Recently I have had an issue with my 93' Civic all stock, (227,000
miles, still runs good, but I know it's a ton of miles). White smoke
from my tail pipe, coolant in my exhaust can be smelled, with the car
lurching/stuttering in idle. Driving, my temp meter shot up to high, I
turned on the heater to get it down, which helped but it would still
rise and fall like a roller coaster. It happened yesterday, got it home
and I havent driven it since, I do not want to warp or damage the
engine...

Through some online research and input from dad, I discovered that I
either have a blown head gasket or a cracked head. I know that I need
to replace a head Gasket, but I'm not sure where to start? (e.g
compression test, watching radiator or bubbles)

It seems like it's not going to JUST be the Gasket either that needs
replacing, reading various blogs it sounds like there's a bit more
involved in the process (People have been posting about torque and
flexible header bolts, losing me in this jargon). I don't know too much
about cars, it's a learning experiance for me. Pops knows a bit, but
some DIY input would be great.

What I do know is that as a full time college student, I don't have the
12- 1400 Grand to pay a shop to do it. I just had midas replace my
master Cylinder (no pressure, pedal to the floor) and do all my brakes
2 weeks ago, a $400 job my parents helped me cover. So I am not willing
to just give up on this car after putting that kind of money into it.

Please, I'd appreciate it if responses like, "If you don't know what
you're doing forget it", they are annoying and quite unhelpful. This is
why I am posting for some input. We (pops and I) are doing it at home,
and I simply want maybe a walkthrough, or some things to look out for,
strategies to avoid problems, etc. Thanks in advance for stopping to
read my blog...

- Chris H.