What could it Be

[Maka13]

I drive a VX 6cl commodore guys and girls and yesterday was driving it home, the temp gauge went to hot then cold, it did this a few times then just as i was pulling over it died
i opened the radiator cap and it was empty, the residue smelt and felt like there was oil in the water. i put water back in and when i statred it again white smoke came from the exhaust
could it be the head gasket or inlet gasket and is there a DIYway of telling besides pulling things apart

any help would be great

cheers
Luke

[accentstencil]

Check the engine oil to see if it has water in it, it will be a milky colour if there is.

[Tsunamix]

Check sump for oil. If oil is milky, dump the oil and reach for the wallett. ideally it's tear down and rebuild time. If it's not milky, rip the head/heads off and find where the leak is. The pressure test will help isolate that.

There MAY be something you can try. After refilling the water, leave the radiator cap off and getting the car up to operating temp. Run the car up to about 2000 RPM, and look for lots of bubbles in the radiator water. This may indicate a leak between exhaust and water jacket, which could be a head gasket.

A more professional way to check is to grab a radiator pressure tester. Drop all 6 plugs spark plugs out, and pressure test the radiator. When the radiator is presurised, first check for water leaks in all the hoses and heating system. If there is no leaks, gently turn the engine over using a socket and breaker bar on the harmonic balancer. If water comes out of the spark plug sockets, you have a problem. Whether its head gasket, head or block can not be definitively said without pulling the heads off. At least now you know which head to pull off.

White smoke from the exhaust on starting suggests both oil and water in the combustion chamber. Grey smoke (which can be very light) suggests just oil.

Water by itself doesn't color the exhaust gas, but water in the oil can do odd things to oil levels and may push oil to levels where it shouldnt be. Oil floats on top of water.

I am more familiar with older type engines - with less electronics. If you described the scenario above on a red motor, I would suggest you have done a head gasket - unless you got too carried away with a die grinder on the siamese exhaust ports.

2 questions remain.

where did all the water go ? If it's in the sump, you have a few issues. Your lube system and possibly your entire engine may be shot due - almost seized, or certainly more worn.

If it went down the exhaust and out, you still have to check to make sure you havent terminally damaged your engine from heat seizure, but if it's not noisy and rough it may be ok. This comes down to how well the Ecotech handles cooking heat and I have no experience there.

If the water has gone down the exhaust, where is the leak occuring exactly ? It can only be in the head, or at the head gasket, because thats the only place you find exhaust gas.

[Maka13]

Thanks guys and special thanks to Tsunamix
the oil in the engine when checked the dipstick is fine, under the radiator cap there is no milky residue
after tightening of a few bolts and hoses and refilled the radiaotr with water i saw water leaking from above the exhaust manifold so that as you say suggest is a head gasket
there is no more white smoke and it runs ok (no more noises) but yes i did see water coming out from between the exhaust and water jacket.

again thanks guys
now its pay time LOL

[mitmit]

if leaking coming from just above drive side exhaust manifold then it must be coming from the heater hoses (driver side) the hose usually slightly torn and unnoticeable if there is a leak coming from it