White smoke coming out between the engine and the radiator.

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Old Jul 12, 2018 | 07:47 PM
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White smoke coming out between the engine and the radiator.

This just started happening. After starting the car up from cold, after around or less than a minute, thin wispy white smoke starts coming out between the gap from the engine and radiator, around the middle, and it seems to be coming from the engine side. Amount of smoke increases as I let it go on. The temperature doesn't seem to show that it's overheating, though I haven't let it run for very long beyond driving back to my house a short block away. Smoke also has a weird smell too. I've uploaded some pictures showing where it's coming from, though the pictures don't seem to capture the amount of smoke well. Any clues? Can I afford to bring it to my usual mechanic 30 minutes away or should I drive it ASAP to a closer one?
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Old Jul 12, 2018 | 07:48 PM
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Oh, forgot to mention. This is an 2005 Acura RL. Thanks in advance.
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Old Jul 13, 2018 | 06:49 AM
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Loose coolant hose? That seems like a lot of coolant...
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Old Jul 14, 2018 | 10:06 PM
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Looks like the smoke is coming off of the catalytic converter. Something is leaking onto it and burning. Any puddles or drips underneath? Could be oil from valve cover gasket. Or coolant from radiator. Or tranny cooler line blown out of the rad.
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Old Jul 14, 2018 | 11:06 PM
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Did you change any fluids recently? Definitely looks like it's burning off from the catalytic converter. If you spilled oil or something on it that would probably be it.
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Old Jul 15, 2018 | 10:06 PM
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I'll check tomorrow if there's anything leaking under the car. Do you guys think it's safe to drive it for 30 minutes to my usual mechanic?
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Old Jul 15, 2018 | 10:18 PM
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Depends on how serious the leak is. Having a catastrophic oil leak from the valve cover area is not likely. But a decent leak from the rad is possible. Or if the tranny cooler line broke off the rad you definitely will not make it because you'll run out of fluid in a couple minutes. But if you have no puddles and fluid levels are still ok, you should make it. When you check coolant, check the actual radiator as well, not just the overflow (and do it engine cold).
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