95 4.0 OHV burning oil. Also leaking oil. Probable causes? (that aren't the heads/gaskets)

[Cyb3rst0rm]

I bought a 1995 Ranger with 259k miles on it and a 4.0 with the 4 speed/OD automatic. It's running pretty good power wise as far as I can tell but it's burning oil as well as leaking it. Paid $700 for the truck.
I was told the truck had sat for 6 months so let's take that into consideration.

The symptoms so far are:

• Hard, rough starts (3-5 seconds of cranking, pretty violent when it finally catches) but has never failed to start.
• Grey smoke out the exhaust, leaking water and at various point had oil pooling at the end of the pipe.
• Intermittent smoke in engine bay. Only when it's been sitting since started, if I drive it a few miles then park and pull the hood it doesn't do it. The smokes pretty minor, enough I can't really tell what color it is.
• Rattling noise from engine (I've had two people tell me it doesn't sound like the timing chain and this isn't an SOHC anyways)
• Leaking oil where the transmission meets the motor.

Aside from the heads or gaskets, what could this be? I'm thinking valves or maybe the EGR seeing as how the exhaust smoke and engine bay smoke stop or diminish greatly once I'm moving.
I don't think the rear main seal can cause it to burn oil can it?

If it's the head's I'm just going to leave it and hope I get to 300k before the engine detonates. I haven't changed the oil yet as I'm running stop leak through the motor but I usually run Valvoline High Milage Synthetic on a 3000 mile interval.
I figure if I change my plugs every 10k or so I should be good as long as it's just oil, since the main effect of that if I remember my engines 101 is fouled plugs. I don't have the mechanical skills to do it myself and realistically the truck probably isn't worth the labour costs to have a professional do it seeing as how it's already fairly high milage, the transmission isn't great (it isn't out right slipping but it makes some noises that concern me), and the body has various dents and dings throughout. I just bought the stupid thing to use a work commuter anyways.

 

[adsm08]

Burning oil is almost always the valve seals. Nothing else lets oil, get to the valves to get into the cylinder, except worn rings.

 

[RonD]

+1 on valve guide seals, they can be changed without removing heads, although it does take some extra time to do it that way.

On passenger side lower intake behind alternator, is the Fuel Pressure Regulator(FPR) it has fuel Return hose attached, AND a vacuum hose, check that vacuum hose for gasoline, should not be any in there of course.
If FPR starts to leak, fuel will go into that hose and will be sucked into engine, this lower MPG a bit while running.
But after shut down the fuel pressure can cause more fuel to fill up that vacuum hose, so on start up the engine gets a big gulp of extra fuel causing the grey smoke that goes away.


To test for valve seal leak go downhill in a lower gear, using engine as the brake, this creates about 30" of vacuum in the intake manifold
If there are leaking seals then this higher vacuum will suck more oil down the valve stems
After a minute or two of using engine as a brake, shift to Neutral and REV the engine while watching rear view mirror for puff of blackl/grey smoke

PCV system, check it, clean out hoses and replace PCV Valve
If there is quite a bit of oil in the PCV system then rings are probably the issue, (or cheap oil, lol), PCV system can be where oil in intake and exhaust is coming from
You can install a catch can on the PCV system to help make the engine last longer, if there is excessive oil from the "blowby"
A good working PCV system also helps lower the amount of oil going past leaking valve guide seals.


Leak between engine and trans is rear main seal, transmission need to be pulled to replace that seal, and it will leak alot of oil as time goes by, its right next to the rear main bearing so A LOT of oil is passed near this seal.
Just a leak, can't put oil in the exhaust


EGR system issue can make idle poor and may be loss of power, but no connection to oil in the exhaust or engine in general