White smoke from exhaust

I have a 1970 CJ5 with a Buick V6 in it. I get white smoke from the drivers exhaust just for awhile after I start it cold. It goes away after it warms up and does not come back until its cold and has sat awhile. It is not burned oil but more like condensation smoke. Smells like antifreeze though. There does not seem to be water in the oil when I check the dipstick but there is milky substance inside the rocker cover. People have told me this is normal for this engine. The engine runs good and does not seem to mis fire. Maybe a blown head gasket ? It has headers on it if that matters.....................Thanks RM

 

Just my opinion, but that sounds like a head gasket to me. I'm sure you'll be getting a lot more qualified opinions soon.

Oh, and welcome from Denver! Got photos of your Jeep? You'll be hearing that a lot.

 

head gasket or possibly a cracked head.........

 

Probably a bad head gasket. It's something you should take care of now so that it doesn't become a bigger problem. You don't want to get to the point where coolant gets into your oil, then you'll need to replace bearings and possibly more. Welcome from NJ. We do like pics here.

 

Is it bubbling up from the compression of the engine?

 

Normal

Many cars do it upon startup.

 

X2

 

Thanks for all the input. For sure not oil, it is either condensation or coolant for sure. The question is which one. I have to add coolant, but only a little and I do not drive it often. I do not want to go into the engine if its not needed. Like I said, earlier. The motor runs fine and does not seem to mis fire. Just the dang condensation out of the driver side header when its starts up until it warms up. Than it stops. Only the one side of the exhaust. I did change the timing chain cover awhile back with a used one. Is there any way water can get into the exhust from there. I did not think so. The radiator shop with the sniffer sounds like a good idea and so far I will give that a try. I will post a picture of the jeep when I figure out how. Its a nice jeep with original drive train and clean body with no rust at all. Two owners before me and the jeep lived in the So. Cal. mountains and in the desert before I got it and its back in the So. Cal. mountains again. It has a 3 speed tranny and an overdrive. I put on a skyjacker lift, soft top, tires, new seats, paint, rebuilt tranny, heater and some other misc. stuff as the money allows. After I get this condesation thing figured out I was going to install a painless wiring harness. the current wiring is a nightmare. I understand the painless harness is a quality product and not to difficult to install...............thanks for the input

 

The smoke does not smell like or look like burned oil and it dissipates fast like condensation. The motor does not use any oil either. The smoke also smells like coolant rather than oil. Thats the part that has me concerned that maybe its coolant in the exhaust…………Thanks

 

you might be able to detect the coolant leak by introducing compressed air into each cylinder on the bank you suspect. This has to be done with the piston at top dead center and the valves closed. Air is introduced into the combustion chamber thru the spark plug hole. This is performed much like a cylinder leakage test, only you will remove the radiator cap and look for bubbles or a slight rise in the coolant level; doesn't work all the time, as engine temp could be a factor.
just another simple test you might be able to perfrom yourself

 

Ok, I pick it up from the tranny shop today. I will try the sniffer check and the air in the cylinder. If I cant be sure I will go ahead and pull the heads, have them checked and replace the gaskets. When I first got the jeep I never noticed the smoke and thats what has me concerned................Thanks for all the input

 

i was thinking of condensation, however, if it smells like coolant and milky substance inside rocker cover then i would agree thats its a head gasket or head itself. it sounds like you have a cold leak (means it leaks when cold when the metal or gasket is contracted and seals when hot due to expansion...hot leak is just the opposite) as far as the milky substance...well ive seen this on engines that got exposed to moisture (rained on while hood is open, or owner washing his or her engine with a water hose) only thing about this is it goes away after driving for awhile because it just evaporates with heat. if its constantly there then that tells me water/coolant is seeping in (when its cold) good luck

 

I am having the same problem. Drivers side only. Mine Blows smoke after it sets a day or two. The smoke clears up after it gets warm. I was thinking valve guides but mine also smells like anti-freeze. I am loosing anti-freeze. I had to replace a freeze plug because it was leaking. I thought that was the source of my anti-freeze loss but I am still lossing it. My oil fill cap has the milky crap on it. The Jeep runs good except at start up it misses alittle till it warms up. I am looking to replace my head gaskets soon as I am able. Working on the house I just bought is taking all my time. Good luck with yours.

 

Retorque the heads and see what happens. They might be a little loose from normal heat cycling. When the metal expands, it squeezes the head gasket tight again and the leak goes away.