Smoke from under valve covers

Had the car running and was inspecting things under the hood when i see white smoke comming out from the valve cover and oil filler cap. i checked the dipstick a few times and there was no oil on it so i immediately filled it, took 2 quarts. after filling i let it run for a while and its not smoking anymore. hope that diddnt do any harm, any input? im going to be replacing the valve covers and gaskets soon.

Had the car running and was inspecting things under the hood when i see white smoke comming out from the valve cover and oil filler cap. i checked the dipstick a few times and there was no oil on it so i immediately filled it, took 2 quarts. after filling i let it run for a while and its not smoking anymore. hope that diddnt do any harm, any input? im going to be replacing the valve covers and gaskets soon.

Valve covers and gaskets aren't going to do anything. If it was running with low oil pressure, there's a possibility of internal engine damage. Keep an eye on the oil pressure.

The smoke you saw could also be simple blowby - normal on a high mileage engine. It could also include steam, indicating a blown head gasket or cracked head/block - or even leaking intake manifold gaskets..

yeah ill watch it the next few days, forgot to mention the smoke was just comming out from under the driver side valve cover, not both sides.

it looks as if the oil may be leaking slightly from the drivers side valve cover onto the exhaust manifold but i dont smell anything that it could be burning off any oil like that.