Pontiac - Grandam :: 2000 - Smell Coolant While Stopping - Head Gasket Leaking?
Apr 27, 2013
I have a 2000 V6 3400 engine. I had the intake gaskets repaired with the "good metal ones" according to the mechanic I had do the job. Cost me $600. Car still has coolant leak it overheats every 3 days or so. Leaves no puddles under car when parked. Can smell coolant when stopping at stop light or stop sign or when parking car. No obvious coolant running down or pooling on the engine. Sometimes it seems like smell is coming from heat vents but no wet spots on carpet or liquid coming out of vent. Took to mechanic again and he said it was the head gasket leaking. Wants $1100 to fix it. Don't have the money. Was wondering if any of these additives you can get at Autozone Etc. may work. It wouldn't be my first choice but financially it's about all I can do right now.
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2000 Subaru Outback. The head gaskets have begun to leak slightly (oil and coolant), even though I brought it in for the recall at 80K and the dealer put in the additive. I recently (111,000 miles) put in another bottle of the additive coolant conditioner and the leak seems to have at least slowed to a trickle. Is it really essential to have the head gaskets replaced? Or could I just keep an eye on the oil and coolant levels and put a bit of kitty litter in my garage? Some of the information I googled indicates that the recall of this car is for an OUT leak and not an INNER leak--which would be worse. Is it true that an OUT leak is not as worrisome?
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I have a 2011 RX 350, leaking coolant from head gasket. It has 113000km, engine warranty is 110000km ...
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Our 05 Elantra (170k miles) is leaking coolant externally from the head gasket. At first I thought it was coming from the freeze plugs, but it's actually leaking from above. I'm mechanically inclined but have no experience with head gaskets. I have access to Alldata but no service manual. Will it tell me everything I need to know? The farthest I've gone inside an engine is removing valve covers car runs great and we like it enough to want to keep it for a while ... I'll also mention I will be replacing the timing belt as well.
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I have a 91 Ranger V6 4WD with 150K that has been sitting for 7 years. The last time I drove it (7 years ago) to a mechanic, who diagnosed it with a bad head gasket - leaking coolant and coolant in the oil.
What am I looking at as far as a project: besides redoing the head gasket, what else will I most likely need to do given that its been sitting 7 years?
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I am working on my buddy's 1994 Ranger with a 2.3L I4 that has been going thru a large amount of engine coolant. The trucks has approximately 180,000 miles on it. When I had it parked on concrete I have not seen any signs of coolant on the concrete or any signs of coolant leaking. The next place I checked was inside the cab to see if there was any coolant from the heater core and there was not. The water pump has been replaced a couple of years back. I replaced the spark plugs today and did not see anything on the plugs that I would have thought were signs of coolant in the combustion chambers.
With that being said I have not worked on a vehicle with a leaking head gasket before. Would there be any visible signs on the sparks plugs? If so what would I be looking for? When standing in front of the vehicle with the engine running there is a slight smell of antifreeze being "vaporized". Are there any noted issues with this engine that would cause this? Are there any other things I should check? Could it be a leaking head gasket causing this? If so how can I check for that?
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I LOVE my Super Duty and with only 15k on it (have a company truck) plan on keeping it for a long time. I've had an EGR Delete and new Oil Cooler along with some misc things done to the engine and turbo, about 6g's worth. Now my mechanic at NCB is telling me that the reason I'm loosing coolant is that my head gaskets are leaking. I'm looking at another 5-7 grand which is a no go for me. I'm thinking of doing the work myself, especially since I've seen where i don't have to remove the body to do it.
Okay, here is the question, I've been having a hard time finding a comprehensive list of the parts I should be getting to do the job. Looking for a list or link on what I need to do it correctly and anything I might want to do while my engine is apart so I don't have to do this again?
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To all those folks that said I had a head gasket putting pressure into my cooling system and causing it to overheat, you were right. It is a 2003 F250 with 80000 5.4 l. I have had to replace mexhaust manifold bolts on left side (horrible job, couldn't get one out). Back fenders are rusted out, under the extended cab rusted, doors are rusting at the bottom. My friend/mechanic said it was time to get rid of it. I don't really have thousands of $$ for a different one, but also, replacing the head gaskets are in the thousands for a repair bill. I have looked at used 2008 250 4 door and they are 20000+++ sheesh, but a new one is out of the question. Do I get the gasket situation repaired?
It does not act up all the time, some times it never overheats, sometimes it will. Somewhat infrequent ( I had one mechanic look at it and he tried 3 different times, and it did not overheat. Temp gage will peg, coolant resevior will overflow, but is not hot (100 degrees). I dont have the really have the money to put into a newer model, but I am worried about being nickeled and dimed to death after dumping a couple of thousand into a head gasket, plus I suppose I need to have the other side manifold gasket/bolts checked too. It seems like low miles to be having issues, yes I realize all will rust, but this year, as evidnet in our area, was really suspect-able to rust.
