Expert: Jan - 11/1/2008

Question
After driving for 15 minutes, I began to smell a burning smell in the car.  I
pulled over and checked under the hood.  There was a small amount of
smoke under each side of the engine, and there seemed to be more oil than
usual near the valve covers.  I took the oil cap off, and the underside of the
cap was covered in a beige, milky oil mixture.  To me is sounds like a head
gasket.  How entailed is this process?  Are there any other possibilities?  I
need to consider how to proceed from here as the car has 200,000 miles, and
I very much value your opinion.
Thanks.

Answer
You may have had some condensation in the oil, which will show up as a milky deposit on the inside of the oil cap.  Best way to check for a blown headgasket is a compression test; and look for steam out of the exhaust when the engine is running (not just when it's cold outside) check for a valve cover oil leak, which could be causing the smoke.  Is oil dripping on to the exhaust?  Let me know,  Jan