My ''88 has two major issues.

The first is that for the last month or so, it''s had a really rough idle. You have to goose the gas a bit to keep it running at first, but after it runs for 20-30 seconds, it seems to run just fine. We gave it a full tuneup (plugs, wires, distributor, rotor, air filter, replaced several cracked vacuum hoses) and it got slightly better, but it still acts like this. When it''s been running a while, it runs the idle from 1500 to 2200, kinda oscillating back and forth.

The second and more worrisome problem just started happening today. I noticed there was a bit of clear liquid, I''m assuming water from the radiator, leaking out. We''re talking about maybe a drip every 10-15 minutes. It looks like it''s coming from the middle of the engine, as opposed to the radiator. When I was going down the road with it, I noticed a big puff of white smoke coming out of the radiator. Stopped, let the car run, white smoke billows out, then stops. It runs for 10 minutes. Didn''t overheat. Didn''t smoke. Everything seemed fine. Drive a bit more and the white smoke came back. Stopped and it smoked for 3-4 minutes, then stopped again. It''s really intermitten, but it looks like the beginnings of a blown head gasket, even though it''s not overheating.

Any ideas?

Denis

 

Denis Is there coolant (as opposed to water) in the radiator? Should be green if so not clear. That location might indicate a leaking soft plug dripping down onto exhaust. Are you going through water from the radiator? Signs of a bad head gasket usually are water in oil ( an emulsion easy to see), loss of coolant from radiatorand overheating.


White smoke came out or water vapors? These issues are so annoying I know. Hope that someone is able to relate from previous experiences. Good luck. Bob

 

if the idle is loping up and down i can almost guarantee its a blown head gasket. the gasket can leak into the exhaust and not cause overheating if its a slow leak. on my 91 when the head cracked and blew the gasket it didnt mix water into the oil, it leaked into an exhaust port. do a leakdown test on it. you can rent the equipment from shucks auto if you have one near you. you can also do a dye check. a compression check doesnt always detect a blown gasket if it just started to smoke. ive replaced several head gaskets on 2 different troopers and there have been 17 troopers in my family since 1990