Ok so I bought a 1998 mitsubishi montero sport, manual 5 spd 2.4L, 4 cyl 2wd, from a local tow yard (as a lien sale). The car hasn't been registered since 2011, so I assume it's been sitting at this facility for a year or two, with very little or no driving or maintenance. Anyways Everything important checked out when looking at the car, so I bought it. Now, here I am with a few questions for the more-educated.

Number one: after the vehicle sits long enough for the engine to cool down, it dumps white smoke from the exhaust upon start-up. I'm not talking about your average condensation, I'm talking about billowing clouds of smoke. It does this for a few minutes (3-5) and then it stops completely. No problem until the engine cools down and it's the same thing all over again. I don't think it a cracked/warped head or bad gasket because there are no other symptoms. Temperatures fine, CEL is off, can't find any coolant in the engine, no foam or sweet smells, exhaust smoke is white, but doesn't smell sweet like coolant, coolant level does NOT drop whatsoever. I topped it off the day I got it, and it doesn't look like it's lost any. No liquid underneath the car (aside from AC condensation). What the hell could it be? Oh & also, along with white smoke, exhaust drips water with black dust In it. Took it to pep boys so they could check for codes, and NOTHING haven't smogged or registered it yet, but pep boys said as far as OBD goes it would pass smog. I haven't had any noticeable loss in power, but I've only had the car 3 days, and I'm not used to driving a 4 banger lol.

So far I've replaced the battery, oil, oil filter, topped off the coolant, and replaced rotor.
Tomorrow is my only day off for a while so I plan on replacing plugs, wires, and pcv valve I have in the trunk (though I highly doubt any of these would be the cause of my problem). I'd like to replace the distributor cap as well but I need to special order it.

Question 2
Where can I find the pcv valve? And do I need to replace a grommet as well?

Question 3
I replaced the rotor, but I didn't notice what position it was in when I took it out, so I just put it back in randomly. There were only 3 possibilities seeing as though it connects to a triangle shaped rod. If I put it in the wrong way could it affect the timing or firing order? I can't tell if I'm imagining things, or if it seems to be running rough every here and there.

 

It could be a final burning of oil in your exhaust which is quite common on this vehicle. Smell the exhaust while inspecting it for white smoke. Typical exhaust from a properly running engine should smell like burning motor oil. Sweet smelling exhaust indicates that coolant is burning in the cylinders and an internal coolant leak is present. This is commonly caused by a cracked head or failing head gasket.

 

your valve stem seals need to be replaced