engine problems HELP

[dan-hipgrave]

My engine has begun to smoke badly from below the exhaust manifold area (white smoke) and today for the first time when i turned the engine off it sort of juddered to a stop as if it was stalling and then smoke came pouring out from the air filter intake.
What could the cause of this problem be, i thought at first that it may just be burning off some crud because it hasnt been driven for about 3 weeks but now it seems to be getting worse.....
Any suggestions on what it could be are greatly appreciated all i can think of is that its knackered and i need a new engine :(

[Aragorn]

head gasket?

have a look at the water level

[dan-hipgrave]

yeh that could be it mate, cos the water level was low and so i topped it up. But if it was that then wouldnt i have white stuff in the filler cap which i aint got....cheers for your help mate

[Jules]

Check the breather pipes.

[Aragorn]

you'll opnly get cream in oil cap if its blown from water to oil gallery

water to combustion chamber would simply stream white smoke out the back as water is gonna leak into the cylinder and be turned into steam

[dan-hipgrave]

cheers for your help mate, i have cleaned out the oil breather pipe, but there didnt seem to be anything in there anyway..looks like ive gotta get the head gasket replaced then - how big a job is this and what parts/tools will i need if doing it myself?
Cheers guys.

[novahead]

well u will need a cam belt,

[m.d.]

can be done in an hour on a nova no prob. only thing is that you may need to get the head skimmed which may take a while.

[dan-hipgrave]

cheers mate, what does skimming the head involve. Im an apprentice at an engineering training place and they have mills, lathes etc there, could it be done by one of the instructors there or does it need some specialist equipment?

[Adam]

I think head skimming is just where a small layer is skimmed off the head, so it gives a clean flush service.
Correct me if i wrong.

[robb]

And a flat surface!

You could also take a bit more off to raise compression!

[dan-hipgrave]

ok cheers guys...will have to get that done then....more money being spent on it :(

[Riggy]

no you will be able to do it on a miller without any probleams
just clamp in a vice without damaging it and clock the head up down one or the sides to make sure you aint gonna mill it on a slant lol

then make sure the head on the miller is clocked up easy on a bridgeport
and away you go do it on a auto traverse as to get a good finish and once you have took the required amount of do a couple of spring passes to make sure its flat

carl