I lol'd. .. no seriously I actually laughed.

That plate is where all the gremlins live :P (if I remember correctly its just a cover plate for the block's internals.

 

Maybe you can knock some sense into him.

Phil

 

I think he's just panicking a wee bit. It's that modern society tendency to look for immediate solutions to problems which are not entirely proven through.

 

Just to put things in perspective. I live in Montreal, Canada and the temperature today was around 35F. It looked like ALL the cars on the road had blown head gaskets. White smoke (condensation) everywhere you look.

All except one car, and it was a Chevy electric car.

So go figure!

Phil

 

EPayne42, I love you!

Don't forget to check the blinker fluid and replace any exhaust bearings!

 

LOL... I'm just about done. I was going to attempt a rear main seal job, but I'm just not up for it. If it turns out the seal is bad, I'll pony up the money to have a shop fix it.

 

Seriously mate, everybody here is telling you your car is fine. Stop being so paranoid...

 

I'm not worried about the white smoke any longer but there is a legit oil leak issue and I believe it could be the rear main seal. My axle seals (at the transmission) were bad and leaking, so I swapped them last night. I'll drive it around and see if the this cures the issue. The dripping I'm seeing could have come from those seals.

 

Quick Bump,

The white smoke is GONE. I replaced the lower intake gasket and also did a timing belt job (new water pump, pulleys, tensioner, & belt). No more smoke. Thanks to ES300NZ as well as all others for the advice. Not sure if the smoke was due to the lower intake gasket or the timing belt being past due, just know she's running smooth and smoke free.

 

there is an indian saying which is popular here "take it and go", which translates to "take the good thing you have, and accept your good fortune" :P

 

Wise words indeed