Mine is just starting to seep out by #4, at the corner closest to the factory battery location. It's a '96 Sunfire with 170K miles, no buring oil, passed emmision inspection easily, and still has good compression. How bad is the head been known to warp? I know all about the recall and the 100K mile cutoff. I didn't get it done then because there was NO sign of any proplem at all. I've pretty much resigned to have a GM shop put one in because of the small warranty that comes with their services. If I did it, I'd have no recourse, should I have a related problem soon after. I'm seriously hopeing that my head's not warped or cracked and that this is merely a failure of the gasket alone. What'd they use material-wise on the factory gasket? The new one is very stiff and looks like unexpected high quality.
Dude you have 170k, thats quite a bit, its not unusual for gaskets to go at higher miles.
My buddys Ford Winderstar blew a head gasket at 43k and it was past the 36k warranty so it was a lot of tough bananas.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
i wouldnt worry about any warpage of the head....maybe if you overheated the engine........but if not i wouldnt worry about it......if you want to be safe then get it resurfaced
Dude...that is good. Mine head is leaking some at 124,000. I would just go ahead and change it. get the thing resurfaced....
--04 Blazing Copper Mazda 6 s
I think its just the gasket, 170K miles is awesome for one of those, my head gasket failed at 100k miles, and i thought that was okay. just make sure nothing is leaking into the coolant, then you get major probs. I think you'd be experiencing obvious problems if the head was cracked or warped. also, don't worry about the material on the new gaskets, they're built to hold and hold they will.
<img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/scotfire/images.jpg">.
i blew my HG at 50,000miles but that was because the engine had a fit and overheated pretty badly
get the HG replaced, and get the head resurfaced... if they have any brains, they'll do a magnaflux check or whatever its called to see if it has any cracks
you're lucky it lasted that long, my 99 went at 31k after a nice pull up a hill. At least it was under warranty, got them to give me a new water pump and valve job too, just in case.
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Mine is just starting to seep out by #4, at the corner closest to the factory battery location.
Sounds like the valve cover gaket. Is there oil in the dex-cool? Have you pressure tested the cooling system. Is it driving at 260+ degrees? Do you see white smoke.
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What'd they use material-wise on the factory gasket? The new one is very stiff and looks like unexpected high quality.
fiber board is what the gasket is made of with metal around the cylinder edges.
Team Tach Out
Http://www.team-tachout.com/
Falmouth,VA
It is not the valve cover gasket---the # 4 cylinder is where the head gasket leaks. There is a stud on that corner that has a slot in it (the stud is for guiding the head on to the block). Anyway, the slotted stud---if the slot is turned toward the water jacket, it creates a weak spot where the coolant can come up and eat the head gasket, thus causing a leak. To fix it, all you have to do is turn the slot in the stud so that it faces the front corner of the block. trust me on this---I had about 3 mechanics tell me this was why that engine blew the head gasket so much. On my 3rd head gasket, i tried this trick and it seemed to work--never had to replace another head gasket.
As for the head being warped, get it resurfaced and pressure checked to check for cracks---it's not that expensive to get resurfaced.
If you know for a fact the engine has not been overheated then the head will not be warped or cracked. All you need is a new gasket, the checking for warp and pressure is a good feel thing. I just replace the gasket, not really a big job.
Thanks to all for great tips and insight!!! Like I said, I didn't take GM up on their head gasket recall due to my not having ANY sign that I needed it. I'll let the mechaninc know of the stud thing. (What a whacked out piece of engineering!) He went the extra step to replace the rear seal last month, so I'll feel better when he dives in with that little tidbit. I'd try to replace the gasket myself, but the prospect of a potential head bolt breaking (we ARE talking a block with 170,000 miles on it!) has me spooked. That, and the work gaurantee at the shop, have me convinced that I'll have that one guy wrench on my 'Fire. Not to 'dig' on anyone, but leaking coolant IS different in look and smell when 'cooked' on a hot engine as opposed to leaking oil. Engine gaskets could be mistaken by non-gearheads, color can't.
