Rough Cold start

[Joust]

My 1995 22re has been starting rough lately.
It starts up fine but runs very rough for a few seconds then smooths out and runs great from them on. its not every time either.
Its been doing this for a couple weeks now.
This morning, it got worse. it started and run rough. it did not stop after a few seconds this time. when i started driving clouds of white smoke poured out the tailpipe. I know this to bee coolant burning.
so I parked it and looked around. all looks ok. coolant was low. so I topped it up. Started the truck and it was fine. smooth, not burning coolant.
What could this temporary situation be?
I could be mistaken but it seems to be more prevalent in the cold.

advice and opinions would be appreciated.

[Jayota]

Coolant getting into the combustion chamber could be the result of a worn timing cover, blown headgasket or cracked head.

I would pull the valve cover and inspect the chain and drivers side chain guide (while inspecting how much slack is in the drivers side of the chain).

If the guide is still there and the chain has only a little slack then that should be fine.

I would then move onto getting a leakdown test and a compression test done to figure out if the headgasket is gone.

is there any coolant in the oil?

[Joust]

thanks for the info.
there is no coolant in the oil at all. thats good advice. I was thinking of getting a leakdown test.

[Jayota]

Well thats good, coolant/water in the oil is a recipe to ruin the bottom end bearings.

Avoid running the motor till you find out whats going on.