1997 saturn sl1Trouble starting

You should have a trouble code or codes for the cylinder that is not producing power.
Once you know which cylinder, you need three things to make power.
Spark, fuel, and compression. One of the three components is lacking, such as a faulty injector or mechanical problem.

NORMALLY THAT IS A SYMPTOM OF A BAD HEAD GASKET, IF SO, IT MAY BE EXPENSIVE TO FIX.

try a new alternater and new battary

jlwhelen,
I will suggest that perhaps the blue smoke is not purely oil. It sounds like you may have an ignition problem where the engine has a hard time firing until warmed. The blue smoke may be, at least in part, unspent fuel. I realize that a warm engine that uses oil will smoke blue, but excessively rich conditions on startup can result in a similar effect. If the choke circuit is delivering a little extra fuel from a dirty injector, the problem may be worse when starting from cold.
To remedy this, I would suggest a simple replacement of plugs and wires, as well as a fuel injector cleaner through the tank. I would bet money that these simple maintenance points would solve your problem.

Good luck!
Lucky

The smoke sounds like its burning off any oil accumulating in the exhaust, and only goes down to the point where the crankshaft stops splashing in the oilpan.

knocking sound all the time?

when i blew the motor in my car it was pumping oil knocked real bad..

its on its last leg

sounds like your alternator is not charging.I would have that checked first.Also check battery terminal bolts/ cables

you have leaking fuel injectors they are fouling out plugs.

two places to check.... the water pump or one of the frost plugs has failed. what colour is the exhaust smoke ?

the other problems could be from the engine overheating so much

CHECK THE COILS, WE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM SPENT MONEY ON NEW STARTER, BATT, ETC. .....GOOD LUCK