Intake manifold gasket.

Alright I have a 96 escort, 1.9, and it's been idling at around 1800rpm. I replaced my intake manifold gasket, because a friend had said he'd just done one at his shop. So I replaced, but when I did it smoked out the back alot and it didn't before. So I figured I might've left some gasket material on there or something, but after taking it all apart again I found that there was no excess material left. The gasket was sealing. So I got another one. It did the same thing. I know I torqued it to spec, perhaps need thicker gasket?

Did the idle return to normal after replacing the gasket?


As for the smoke... I am guessing that you did not drain the coolant before removing the intake manifold... if not, coolant easily gets inside the engine. Crack your oil plug open and see if any water comes out. If so, drain it and refill your oil.

The idle did not return to normal. So I'm guessing that my head gasket is blown.

not necessarily... if the smoking began after having the intake manifold removed you may well have gotten coolant into the engine through the intake.
Did you drain the coolant from the block before removing the intake manifold when you replaced the gasket? If not, you probably spilled coolant inside there, which is now causing the smoking.
Check your oil for water before going any further.