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while you get that far on the bottom end i would recommend replacing the coolant elbows! those coolant elbows are made of plastic and crack REALLY easily, replace them with Aluminom units, the coolant elbows fit in from the lower intake manifold, and the front timing cover too the belt tenisioner they friction fit in with pretty much a set of o rings, this transports coolant too the heater core, if these crack, they leak badly at higher load and can leave you stranded, once again replace with Aluminum units not plastic.
the lower intake manifold gaskets, replace with the Felpro medal framed gaskets, not the plastic framed gaskets, these last much longer and are much more durable, the plastic ones go through there heat cycles and leak coolant usually externally onto the ground or pool up coolant between the rockers and upper plenum where the bolts are for the lower intake manifold plenum, but sometimes they will also leak coolant into the engine, sometimes confused with head gasket failure.
the upper plenum that is made of plastic inspect the EGR passage that is in between the two coolant ports that goes too the throttle body, if it is melted replace the upper intake manifold plenum with a replacement unit, if you want too put in the extra time and go through the throttle body conversion kit and all that jazz, replace the plastic upper plenum of the series II with a series III engine, that is if you have the series II which i am sure you do, they started putting them in the Buicks in 1996
as far as the heads are concerned, take your time, follow head bolt losening instructions and sequences make sure the heads and block mating surfaces is clean and spotless, CARFULLY clean out the threads for the bolt holes in the block with a appropriate tap with the right size and thread but be careful don’t screw up the threads, inspect the heads for cracking and warpage with a straight edge, if its not perfectly flat take it in and have it machined… put it back together carfully once again follow torque specs and all procedures, don’t worry, don’t rush it just take your time and you will be alright!
i will show you a picture of some of the parts i recommend.
kind of curious, how did you blow the head gasket? these engines are not know for it.
these are the aluminum coolant elbows, you can get them at NAPA for sure or you can order them from ZZP possibly other parts stores carry them
http://shop.zzperformance.com/store/p/1127-Aluminum-Coolant-Elbows.aspx
these are the intake gaskets, go with the metal framed ones, they will cost more but trust me its worth the money they last much longer, i have not known them too fail they are just the lower ones the kit doesn’t come with the upper gaskets!
these are the upper gaskets it comes with a plenum you can order them without plenum but if you find excessive melting on the upper plenum in the EGR port, i just highly recommend replacing the upper plenum anyhow, i have heard of the plenums failing plenty of times and they leak coolant into the intake causing in best case cinaro burning of coolant worst case cinaro oil in coolant and hydro locking.
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Intake-Manifold/_/R-NDP6001186_0455707186
any more questions don’t be afraid too ask, please keep us posted 🙂
I believe you’re in good hands with this one. Good luck with that job. Keep all your parts and fasteners organized so things go back together easier.
Keep us posted and let us know if you run into any trouble.
I bought this car at the junyard in February this year. Only spent $702 total. The previous owner had all of his maintenance records in a folder in the trunk. Looks like the head gaskets were replaced a while back. 2-3 years ago. I noticed smell of burning oil. Looked like valve cover gasket was leaking. So I wasn’t too worried. Until a few weeks ago I used Gunk to clean the front of the engine in preparation for valve cover gasket replacement. Now it smokes from around the exhaust pipes. So I thought of the head gasket. The coolant reservoir is slightly oily. I want to keep this car running for a while. Time to get dirty.
Watch now it will be something completely different and easier to have fixed.One other consideration for you…If the engine has a plastic plenum on it, replace it. Years ago the plastic plenum on my 3800 leaked from one of the coolant passages. The number 6 cylinder hydro locked and mimicked a blown head gasket. I discovered this from a patient mechanic at a machine shop AFTER doing all the work replacing the heads. Lol…..well it was a great learning experience. Some replacement plenums have been improved with a metal sleeve to correct this design flaw. Hope this goes well for you…
@tomatofarmer1
its alright man, any help he can get from others is good help..
@chuck 79 my suggestion is make absolutely sure you aren’t getting leaks from the intake manifold gasket and rocker cover gaskets before assuming its the head gasket, i would suggest first doing a combustion leak test! and if possible a leak down test, then if these tests conclude you have a head gasket failure, replace the head gasket!when the rocker covers leak on these cars they LEAK really bad! smoke from the exhaust manifold very badly as it drips on the exhaust manifold, and if not treated in time under hood fires! so replace your rocker cover gaskets first if tests don’t conclude head gasket failure, only 12 bucks or so and then if oil continues too leak also keep in track the front main seal can make quite a mess if it starts too leak
but here is how you do a combustion leak test
[video]http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHp5E7XnbXo[/video]
and a leak down test, look for bubbles in the radiator or coolant resovwar when you do this.
[video]http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgrfT0LFMhc[/video]
if these tests aim for blown head gasket replace the head gasket, but if not and you don’t have coolant in your oil or oil in your coolant, if you aren’t experiencing over heating, not experiencing a loss of power and its idling smooth, leaking coolant from the engines head gaskets, or if you aren’t having issues with steam out the tail pipe, just replace the rocker cover gaskets first and see what happens, that is what i recommend.
also i forgot this applies too your car
Yea I would suggest you take some time to diagnose the issue to know for sure what you’re up against. It was likely at the salvage yard for a reason. Some vehicles just aren’t worth saving. Many times when you purchase a ‘cheep’ vehicle, you’ll end up spending so much that you might as well have purchased a better vehicle at the onset. In addition to what was posted above, more information on diagnosing head gasket issues can be found here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats
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