Leaking Head Gasket?

[BadSeed]

My car today started blowing out all kinds of white smoke from the exhaust after I started it. It stopped after about 5 - 10 mins. We got alot of heavy rain today, and there was a little smoke coming out from the uhm...dam, not the head gasket (although mine does leak occassionally, sealant I used is not working that great) but the smoke came from the rubber piece that connects to the air filter (I think...I am not so sure about that exactly)...

ANYWAY....think this could be related to water gettin in there, or perhaps my engine has a bad piston that is leaking in it??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just had a bunch of work done on my car (ac repair, master cylinder and brake lines repaired) and I am getting ready to go crazy w/this thing. Thanks in advance!

[anchovies]

Probably just moisture.
Anyway, you can check you coolant for oil or your oil for coolant.

[A20A1]

hmm you mean the smoke is coming from the valve cover filter hose?

If it's coming from under the filter it could be from the gaskets that are on the EFE plate that sit between the carburetor and the intake manifold. also are you actually supposed to add sealent when you put on the head gasket... I never thought it to be a good idea since the amount of heat/stress between the two parts would surely dry out and wear out any sealants and cause it to fail.

[BadSeed]

thanks for the tips. I think its the from under the valve cover filter hose. It looks like it was coming from the part that leads to the filter above the engine. I need to try and find an online chilton's guide so I have a better idea what I am talking about...

anyways, today my car was driving ok but then when I got to work, I turned off the engine and .... poof. another big cloud of grey smoke came out of the exhaust. I think its the gasket. Is it safe to drive around like this??

A mechanic is supposed to look at it today for me but I would like to know a little more about this subject first. thanks again!

btw, how long should something like this take to inspect?

[BadSeed]

well my engine pistons need to be recalibrated, I guess. The smoke was coming from under the intake manifold connected to the carborator. My car doesnt smoke constantly, and I can't afford the time/$$$ to get this fixed, so I am driving it around like this for now. Thanks for the advice. I will keep everyone update

[shepherd79]

white smoke= moisture/ coolant.
blue smoke= valve seals if it is smoking all the time, and valve guides if it stops smoking after warms up.
grey/black smoke= smokes when you floor it, you are running rich. smokes all the time, your rings are bad.

[Swan]

umm...yeah, I'm having some kind of problems.... all of a sudden, my cars been making this real bad sound... it started off as just a little seperate buzzing, kinda like the engine, but a totally different tone....but now, its roaring like a friggin' v8!! and when you turn the little throttle doo-hickey, you can hear like a sucking sound... just for a second...I've had a several people say that its a vacuum leak, and it may be the head gasket.... but there's no smoke like I've heard everyone talk about on here... .... now that I think about it, it sounds like it did when my exhaust pipe had basically rusted all the way off... that COULD be the problem... but would that cause the "sucking' sound?

[BadSeed]

hmm can't help you out much there. But, I am sure someone will post an idea to you soon on this board, seems like alot of knowledgeable ppl here. (thanks Shep and A20)

I think my timing needs adjustment. When my car is in neutral, the engine revs up to almost 3,000 rpm, then it drops back to 1000 when I put it into gear. What gives???

[Swan]

badseed, I have that problem sometimes just when I have the clutch pushed in...not necessarily in neutral...sometimes it does it, and others it doesn't... hmm.... I wonder if my problem could just be the intake manifold gasket? about how much trouble is it to replace both intake gasket and head gasket? I'm trying to save money and do it myself, but most likely, i'll have to buy a lot of tools to make up for having a mechanic do it anyway.... so I dunno...

[Swan]

wait... I think i know something about the revving up in neutral or with the clutch in.... next time it does it, stick your toe behind the gas pedal and pull it up... see if that works... that's what mine does... something like the pedal is sticking a little.... kinda strange...

[BadSeed]

Thanks for the tip Swan, I have not tried that yet, but I will try it tommorrow and let you know. I wonder why the gas pedal is doing that. I don't have to deal with a clutch, but I will try it and let you know. I think my intake manifold and head gasket are also causing me problems too. My car smokes sometimes from under the hood when I am driving. Good luck working on it yourself, I don't have the time or $$$ to learn and buy tools right now. Good luck

[al010101]

*al scratch's head* , sealant you used on headgasket? what? last i knew you didn't use sealants on head gaskets....

[al010101]

oh and headgasket/intake manifold gasket (and exhaust gasket while ur there) takes about 3 hours if you've never done it before.... you'll need very few tools....screwdrivers, 10mm, 12mm sockets/wrench's, should should do it for the most part....been like 3 week since i did one though. after you do one though, it's a 45minute job....it's almost as easy as checking the oil! just a bit more expensive