So I have a 94 escort that ran great up until the clutch completely wore out a little over a year ago. Mistakenly, I did not start the car during that period. Just a few days ago, I pumped all the old gas out, changed oil, sprayed some oil down the spark plug wells, and fired her up. She had a very thick cloud of white smoke for about 5 minutes, then it started to clear.

Its still smoking a small amount of smoke from the engine bay (I think its coming from under the heat shield), as well as the exhaust tip every time I start it. Weather is not too cold here, and it seems to be an issue even when warm. I haven't let it run for more than 10 minutes at a time. So far the oil doesn't look much different, maybe a little dark even though I just changed it.

So,

Do you guys think this is just water still built up from the car sitting for so long? Or should I not risk running it and take off the valve train to look at the head for any coolant leaks?

If it is a coolant leak, I don't remember it ever overheating before it sat for a year. So I'm not sure what would cause damage other than if I flushed the coolant wrong and caused it to overheat? I do also remember when I first started the car, it jerked real hard, and the oil pressure light came on. I shut it off quickly and checked the oil level, which was a quart lower than when I checked it prior to starting.

Thanks guys!