well everything was kinda of pointing towards the headgasket. i've been told by 2 people that 96's were famous for headgasket issues. the coolant was really thick and brown, the car's been smoking (thought it was valve seals, still could be), but i don't have a compression tester. but something was throwing e off cause i've never had a head gasket prevent a start. guess the intake is to blame tho lol. i told him to still have the head gasket checked JUST INCASE tho..