So I talked to my mechanic today and he told me to up the hood and crank my car up, furry thing he says is sounds like a head gasket. So he let me use his one car air conditioned garage, complete with bathroom to pull it apart. I've done some work with him, or a lot being I've owned 10 vehicles all but one being older than 2000 so he has some faith in my ability to pull apart a motor. As I got the intake off I noticed a bunch of junk in the intake valley and coolant passages in the heads. It looked like a bunch of built up slag from cutting but when I got a chunk of it in my hand it crumbled like a ball odirt. Any idea what this crap could be?I tried to upload a photo from my phone but it's not working for some reason

 

Dirt.

Mostly, rust from the castings, and minerals from the water (I use the word loosely) that's been put into it over the years.

You'd be AMAZED at how much better the inside of a block looks when all it's ever had put into it is anti-freeze and DISTILLED water.

What was the car doing that it supposedly needs a head gasket? Given that they VERY RARELY fail.