Coolant Flush- steam/smoke coming from back of engine

Thank you! I saw one of his videos from another post on here about flushing the coolant, and tried to look up one of his videos for this gasket replacement just now, but didn't see it- super happy for this!

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-gaskets-pictures.469596/page-6#post-24543510

 

Thanks for both your links!
Did some research and I think I can tackle it- just gotta go slowly, carefully, mark everything, pictures, and the right tools- probably gonna get all parts from Camelback, a little pricier than outsourcing but there's something to be said for peace of mind.
These were super helpful!!

 

I can clearly see the oil leak from the VC, thats figured out & behind us....
Im not going to pretend to know, what is this pipe about the bell housing that I marked?
Almost looks like exhaust outlet pipe from the driver side exhaust manifold going over the trans & out the passenger side?
If thats the case, that sucks.....

If its not exh, & some sort of coolant pipe which I doubt, needless to say dont like the white stains / discoloration on it...
might be nothing but white stains can mean dried up coolant in certain situations.
Some sort of coolant tube is my concern....

 

Thank you for noticing that!
It does look like the other coolant stains from some coolant spillage when refilling .... not familiar with the engine enough to know which tubes it could be from. I don't want to run the engine much before fixing the oil leak, so I probably won't be able to see the drip/leak if there is one- but when I do replace the valve gaskets and clean the engine, then run it I'm hoping that I'll be able to see where it's coming from.

If it is the exhaust that points to a head gasket? It's never gone over operating temp, and there wasn't a noticeable coolant level drop before, and the oil looks clean, also under the oil cap is clean, didn't see oil in the coolant when I drained and flushed it, and no engine light. But this flush could have brought some issues out-, fortunately/unfortunately. Guess I'll deal with the oil leak first since it's known- clean as much as I can and do an inspection to check anything else that I might be able to see.

Thinking to have a mechanic do a comprehensive inspection after I do what I can to see if I missed anything.

A couple months ago the engine light did come on- coded for the solenoid e shifter- but then it went off after a week. Then I drained and refilled the transmission fluid which was old and burnt. It did sit for three months outside with a cover over it- but underneath was exposed. Weather wasn't extreme- Summer in the East Bay Area- CA- but could've caused the solenoid to be sticky.

Last time I did some engine work I fixed the symptoms kind of- Engine coil 4 misfire- replaced the spark plugs and the engine coil, and a couple months later the engine died while driving- turns out there were underlying issues that maybe a mechanic could have spotted- metal was found in the oil, and had to replace the engine. Don't want to repeat that, and hope to have this truck for many more years!

 

im sure someone would chime-in on what that tube is first....
If its exhaust, may be nothing
could be just white staining from contamination burn of from the valve cover leaking back similar to the white stains at the oil leaking onto your exhaust manifold.
hard to tell from the picture.
not sure if theres hater hoses above it, etc....
someone will come along that knows this engine, I dont!!!!

 

Ha! Thanks for pointing it out! Least I can be aware- and just do one thing at a time hopwfully just an oil leak and smooth sailing