Not worried about the body, is it worth it to spend 2500 for head gasket repair, or trade up a couple of years, less miles, etc. My worry is, I already had to fix 1 exhaust manifold gasket, know head gasket to fix a cooling issue, do I cut my losses and move to another truck, or spend the money for repairs. I don't really have money for either but want to make a good decision. Truck has not been abused and has been serviced as scheduled. Had to put on new brakes and rotors, as would expect, and ball joints too. Oil looks fine, no contamination, and coolant is clear. Will the head gasket get worse? As I said before, it is intermittent, but I don't trust it for long trips.
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I have a 2000 Toyota corolla with about 170,000 miles and it is using about one quart of oil every 500 miles. The last couple places I took it to said the compression was bad in the number 4 cylinder. Another place said it was a leaking head gasket. Which is most likely, and is it worth getting it repaired given its age and mileage?
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I have a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am with a 3.4L engine. When I start my car after it has been sitting for a while, especially in the morning, the engine shutters making the car shake when it is put into Reverse and Drive. Plus a horrible gas smell come from the hood and into the heating vents. So to alleviate the shaking I let the car run for several minutes which in turn makes the gas smell worse. The smell continues to get worse when the car is stopped at a alight or stop sign. to eventually go away as the car heats up. The check engine light blinks with the shaking then disappears but eventually stayed on with a cylinder misfire code. I took it to a shop who told me that was the head gaskets.
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Whenever it's cold outside (I live in MN, so it gets really, really cold), my car fills up with a very strong gas odor. It only happens when I am at a stop as well. I have taken it in, and have been told that nothing is wrong. The smell is so strong that I have to roll down the windows and my friends are refusing to ride in my car! I am worried that it's dangerous.
It's a Pontiac Grand Am from 2005. 102,000 miles, roughly.
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I have a 2002 pontiac montana that needs the head gasket replace. Mileage is 152,000 miles with a v6 engine. I would like to get at least another 75,000 miles once the repair is done. Is it worth doing as alternative is to scrap the van and buy a new vehicle...
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After the cold hit last night I turned my car on and it starts to shake a lot, also white smoke so I drove it to work while driving it takes forever to pick up speed and jumps speeds on rpm while shaking a lot and then I got off work and now its so hard to turn the wheel now(I put in steering fluid) and still shakes badly. I smelt burning kinda before work and I no I'm due for oil change so I just put oil in atm bcuz I have no time to take it any where atm since I work to full time jobs. Also the Trac off light is on and my service engine light is blinking.
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I am working on my daughters 1999 Grand Am with the 3.4 L V6. I was told by a shop that the heads gasket(s) were blown and needed to be replaced.
Well, the front head, cylinders 2,4,6 showed a "clean" cylinder2 while 4 & 6 looked ok. The rear head had no visible signs of leaking to a cylinder. After cleaning and reassembly, everything appears to be in order except for;
When starting from cold, the engine runs for about 15-30 sec. and the radiator fans come on. I thought that this was strange since this didn't happen before and I was told by someone that the fans don't come on until the coolant temp reaches 230 degrees.
After running the vehicle for about 20 minutes the heat to the interior is very good. In fact its downright HOT. However, the temp gauge on the dash reads "100". Thinking I broke the sensor while I was working on it, I replaced the sensor. No change.
The "Low Coolant" light on the dash is on, yet the level in the surge tank is above the full cold mark. I've replaced this sensor twice. No change.
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I have a '95 Pontiac Grand AM. The Heater Coil/Core is leaking onto the passenger side floor. Bad Core. In addition, the car keeps over heating intermittently, whether it's stopped at a light or driving over 35mph out on the road. The gauge goes into the red, but then after a minute it goes back down. We replaced the Thermostat thinking that it was sticking. Drove it around a good 10 mile run. Didn't over heat. Next day, it over heats. Just took it to the garage where they ran it and did compression check.
For over 4 hours they tried to get it to overheat. It wouldn't. They replaced an old radiator cap. They said if that doesn't work, it could be the head gasket (no sign of any fluids mixing - oil cap is clean. No milky residue) or replace the thermostat, which we said we already did. Drove it 2 miles. Started to get hot again. Going to bypass the core to see if this might be the problem. Could there be air bubble from bad core? Not sure if this is the right direction, but I am at a total loss as to what it could be. Pump is running. Radiator fan running.
