Burning coolant after start up, head or intake?

[Chasethexplorer]

99 Sohc 207,x.. miles. I have been noticing that I keep getting low on coolant for the last few months, but have not had any issues with overheating. The other day I noticed that right after I start my truck it was white smoking from the exhaust, just a little bit but then went away fairly quickly and is totally gone (no smoke) when engine is totally warm. The other night it was 40 degrees out and when I started the truck it was pouring white smoke out of the exhaust, i have my muffler cut off so I have dual pipes and it was coming from both sides. At first I was sure I had a cracked head or blown head gasket, so I bought some head gasket stop leak which I havn't put in yet, once I realized it was coming from both banks of cylinders that made me think of the possibility that both head gaskets going at the same time would be highly unlikely. I remember reading somewhere that a leaky intake gasket can leak coolant? So my question is could a leaky intake gasket be the culprit, would it be a lower intake gasket or is there only one. Also should I put that stop leak in anyways since I already bought it or would it be bad to add if the head gasket is fine. I feel pretty confident that its not the heads or head gaskets now because thats wierd that its coming from both sides. I am going to try to find a compression tester first as that would probably tell me if my head gaskets are good. Now I just read that the sohc intake gasket doesn't have any connection to coolant so Im really confused.

Thanks, Chase

 

[1badfox]

A puff of blue smoke on initial start up can be an indication of worn valve seals

Don't use anything that says "stop leak" on your vehicle. EVER! it belongs in the trash and will do much more harm than good.

At 40* it's not uncommon to see "white smoke" from tbd tail pipes. This is called condensation or steam. If you can see your breath then don't worry.

Use a coolaning system pressure tester to do a leak down test and locate your leak. If the gauge bleeds down and there are no external leaks detected it may be time for a compression check. Make sure the oil and coolant are clean.(one major indicator of head gasket issues)

 

[Kris Guilbeaux]

Do you still have the cats on the Explorer? Also have you checked the thermostat housing for leaks. SOHCs are prone to leak there.

 

[swshawaii]

Ditto Kris. One of the most common failures on the 4.0 SOHC.
Remove the throttle body cover and shine a flashlight around
the lower thermostat housing and sensor(s) See coolant? Bingo!

http://bengrosser.com/howto/fordthermostat/