I had the privilege of recently seeing the old oil from a
car with a blown head gasket. It looked exactly like what
filled up the valve cover in photo 1 that you linked. It's
the consistency/thickness of a milk shake, and
brownish-green, as described at many web sites.

Sludge that forms due to a lack of regular oil changes seems
to me to be more black in color; more tar-like. (OTOH, I
recognize Michael as an expert here... )

From reading here, and working with a friend's car this past
summer, the oil-in-the-coolant and coolant-in-the-oil
indications do not seem to always appear. My friend's Civic
was experiencing regular overheaing. Ultimately she had to
have the coolant tested for exhaust products at the local
dealer. That nailed it. Her 99 Civic, about 115k miles,
needed a new head gasket. Years before she had had one
overheat episode. But it might have just been the very hot
summer this year that put too much strain on the gasket.

If the car is not overheating, then from what you say, I
guess I'd change the oil and monitor for a few weeks. Or
consider having the coolant chemistry tested for something
like $50.

With the recent overheat episode, I would not be optimistic.

"Greyjaei" <greyjaei@gmail.com> wrote
> Car info:
> 92 Honda Civic DX
> 340k(engine rebuilt at 300k)
>
> About a week ago my engine troubles started.
> Was driving home when the engine temperature shot up,
> checked the
> coolant and there was none there.
> Refilled it, took it to a mechanic friend, he said the
> Thermostat
> wasn't working, which was resulting in the coolant being
> boiled off.
> Seemed reasonable, changed that, coolant hasn't been
> dissappearing much
> or at all since then. (timing belt is going, can't drive
> it around much
> to check)
> WAS going to get the belt changed, but the mechanic at the
> place I took
> it to was pretty convinced I had a blown head gasket or
> cracked head.
> All he did was take off the valve cover, didn't do any
> compression
> tests etc.
>
> There seems to be no coolant in the oil pan, and no oil in
> the coolant.
> But the inside of the valve cover is covered in this brown
> sludge.
>
> I'm not sure what to do.
> Is it definitally a blown head gasket/cracked head?
> Could that brown sludge have formed inside the valve cover
> any other
> way?
>
> Not really willing to dish out the 1500 to repair the head
> gasket right
> now, or the 3000 to repair the head. Want to be sure of
> where I go from
> here and would appreciate any opinons. The car is a really
> nice ride
> and I'll be sorry to see it go.
>
> Here are a couple pictures of the valve cover and lifters
> etc
> http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/Greyjaei/2.jpg
> http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e15/Greyjaei/1.jpg