Head gasket blown in 3800 series II motor

[Drew99GT]

I'd say the upper manifold failed big time if there was actually smoke/steam coming out the exhaust. The gasket failure will dump coolant into the lifter valley.

 

[Drew_Shev]

wow Merkava, you have been a wealth of information. Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it.

 

[Merkava_4]

Did you find the coolant elbows?

Upper Elbow

Lower Elbow

 

[Merkava_4]

[AllData Link] > [Engine] > [Drive Belt Tensioner]

The elbows are always replaced at the time of LIM gasket replacement as standard procedure. They are plastic and usually only last 10 years anyway.

 

[Drew_Shev]

Is silicon grease the only thing you recommend for the o-rings on the coolant elbows?

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

Quote:

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As I was driving home from advanced auto parts today the head gasket blew out on my 96 Pontiac Bonneville. I'm 90% sure it was that due to the smoke out of the exhaust plus the smell right before it blew. I was at AA to get a code checked out, it was "multiple cylinder misfire" if I remember correctly, which would probably make sense. Now to put this into perspective I'm a 17 year old that lives by himself with a good selection of tools, I'm pretty mechanically inclined but I don't have a lot of money and I know getting it repaired won't be cheap. So I would like to know how hard it is to replace the head gasket on these motors. Thanks.

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My neighbor just had the same problem last weekend on his LeSabre (1997 with 3800 series motor). They were headed dowtown when the car bogged down, he pulled it into a dry cleaner and could smell coolant.

We later went down to take a look and found:

1)The coolant was completely gone (he had checked it last weekend and it was full).
2)A CEL showing a cylinder misfire.
3)The engine could not be rotated (seized).

From what we can tell, a massive crack or gasket failure flooded the engine with coolant and seized the engine. Very rare on these cars. Good luck with your fix!

 

[Drew_Shev]

Quick question guys, do you guys have a picture of which cylinder is 1-6?

 

[Merkava_4]

Quote:

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Is silicon grease the only thing you recommend for the o-rings on the coolant elbows?

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Are you having trouble finding it? It should be readily available at auto parts stores under the name of ''Permatex dielectric tune-up grease.''


The purpose of the silicone grease is twofold:

1. Allows for the smooth installation of the elbows by eliminating the possibility of the o-rings getting pinched.

2. Keeps the o-rings from drying out; which prolongs their resiliency.


Silicone grease for o-rings is preferred over petroleum grease because it's safe for the o-ring's compound. Petroleum grease increases the risk of incompatibility issues with o-ring compounds.

 

[Drew_Shev]

Got her running and purring like a kitten! Thanks for all your help. The only thing where I effed up was that I broke the coolant temp sensor. But that will be a quick and easy fix.