oil past a guide.
A lot of VW's do it.

IF it does it ALL the time i would worry ..... occasionally ..... well live with it.

I know of many fresh rebuilds that still do it

yes it is most embarassing when trying to impress:o

it is parked on a slope most of the time

not much i can do about that

thanks for the reply

It is because of the flat layout of the VW motor.

When it is parked on a slope, the oil will run past the back of the pistons and settle in the combustion chamber. It will then burn off when started.

It is not clear whether it comes from the sump level itself being higher than the bottom of the cylinder, or just the oil on the cylinder walls running into the combustion chamber. The result is the same. The solution is to not park on hills.

OK _ so you reckon it is comming from the bottom of the motor rather than the top.

That would explain mine a bit better. I thought my heads were fine. My P&Cs i know are ..... well........ cost effective

it'll happen no matter how good your cylinders are. Piston rings are designed to scrape oil, not completely seal against it.

The same prob will happen to a normal car if you roll it on it's roof and leave it there for a while.

Geee come on guys it could be as simple as oil running down through valve guides and burning on start up, just sounds like an old engine that needs the head, done.

All old cars or engines do it

My bet would be valve guides too. Puff of oil smoke on start up is usually the symptom.

Now I have been away from VW engines for a few month now and could be going silly but wouldn’t it need to be a very serious slope to get enough oil into the tappet covers to reach the valve stems and then run down into the chamber whist sitting ?

I have a brand new Type 1 and it will puff blue smoke if I park it on a Baja for to long due to the angle of their roof. Although it does have 92mm P &B set so according to Wes they will be stuffed now as they have 2000km on them .

Back to the case at hand. I agree with Wes it is getting by the pistons as the sleeve sits very close to the oil level. If rings stopped all oil then barrels would run dry and seize.

I wouldn’t worry about it unless it is constant or you are starting to use heaps of oil. Next thing you know you will be trying to stop oil weeps from the case.

I wish, my water cooled don't leak a drop. The 2020 on the other hand likes to marks its ground. I have been told adding some tappet cover gaskets may stop this though.

I leave it as it is cause the most it has ever dropped it 2 drops when I first park it there. Saves me checking the level.

I diagnose worn valve guides by the rattle & by creating a high vacuum situation & watching the exhaust. This happens by accelerating hard then going on the over-run. The resulting high vacuum in the inlet can suck oil down the valve stem to be burntif the guide is worn.
In this case it appears to be the usual boxer characteristic of oil seepage past the rings. My BMW R80RT does it as well!