Stevo Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 With the 94' GP KO'd by a mechanic officially as a headgasket issue. I cannot justify $2200 to repair a $1500 base model sedan in any fashion. I am looking at a range in cost of $500-800 to fix this car so I have something to get around as this fix is pushing the OTHER fix back way to far where the International is now not going to make it on the road before the next frost. Ok folks... Since I can't get anyone to help me do this because I havent the room in the driveway. I think it's gonna be an 'on-street' job and I'm more than likely gonna get fined for doing it. So here we go. I need a gasket parts list for an L82. (The seller says I don't need a whole top end set $300 vs. $170) I need a check list of what to keep an eye out for when pulling this apart to fix the 'blockage' Am I going to be lucky enough to get down to the lower intake and find the issue or am I going to get the heads off and still see nothing only to clean up everything, get the heads checked for warpage and shove it all back together to have it all happen again? It it possible for deposits in the heater core to accumulate so much that it IS the blockage and make it look like a head issue? (heater core = $60). I'm stumped on this because I am NOT a mechanic. Just a guy with a wrench who does work at his own pace. Many people look at a factory manual and scratch their head. I look at it and jump around the pages and figure it out my own way till I get the jist of things. Some things I don't understand without seeing it in person, others are straight forward. The there's the wildcard bolt that shears/snaps/strips/crossthreads ... fun fun fun. ----------------- I can walk out and get a new car right now but because I dont want to double my current debt so that my employers can save money. =\ I'd rather fix this car because the body is in great shape as compared to most 4-5 year old cars despite being painted half decently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 so umm whats the problem? Maybe I missed it somewhere but I read it twice and didnt read an actual problem of why your doing this. and what blockage?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted June 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 The car overheats. It's guzzled 8 litres of coolant in 1600kms. No oil in the coolant I can find and no coolant in the oil either. Somewhere along the way it's boiling off. Last time I drove it I had the heater going to get something flowing and a puff of steam came through the vents smelling of coolant. Also it hesitates briefly as if it was running out of gas. So far 3 people have had overheating issues with the 3100 and it turns out to be the headgasket. Usually to me a headgasket would cause a leakage inwards and not a blockage should nothing exit the block at seams, I'm stumped unless it's somehow burning up the coolant. Which seems to be the case as hot gases are building up. All I know is that this is the first 6cyl I've owned that has leaked fluid OUT of the engine in some capacity, so there isnt anything on the ground except what I have spilled by hand on refilling. Searching around on the net yields some interesting GM issues with gaskets ... who'da thunk it that people have issues with GM's engines http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060330/whistleblower_gm_060406/20060406/ Perhaps there are some issues I may be over looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Well when the car is running does the exhaust smeel sweet? Like anti-freeze? If so your burning it through the headgaskets... LIM would leak into the oil not the cylinders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted June 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Can't remember about the exaust thing. I did'nt notice anything out of the ordinary for smell other than a serious amount of moisture drippage from the tips. I have'nt done any compression testing ... all the local loan-a-tool places either have busted gear or it's always out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 I suggest.... temporarily blocking off the heater core. I had to do this on my newest car, I simply blocked off the feed and return lines, and drove it home. I'll fix it if I care to later. Run it and see if the car overheats. Most likely the heater core is bad and allowing coolant out and air in, and the air is blocking up behind the T-stat. BTW, since you have a wrecked car..... the heater core is the same on ALL GEn 1 and !.5 cars. salvage that one! a good tip: the OEM heater cores can be detached from the pipes and have an O-ring junction with locking clips. the after market ones are permanently crimped. it is soooo much easier to do the heater core replace if you have an OEM H C replacing a bad OEM H C and if you use a used H/C flush it with drano or Lime away or somthing first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted June 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Interesting... deffinately worth a check. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted June 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 I was off early today and decided to screw with the car... I pulled the motor forward. Pulled the heater core feed line from the connection to the firewall and the the return from the return line and plugged the feed directly into the return line. Started up the car and ran it for about 20mins after filling the rad up with water. Right off the bat, I noticed that the upper hose was not only warm but filled with fluid for the first time. and even though the car ran till the temp hit over 100* only 1 fan came on briefly and it NEVER hit overheat. I think I may have found the culprit. A clogged heater core. I looked at my 93' manual and the quick connects are different than the 94' unless the picture shown is for the metal fitting close to the intake. I am wondering how much damage I have caused from having it overheat so much. This is a just in time fix too. Had it out with my bosses as it seems I am responsible for my own transportation to where no busses go. How the hell were they expecting anyone to get there if they did'nt ask for someone with a car let alone a license. =\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted June 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Did some road testing... blew the by-pass hose off and steam cleaned the motor. =\ The car stayed under 100*c the whole time and only nudged over the line... unfortunately on the highway back the engine light came on and then the car started to bog down as if running out of gas with a 1/3rd of a tank still. I think it was past the point of no return. Shit. No goddamn way I am gonna sell this Grand Prix-of-shit. =\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 did you pull the code to see what is was/is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted June 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 OBD 1.5 = Helpless gg 94' gm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuwaitliberation Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 Pulled the heater core feed line from the connection to the firewall and the the return from the return line and plugged the feed directly into the return line. Holy crap! I just re-read this over and over until I saw the problem. It's NOT the heater core. You should have plugged them off. Instead all the coolant is running through the heater core hoses now because you connected them together. If it is a head gasket leak, you would lose compression bigtime. That would cause the engine to run rough. Every time it went for the intake stroke, it would pull in some coolant. Then, as it tried to compress it would blow some of that fuel/air/coolant mixture back into the water jacket. The thing would fire, and cause an air bubble in the water jacket. The air bubble would get small really quick because the coolant is taking the heat away, but still an air bubble. Air works as an insulator between the coolant and the cylindar wall. This causes a lot of heating inside the combustion chamber and pre-ignition due to higher heat. That would make your engine run even worse. It would be able to accelerate, but one piston would be almost pushing backwards on the others at that point. Yes, this would be where your coolant is going. Remember it does exactly what I said up there about 1,500 times a minute. A drop of coolant gone for each firing and it will be going quick. Not to mention that it would cause the pressure to rise in the cooling system. I can safely say that if you were to pull the heads you would find the culprit. Don't know if you have ever done it, but you need a breaker bar and a 3 foot extension pipe to break the head bolts over. I did it a couple of years ago on a 287 V-6. Because I had the engine in a stable stand, it was cake. Good luck to you. Oh, and this is just an observation from what you have told here. I don't know for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 OBD 1.5 = Helpless gg 94' gm false. I can pull codes from my car and its '94... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted July 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 I got it scanned today. Lean Fuel Mixture (hot hot hot) Fan Switch Transmission Pressure Switch? Vats Error I'm gonna rent a tool and run compression tests on the cylinders. Nothing is frikkin adding up here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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