Q:

int transforms into int&?

code snippet:
// some code
SDL_Surface* t = Display->render_text(text);
int z=100;
Display->blit_image(t,z,100);
// some more code

does not compile because z magically changes to an int&,
file.cpp:48: error: no matching function for call to ‘display::blit_image(SDL_Surface*&, int&, int)
how can this happen?
post scriptum:
the following works if i put them in place of Display->blit_image(t,z,100)
Display->blit_image(t,z,100,0);
but i am sure that th 4th param is optional because the exact same function works elsewhere without it
pps: i created a minimal-case of my code that behaves as describd above
it's 3 files:
monkeycard.cpp: http://pastebin.com/pqVg2yDi
display.hpp: http://pastebin.com/xPKgWWbW
display.cpp: http://pastebin.com/nEfFX1wj
g++ -c display.cpp monkeycard.cpp fails with:
monkeycard.cpp: In member function ‘void monkeycard::messagebox(std::string)’:
monkeycard.cpp:28: error: no matching function for call to ‘display::blit_image(SDL_Surface*&, int&, int)’
display.hpp:26: note: candidates are: void display::blit_image(SDL_Surface*, int, int, SDL_Rect*)

A:

The error message tells you what you're trying to pass. With automatic conversions and whatnot, that doesn't mean the function must have exactly that signature.
int& here just means that the parameter you've provided is an lvalue, and so it could be passed as a non-const reference. A function can match with that parameter as an int&, const int&, int, long, const float&, etc.

the point is that if instead of z i
  write 100 it works.

That's interesting. I can't immediately think of a way to write a function that accepts an integer literal, but not an integer variable. The following code compiles, of course:
struct SDL_Surface;
struct SDL_Rect;

struct display {
    void foo(SDL_Surface* img, int x=0, int y=0, SDL_Rect* clip=0) {}
};

int main() {
    display d;
    int z = 0;
    SDL_Surface *p = 0;
    d.foo(p,z,100);
}

So there must be something else you haven't mentioned yet, which causes the issue.
Edit: visitor and Charles Bailey (in a comment) have the answer. The defaults are missing from your declaration of the function, so as far as the compiler is concerned you are trying to call a 4-parameter function with 3 arguments. The & is not the problem.
For future reference: when James McNellis asked you for "the" declaration of your function, he meant the declaration which is visible in the translation unit making the call. In your pastebin code, the definition is not visible in that translation unit, and the compiler cannot reach in to a completely different .cpp file and realise that the function is supposed to have parameter defaults. In C++, default values are set up in the calling code, for reasons to do with how calling conventions work.

A:

Having seen the code, the defaults should be given in the header and not in the implementation file.
When you are compiling "monkeycard.cpp", the compiler has only the information in the headers to work with. The compiler has no idea that blit_image has default arguments, and therefore cannot match the function to call.

