White smoke from passenger side firewall???

[Vondy]

Hi there, I have a 1990 LX 5.0 and the last couple times I've started it I've noticed white smoke coming from the back left of the engine bay. It almost seems to be coming from the transmission tunnel or the lower part of the motor.

I've also heard that this could possibly be a heater core leak. Any way to test it? And if there are any recommendations please let me know!

 

[Mustang5L5]

Check the condensation drain at the bottom of the firewall and see if you see any green liquid dripping out and onto your exhaust

 

[Specracer]

You will want to address this soon, by changing the core, or bypassing it, before it soaks your interior carpet. 3 options for replacement, the off shore aluminum replacements available at all of the suppliers (LMR Rock Auto etc), find a NOS OEM, or have a recore done. Ive done 2 in the last year or 2, one with Aluminum, and one with a recore. I was not super happy with the quality of the aluminum which was the 1st one I did, so found a local shop to perform a recore.

 

[Vondy]

Thanks for the replies. I checked today at the drainage port of the heater core and there is no visible fluid coming out. Today I realized that the smoke kind of smells like ATF. Is it possible that the dipstick is leaking onto the exhaust or something?

Additionally, the smoke isn't directly under the heater core drain. It's more towards the actual engine block. I have also discovered what seems to be ATF inside my radiator, which has coagulated into a thick sort of orangey/brown foam towards the radiator cap. Any clue?

I've attached an image to help clarify where the smoke is located. Thanks a ton.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The aod trans cooler lines also are directly over the exhaust. I forget what side of the car they are on.

If those leak, they drip down onto the h-pipe.

 

[General karthief]

The aod trans cooler lines also are directly over the exhaust. I forget what side of the car they are on.

If those leak, they drip down onto the h-pipe.

Passenger side