WHat is wrong?

[|WYG|SS]

for the past couple of days ive notticed that my car is putting out more exhasut on cold days and like a week ago the ce light would come on so i read it and it said check cooling sensors. my distributator must be leaking casue car sould back fire and i could hear little pop when i would go to floor it to get up to sepeed and almost die on me. so today im dring home from work stater is bad but yeah im dringing home and i go to floor it and it back fires and then i get almost home and ce light comes on so i get home read it and is says same thing. my temp. has been up from the norm lately. so i decide to go for a drive and im dring down a part way busy street and then out of the corner of my eye in my rear view i see all this smoke so i slow down to pull in drive way and car dies. it is raining out i cant get is started and i have to push it so i push it into parking spot and try starting it again and it would not turn, it acted like the battery was dead and it is a new battery ,y oil looks different color and so i try starting it again and it starts and now it is running rough like is is miss-firering and this smoke got a little worst coming out of exhaust so i shut it off. what could be wrong? im almost guessing blown head gasket. luckely a tow truck is going buy and gives me a tow so now it is at shop and i just want to know what might be wrong with the symptums im having.

[|WYG|SS]

im guessing that the head gasket might have went. one other thing i would like to point out is that it is leaking anti freeze and that their is a surface crack in the valve cover that u could stick ur fingernail into. if is is a head gasket im just going to get car back and just probably do an overhaul to engine cause i have to fix a trannmission problem and a oil pan gasket.

[GTP Dad]

There are two possible issues here. A bad head gasket or a bad intake manifold gasket. I don't know if you have a V-6 but if you do the intake gasket would be my guess. If it is a 4 cylinder then the head gasket would be the culprit as there really isn't any possibility of water in the oil from the intake manifold gasket. Both will require work to replace but the intake gasket is a lot easier than the head gasket. If the oil has changed color don't drive it as you can damage the bearings as well as expensive internal parts.

[|WYG|SS]

well ive changed the oil in nov. and when i checked the oil when it broke down it looked darker and had a choclate look to it. and like i said it is running rough and alot of smoke is coming out of exhasut after i get it started. even the tow truck guy said it is running bad. he looked at it and said it was cool to the touch but i did have the car at a cold temp before i started to drive it. i got like 10 blocks to when it died on me. and is a a 4 cyl so it is the head gasket.

[|WYG|SS]

****************UPDATE*******************
well just got car back and trhe mechanic said that the gasket is bad, and that is wore out at the corner of the 4th cylinder.

[|WYG|SS]

u guys know if a 88' engine will fit in a 91 amd even if a cavy engine would fit in it either?