Originally Posted by Zick

I'm not disagreeing on the fact that bad valve seals will cause a startup smoke issue but I'd like to share some info that will cause the same symptoms.

After putting my basically new engine together (05' block w/ 1500 miles & brand new patriot heads) I started having a very bad oil consumption problem. It would smoke real bad at startup, so I naturally assumed it was bad seals. But I also was doubting this too since the heads are brand new.
So instead of digging into the heads to replace the seals I figure I try a easier route first to troubleshoot this problem.

I noticed that with a catch can in place of the pcv system I was getting some oil into it but it didn't seem like very much compared to what I was going through in a months time (2-3 quarts). So I thought that maybe the oil is getting past the catch can and still getting into the intake. So I went to autozone, picked up a clear inline gas filter and put it after the catch can. As soon as I started the engine, you could see a ton of oil going throught it.
After this I completly removed the pcv system and installed a couple breathers in place. Its been over a month since I've done this and I no longer have the startup smoke nor am I burning anymore oil.

Just my .02