trouble need diagnostic help

[blown89lxi]

in my last post in the engine swap section i said i blew my engine. after having the car towed i started it up for the hell of it and it started. i need help diagnosing the problem. when i thought it blew heres what happened: i started it and all of a sudden there was a loud CV like clicking fom the front of the car. Then i drove for like 10-15 ft and it got louder so i shut the car off. by that point my car was spewing immmense amounts of white smoke into the streets. i then let it sit for a week and after towing it home tonight i decided to start it up. IT WORKS. but it still smokes (white smoke). help. any troubleshooting advice would be appreciated.

[shepherd79]

you head gasket broke. you need to get it replaced.
i just bought a car with bad headgasket and i tell you onething, it is not nice to look at dirty brown oil.

[k-roy]

Head gasket

[blown89lxi]

thats what i was thinking. i have done some work on my last car but never any internal work, is it possible for me to do this myself or with a little help. the most difficult work i have done was my timing belt on my 94 eclipse. with the help of a technical manual i should be able to do this right? time is no object as well so im thinkin i might as well try. what do you guys think?

[blown89lxi]

oh yeah. if the head gasket broke would anything else have broken as well?

[danronian]

Possibly, but another question to ask is why would it have broken. Make sure to see if your thermostat opens and flush the coolant system real well. Coolant that is exposed to exhaust fumes doesnt act as antifreeze so drain that coolant as soon as you can (that is if the car is in a place where it goes below freezing). But it could have broken merely b/c it was old and corroded. That clicking sound is strange though... Maybe alot of coolant got inside the motor and caused a spun bearing or even a cam bearing, who knows. Good luck.