[s-cars] Now Blown head gasket - was : stumble and smoke at idle

[Andrew B]

Jamie,
Sorry to hear that.  I went through almost exactly the same symptoms
recently, and it turned out to a warped (beyond repair) head.

Stumble at start up, went away with a flick of the throttle.
Significant white smoke, but honestly not an exceptional amount.  Mine
started with a "coolant volcano" though and bloomed from there.
Coolant got darker, leaked out the top, bubbles in the coolant, all
that fun stuff.

I paid to have a guy check it out, and he confirmed it for me.  Might
be worth taking it to a good local shop if you can/don't want to do
the tests yourself/don't mind paying.  I didn't have access to that
kind of equipment.

Good luck...here's hoping it's something stupid like a loose hose
clamp or whatever!

-Andrew