Still Smoking (Maybe)

[utkayaker]

Thanks for all your previous replies - I have a 2001 2.7 liter - bought it to fix it up (quirks include the recent post about speedometers).

I had a good boil of smoke out of the right hand cooling port/duct.

I pulled the AOS and it was dry all the way around so I put it back in (a little smoke on start up out the exhaust).

I right hand side spark plug tubes.

I pulled the valve cover bolts one-by-one and added permatex ultra black to them and re-installed.

I can't feel any wet spots on the oil fill tube (but it does have some oily dust on it). I can't really see how this is the culprit but I could be wrong!

I started it and still have smoke (didn't take the wheel off) but it looks to be behind the catalytic converter at the joint that bolts to the lead tube for the muffler.

I am wondering if this is just residual oil (perhaps coming from the spark plug tubes???) so I hope to drive it around a bit during the daylight and then see what I can find out.

No check engine light is present. No codes on my new Actron 9125.

Any thoughts?

P.S. It IS wet on the underside but it doesn't seem to be smoking from underneath and no smoke comes up on the left-hand side.

THANKS!