Chevrolet Repair: Possible Blown Head Gasket, blown head gasket, coolant leak

Question
I have a 1987 chevy 1/2 ton with a 350 sb. my question is: There is white smoke out my driver side exhast pipe but not the passenger side. The smoke doesn't smell from what i can tell and the drivers side of the engine runs hotter than the passenger side. The truck has a coolant leak but I don't ever see any on the ground, none in the oil either,it also doesn't want to idle steady at a stop light or stop sign in drive for a long period of time but in neutral or park it's ok. At high RPMs my exhuast will crackle, but it only does this occationally out of both sides. Since I've had this problem I've replaced: fuel filter, 3-4 cans of fuel injector cleaner (Gumout), new plugs wires cap and rotor, and I've rebuilt my throttle body, minus injectors. I've talked to my instuctors at my automotive college about this and they have said that it could possible be a slow leaking head gasket because i've only have to add coolant every other week to keep it full. I have all the necessary parts and equipment to get the job done I just don't want to tear into it and that not be the problem. Any information will be greatly appreciated. If any other information is needed feel free to contact me Hotrodder_2005@hotmail.com Thanks. Tyler  

Answer
Hi Tyler, If you have white smoke out the exhaust pipe it can only be one thing, coolant! Yes I would say pull both heads and do a valve job on them while you have them off. I'm sure you can do this at the college. The only other thing that could be a problem is a cracked cylinder head. You would have to mag the heads to find this, this is very rare though.

Hope this helps

Have a Great Day

Mark