Yes, I think it could run just fine while the crack is still minuscule. Everything would still be working normally, it would just be burning a little coolant now and then.

But it is important to take care of this asap before the crack spreads and turns into the infamous "D chunk" with the cylinder totally failing. It will be expensive, but you can have your engine rebuilt to better than new.

Your other option is to drive it to a dealer, any dealer, and trade it in while it is still running!

GL

I'd be trading that sucker in........

We didn't ask if he had a turbo hooked up to it???? I assuming not.

Well it seems to be oil not water and the initial diagnosis is the Oil Separator. Should have this confirmed mid day Friday. Wish me luck

well that's great news compared to what you were expecting! dodged a bullit.

How do like Hergesheimer's?

subscribed...good luck!

Good news....but then smoke must have went from white to blue and it probably didn't smell sweet. My car did this a few times. I think it's pretty common.

RollingArt, I have had my car serviced a few time from Hergesheimer and they have always done a good job.

hmmm, very interesting observations on here...

my white smoke on start up ONLY occurs after being driven hard during a DE session. there is never any smoke when starting up/using as daily driver. i never thought to smell it and i THINK it turns blue but not sure. i just always assumed it was the AOS failing under load, or oil pooling in the cylinders (?) and burning off after hard running...or whatever fangled thing happens in that whatchamacallit - i dont know too much about engines, sorry!

now you all have me thinking i need to smell it. i am pretty sure my coolant level hasnt moved but i do add some oil inbetw changes and given my amount of track days i am still leaning to the oil pooling or an overworked-on-the-track AOS.

The smoke is normal. My BMW motorcycle does it sometimes. It's the white/vapor sweet smelling smoke that you don't ever want to smell. That would mean big trouble for your motor and your pocket book.

It is more common to see guys blowing head gaskets running a turbo charger.

How is your coolant level ? Check to see if it gets below min when cold.

You may want to have the cylinders on bank 2 bore scoped. Scored cylinders will have this symptom as well and typically it's due to overheating under hard acceleration/driving before the engine/coolant system is at operating temp. Reference hartech.org

While it's true that this is most commonly an issue with a cracked head, the good news is that I had this happen a couple times and it was nothing. If your car has been idle for a while then the white puff is more normal. I would also get it sometimes the day after a hard run.

I first saw this in 2006 and I'm still going strong today (knock on wood), but mine is very intermittent. I don't see it every time and I only have 31k miles. I agree with the advice to get it checked out, but I thought I'd chime in with a little positive note too.

Parking on the up angle of a hill can also cause this... always park at an angle facing downhill or level ground if possible. Very long read but this is referenced on pg 65. http://www.hartech.org/docs/buyers%2...20part%205.pdf

How many miles do you have on the car? Good to hear it may be the AOS and not a more serious issue.