Is this head gasket blown?? Will chose best answer. pics?

This is my first time changing a head gasket. Its a 96 eclipse. Clouds of white smoke came out of the exhaust pipe, so im guessing its antifreeze.



I removed it today but it does not look damaged. How can I tell if this is a bad head gasket?

Will chose best answer, any tips would help. thanks



http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr310鈥?/a>

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr310鈥?/a>Is this head gasket blown?? Will chose best answer. pics?IF your head gasket was blown and leaking coolant into a cylinder, that cylinder would not fire and your car would run terribly.



You have put the cart before the horse. First off, you don't remove a head gasket and expect to look at it and find damage. You should have run a compression check on it. If your head gasket was blown, you would find 1 or more cylinders that would not HOLD its compression, and the dial would drop.



Also, you should have removed your plugs and looked at them. The firing tips should have a light brown color. If the tips are wet, then coolant is spilling over into that cylinder and you have a blown head gasket. If a plug tip is oily, then you have oil getting into a cylinder. Either one would foul a spark plug and you would be able to telll that you are running on 1 less cylinder.



If you start your car and it runs fine (on all cylinders), then I doubt you have a blown head gasket. However, do not use the old gasket. Get a new one and while you have the head off, have it checked for warpage. Just something you should do while you have the chance. If the car runs good, check your PCV valve. Remove it and give it a shake. If you don't hear/feel the ball inside move, then replace it.
Is this head gasket blown?? Will chose best answer. pics?
if its your head gasket your oil will most likely be a milky color. It dont look blown.
Is this head gasket blown?? Will chose best answer. pics?
look for water or antifreeze in your oil. if so, blown head gasket.
I looked at the pictures of the head gasket ,i couldn't see any place on the head gasket that looked like it would be letting coolant flow into the cylinders.You should take a good look at the head ,look between and around the valves to see if theres a hair line crack between the valves that might be letting coolant run into the cylinders of the engine. Sorry i could be more helpful.