White smoke.. With a twist

Alright so my 3.0 is shooting white smoke out of the exhaust.

It’s not overheating, coolant looks decent. But it only happens when it’s warm? Cold start no problem it won’t start blowing white until it’s warm. Any hot guesses?

 

Head gasket.

 

Wouldn’t she smoke when she starts then? It takes about 20 minutes to get smoke.

 

Things expand when they heat up, which could open whatever gap there is. Is the oil cloudy after running?

 

Oil looks fine, no bubbling in the coolant resi.

I did just do my valve cover gaskets and had to disconnect a coolant line if that changes anything.

 

Maybe check the spark plugs for fouling or moisture. Might identify which cylinder(s) affected.

 

Could just be a small blow which is why its not overheating yet, given enough time the blow could get worse and start overheating

The other possibility is a bad intake manifold gasket but that’s not a common cause or failure for white smoke on these engines

 

Get a tester kit. $40 and you'll know for sure.

 

Second this if you want to start checking possible issues off the list. Compression test, leak down test, Combustion leak test.

 

Maybe. On my 4th gen the test was inconclusive. The leak was so minor the only way I found it was pressurizing the cooling system and looking in the cylinder with a borescope. About every 45-60 seconds a single drop of coolant would trickle down the cylinder wall. But normally I'd fully agree with your advice to the OP.