head gasket question

[USAF_S13]

i just picked up a 93 tt as a project. the lady told me she thinks the head gaskets are blown. i did some searching on here but couldnt find much. my question is, is there a quick way to tell on these cars if that is the issue. i drove the car from her house to my dads house about 15 mins away. the car never over heated, it just got about half way up the gauge and stayed there. my friend was following me and he said that the car had a little white smoke when i left the ladys house but cleared up once i got driving. the car idles like crap but it was drivable. i did some research on erratic idle and have some ideas. im sorta new to z32s but ive always done research on them knowing i would own one someday. ive been into 240s for about 10 years i just got sick of all the idiots ruining the cars so im moving up the ladder. ill start digging into it once i get the car to my house IE.. comp ck, clean all the connectors for the cas,ptu etc and ill pull the plugs to see if they show signs of coolant. the oil looked good on the dipstick, i didnt notcice and contamination ot it.

[KA24JEF]

the smoke could have been from bad valve seals???? but as far as a quick check its all the same old same old with any head, oh and you did buy a z32 thay pop head gaskets like its the kool thing to do lol ,

[es.biggs]

They pop head gaskets about as often as any car when it's overheated...

Valve seals can leak oil and cause smoke when it is first started up, but it usually goes away as the car is driven - it burns up all the oil that leaked into the combustion chamber. Then if it is a fast leak, it will do the same after the car sits for a while (like overnight). If it is a slow leak, it will have to sit for a longer time for it to start smoking again (like a few days or a week)

Oil will burn with a tiny hint of blue, and it smells different than coolant. Coolant will just burn white.

Best way to tell if your head gasket is ok or not is to compression test the engine. Takes maybe an hour or two for someone whos never done it before. Not difficult at all though, I'd definitely recommend doing this

How to compression test:
http://www.300zxclub.com/showthread.php?t=98291

[CrazedZ32Owner]

also a leakdown test couldnt hurt either......i dont have a write up on how to do one but im sure you can find one

sry but im terrible with directions when it comes to cars or i'd explain it to you lol