possible head gasket

Got a friend who now has brown coolant and watery oil (if you know what I
mean) and am going to try and confirm a blown head gasket for her. I was
planning on taking off the valve cover and seeing if there's water being
pushed up through the oil passages. My question: is there anything else I
should check or look for? Unfourtanetly at my present location I dont have
access to any air tools and will be unable to safely jack it up as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

I think that you are right. I once has a car where I had watery oil and a
professional mechanic determined that I had a bad head gasket. After the
head gasket was replaced--the problem went away. If I was you--I would
just replace the head gasket without trying to figure out whether or water
was being pushed up through the oil passages. If you don't have a shop--I
would hire a professional mechanic to do the work--it's a major operation
to replace a head gasket.