every 3-4k. picking up an oil change tonight on way home from work. been using the extended life valvoline but going back to the normal to see if that helps. 5w-30 and fram filter. even with it smoking is it ok to drive. dont mind the smoke just dont want the wife to break down driving kids to school and her to work. she's anxious to get out of my old f150 4x4 and get back in her van....side thought...any of those stop smoking treatments etc worth a darn?

 

If it is indeed the valve seals(very common on that vintage 3.0), count yourself extremely lucky to have made it to 165k. Every one I ever knew of including our 1988 generally made a smoke screen by 120k or sooner. When it happened to ours, it was the year that both kids were in college so having someone do the repair wasn't in the cards. I told my wife to shoot me if I did something like that again after I had finished the repair. I will say that it ran fine for another 90,000 miles before I scrapped it last year.

 

I have the same problem with my mits/D50 truck. with 155k on it.

 

The 3.0L didn't change much over the years. Your 1988 was one of the ones that the valve guides would drop in. Chrysler fixed the problem by 1991 by putting snap rings in a groove to keep them from doing that. They used that modification until they stopped using the 3.0. The valve stem seals were still a moderate problem, but not a bank breaker. I miss the 3.0L.

 

Yeah it's OK to drive but you'll be leaving a fog trail. Run 10/30 in that engine

 

hopefully last update...change oil and filter last night. used valvoline 5w30 high mileage and fram filter (normal combination for me). Had wife drive it tonight and i followed her. theres a little bluish smoke when she accelerates from low speed but normal driving I saw nothing. Very little when idling. Temp gage ran normal. Shes gonna drive it tomorrow to work. gonna keep a close eye on it. but its actually better than I expected. Hope it stays that way. Also dont see any coolant leaks so I guess the water pump fixed that (orig problem). Big thanks to you guys for all the help and info. Really was beneficial. thanks again.