Headgasket?

[HashiriyaS14]

So last summer, I got stuck in traffic on an 80-degree day for like an hour. Just at the end of that, when I was driving away, I noticed white smoke billowing out of the exhaust as I sped off.

I figured that meant my HG was toast, but I never actually overheated (temp gauge never went above normal), and after 2-3 minutes of driving at speed it had gone away.

And it never came back again, not in a year (colder weather granted, however).

So yesterday, I get stuck in traffic on a hot day again and sure enough....white smoke starts coming out.

I assume this means that I'm burning coolant, but would it really stay together for a YEAR and *never* happen again if I'd blown my HG?

I'm changing my oil today, so I'm going to look for any milky-ness.

The car runs/drives flawlessly, no loss of power or anything like that. It has only ever blown this white smoke twice. It always happens when sitting in traffic, idling for a long period of time.

[180fan]

Might want to take a look at your oil and also have a look at the torque on them head bolts. I'm guessing that one of your head bolts ain't on quite tight enough and letting stuff seep by when it's hot enough and under enough pressure.

[HashiriyaS14]

That's a good thought.

I changed the oil yesterday and while it was fairly dark for only having been in there a week, it wasn't in the least bit milky.

Additionally, if my coolant is leaking it's doing so VERY little, as my fluid level has not noticeably dropped.

[180fan]

Only other thing I can think of is, that if you're sitting around in traffic, there may be enough cooling of the exhaust gases and may be producing enough condensation and when you accelerate off, there's enough heat at that point to steam up some of that water. But no milkiness and no loss of power, if you're having some puffs at the tail pipe without any notable fluid level change in your coolant, it's probably just water vapor getting puffed out of your tail pipe.