ive got an 89 tpi and the other day i started it an noticed white smoke comming from the tail pipes, i thought it might be timing problem because i just replaced the distributor and thought the timing might have been a bit off. when i hit a stop light i noticed it still, but olny when the car came to a stop. the next morning i started it and it was running rough so i shut her down, and when i checked the oil it looked more like a starbucks coffee, pretty milky. so i assumed the worst, blown head gasket. the thing is the car has never really gotten hot, the thermostat is stuck open. my question is, what are the chances that its a bad seal along the intake manifold? or i've been reading about leaks from the head bolts? whats the chance that its just the intake and not the entire head gasket? i've olny run water in the cooling system (2,000 miles) would that cause a breakdown of the seals and if so which ones? my experience with camaros is limited i am a "junior" after all so any input would be a great help. i run just water in my 79 olds and have never had problems but a cutlass is defanitly not a camaro.

 

pop the intake off and look for residue between the water ports and the intake ports... if nothing is found then its headgasket. you didnt mess with the intake bolts when you changed the dizzy for any reason did you?

 

no i didnt do anything to the intake when i changed the dizzy, i just marked where the old one lined up, pulled it out and the new literally just dropped right in with no problems and the car fired right up with no issues.

i havnt had time to take the intake apart yet, i figured if im going to take it apart i may as well do what i can while im in there. i've got polished runners and a plenum that i want to put on. anyway if i find that the seals have broken down along the intake i can rule out the head gasket? i just dont want to go through one job then come to find that it wasnt really the problem. any simple tests to rule out the head gasket? perhaps a compression check or checking the plugs for any sort of residue?