smoke coming from crankcase breather?!?!

[Shady469]

well i finally turned it up to 1 bar and it ran its *** off( made 2 highway runs). but! when i came to stop it kind of stumbled when i took off but not in any other gears but first. well, when i parked it i popped the hood and saw smoke(well more like a dark steam) coming from the crankcase breather. it also came from the dipstick hole when i pulled it out.
please tell me i dint break something...
oh changed the oil 200 miles ago ifit matters...

[maldo]

That is why I don't like the breather filters, very confusing signs as it always happens at the worst time. When mine happened it was a sign of things to come. In your case, if everything seems fine you should be ok as long as it isn't spitting oil out of the filter. You could always do a compression test. What are you showing for vaccum under idle? You should still be fine.

[Shady469]

vac reads like -20 or so on the gauge

[maldo]

That's good.

[boostedmx]

it sounds like your pressurizing the crankcase too much. its either too much blow by or your just running really really hot. smell the oil to see if it smells like gas. double check your compression also.

[Shady469]

the temp gauge stayed right in the middle. i need to get an egt gauge though..
im starting to think its the head gasket (maybe just a small crack? because the oil is also really dirty for only being run for 200 miles. it doesnt look like its got coolant mixed in though...
anyway since i was looking to get it ported and polished i figure this is as good excuse as any to rip the head off. but i was wondering: what headgasket should i use? (both for b6ze miata)HKS has 1.2 and 2mm while TODA has .8 and 1. i'd like to keep the compression ive got now if not lower just a little.
thanx in advance
also its not smoking from the exhaust at all..<p>[ June 05, 2003: Message edited by: Shady469 ]</p>

[boostedmx]

sounds like youve got excessive blowby. the rings are probably worn. what happens is the combustion gasses mix with the oil and make the oil look really dirty. it(oil) should also smell like gas if this is the case.