How do i know if i have a blown head gasket? When i start it up recently i have a little puff of white smoke, and my car is running hot (my manual fan switch is basically always on now) and i DO smell coolant alot. I changed the oil about 1.5 months ago and it was ok then. I havent dont a compression test (dont wanna yank the plugs if i dont have too) any ways i can tell for sure if i have a blown headgasket? and if its not that! whats is it?

 

Hate to say it, but start pullin those heads off, youve got a blown gasket on your hands, usually though it will constantly have white smoke, but it might just be small enough to where when the heads heat up it seals the leak again, hows the coolant level?

 

seems like its going down a tad not good. should i do a comp test to make SURE?

 

forgot to ask this, did you smell the exhaust when the white smoke comes out, even though it sounds a lot more like coolant in the combustion chamber than oil, just want to make sure, oil is usually bluish but its hard to tell sometimes. If the car is overheating, if its running like crap, if your coolant is down, and if you have white smoke, its a head gasket, you can run compression if you want, but go to a gm dealership, find the gaskets, and get to work, oh dont forget the ARP headbolts if you plan on taking the heads off again. might i suggest the impala SS gasket too, its thinner, less material to blow, bump the comp a point or two, not that thats the reason to get it, but might as well, unless you are running juice or blower.