When I start my car, I get some white smoke for about the first 5 minutes it runs. I notice moisture from the tail pipe when it smokes. I knew the answer to this one once before. Gasket problem? No overheating. Oil pressure sits under 45 when warmed up.

Losing any coolant?

 

If not,then not to worry.

Engines produce water w/they run.The vapour condenses and becomes visible w/it is cold out.

Thank you so much! It has been VERY cold lately and my radiator has no fluid loss. I'm glad this was just me being paranoid. lol

another common cause of white smoke on startup with high mile engines are valve guides, oil seeps in overnight while sitting and causes light smoke on startup. either way its no huge problem

You didn't say is it auto. or manual transmission? The auto. 3sp trans. had a vacuum modulator valve that would leak ATF into the vacuum hose. The ATF would run into intake manifold and burn the fluid out the tailpipe. So re-check ATF & front differential fluid levels.Hope this helps Ralph

When it "smokes" place your hand in the cloud near the tailpipe. You can tell a lot about the condition of a engine by the smell of the exhaust.

 

Slight fuel, oil smell, white smoke that wets your hand is perfectly normal

Strong fuel smell, running rich

Sweet maple syrup type smell, antifreeze. On an ea that would more likeley be an intake gasket. Not a hard fix

Burnt oil, valve guides, keep tabs on oil use, if its excessve, like more than 2qts per change, you may look at doing these

Burnt oil, that doesnt smell like motor oil, trans fluid. Check the vacuum modulator, only on 3at