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For months now, my 99 Grand Am,just over 100k, has been flashing "low coolant" light and chiming - only when stopped at red lights (idling), and then as soon as I put my foot back on the accelerator it stops and turns off. This doesnt happen at every red light, or everytime I drive the car - but often enough that its concerned me. At first I immediately checked the coolant & took it to be checked for a leak...apparently everything looked fine and it wasnt low on coolant.
The second time (took in for tune up) I mentioned it again and they claim nothing is wrong but said they cleaned/checked electric connectors in case it was due to faulty misfiring. Seemed okay for awhile, but now light has been flashing again. Im also not sure if its related, but Ive been noticing a tendency for the car to sometimes idle very rough as well. At one red light the car starting rocking/jerking - only to stop once I started driving again. Other than these problems when idling, the car runs like a dream. Where to look for this problem or what I should be watching for?
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I have a 1995 GMC Sonoma pickup truck with supposedly a blown cylinder head gasket. It only has 53K original miles on it. It overheated and I had it towed to a service shop. They put in a new water pump, new coolant, new thermostat, new radiator hose and did an oil & filter change. Well, 100 miles later, I noticed my water coolant was disappearing and the oil pressure was rising. I brought it back to the same shop and after looking at it for five minutes they informed me it was a blown cylinder head gasket. They said they had no way to determine this when they were doing the repairs the first time. So, I ask the following:
1-Was it proper for the shop to do the first repair without checking for a potential head gasket leak?
2-Is there some type of testing that could have been done by the repair shop to check for coolant leaks into the engine oil? 3-Would I have saved money (labor) by having this taken care of at the time of the initial repair?
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My car has had issues with the "low coolant" light coming on for over a year. No one could ever find a leak, the coolant level was always pretty good, and I never had a puddle.
Recently, my mechanic suspected it was the heater core. Since I earn early childhood teacher wages, I couldn't afford to have it fixed. As a temporary solution, he bypassed the heater core in order to buy me some time. Now, I have no heat or defrost. But also, the leak has gone out of control! I have to put coolant in daily, and I always have a puddle under my car when I am leaving work at the end of the day.
My car's newest trick is smoke, coming from under the hood, and the fresh smell of burning coolant. However, temperature is fine, at least that's what the gauge says.
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A year ago (to the day), my car (2006 Hyundai Sonata) died on me while I was driving it. My boyfriend came and gave me a jump. The car got home fine. The next morning, we went out to the car, and the battery had died, so we jumped the car again, and got to the battery place and bought a new battery. I was worried there was another issue with the car- but my boyfriend was all like "You are feeble woman who knows nothing about cars" (kidding, kidding) so I listened to him and drove the car off that afternoon. On my way home, car died again. So, this time, we got the car towed to a dealership to get checked out. Well, turns out the head gasket was leaking and there was oil in the alternator. SOOOO. The dealer replaced the head gasket for free because the car had a warranty on the engine, but we were SOL with the alternator. So, we bought an alternator from a friend, and had another friend install it for us.
Yesterday, I got out of work, and car wouldn't start. When my DF came to jump the car, he and I could clearly see the head gasket is leaking again and there is oil in the alternator. I have a couple questions that I need answered...
1.) What causes a leaky head gasket? My boyfriend said that either the engine block was warped or that the replacement they put in last year was faulty. Are there other ways?
2.) How the beep do you replace the alternator in the 2006 Hyundai? It is in an odd location and we don't have access to the person who did it for us last time, so I need to see if this is a job my boyfriend can do. He does work on his car all the time (an 87 BMW), but he's never done anything on this car besides change oil, etc.
A little bit about this car: We bought the car from a Hyundai dealer in June 2010. It belonged to one of the dealer investors, so it was in great condition. However, we think the car was in a front-end accident. When my boyfriend waxed the car awhile back, it was pretty obvious that the front bumper was replaced as well. The dealer refuses to give us any mechanical records about the car (will only give us verbal summary) ...
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I have a 1998 Subaru Forester that is leaking oil through the head gasket. Repairs for the head gasket seem to be in high range, which is at or above the value of the car. Is trying any of the head gasket sealant products such as Blue Devil worth trying? Do they have the potential to do more damage than good? I love the car, but I'm also not sure if it is worth getting if fixed or if I should be looking to sell it for parts and buy a different used car.
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I have a 2000 grand am Gt with 3400 motor it started up just fine went to turn around in the drive way the dash lights came on where the ABS sensor is bad, but if u shut it off and started it back up they would go out so i shut it down and went to start it back up and all it does is click, so i thought it was the starter and replaced it, still only clicks. I called GM dealership they said more then likely it is the plastic piece the ignition switch goes in to so i just replaced it and does the same thing.
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