Hello new guy here with bad allergies who needs some help, please read....

[Amateurmech]

Hi im having problems working on my 1994 buick century 3.1L V6. IM not very knowledgeable but i am a quick learner so ive decided to try and fix it myself. The car has always had an overheating problem since i bought it off an older lady. I fixed the thermostat first because i noticed there was a leak there. Then i noticed the radiator fan wasnt working so i replaced the temperature sending unit. I drove the car around for a few months it seemed to run fine. Then one morning i was driving to work and i noticed the car heating up faster than normal so i turned on my heater full blast and it was ice cold air. I thought it was the heater core so i unclogged that but it did not help.

 

A few things i noticed when checking stuff on my car is when i took the caps off for the radiator and the oil there was milky white deposits in them. My radiator is clogged im pretty sure because the bottom half of it is cold to the touch when the car is hot. There is a coolant leak out of a small whole on the engine block underneath the power steering fluid resevoir. I noticed that when i was refilling the radiator with fluid, i would fill it to the top and it would drain out that whole leaving not alot of fluid in the radiator. I replaced the water pump and gasket because the repair manual mentioned bleed vents for the water pump when there is a gasket seal broken, but the leak is still happening. Ive started it up recently and drove it around the block and it doesnt overheat because it dies at a stop sign before it has a chance to. I've heard bad things about the 3.1L and GM's design of gaskets, (all after i had already gotten the car of course), and im hoping its not a blown head gasket but im stuck and don't have the money to take it to the shop. I don't knokw if i should try to fix it myslef or just sell/scrap the car and get a new one, and suggestions?......I live in one of the highest pollen areas in the U.S. and ive been riding a bike to work which is great exercise but the pollen is killing my face and i desperatley want to drive my car again.

[dodgethis]

Sound very much that you have a LIM gasket leaking. That is due to that milky mixture color you see in your radiator. I had mine start to do it, but i caught it early. I would flush out the radiator, or heck if its too bad, i would probably replace the radiator. Those would be two things i would do first.

[Amateurmech]

Thanks for the help its greatly appreciated. Is an LIM gasket expensive or hard to replace by youself? Im going to try the flush and see what happens but im worried about spending money on a new radiator or anything else if ultimately i do have a blown head gasket. There is a coating of milky white substance in my oil also, so could it possibly be both a bad head and LIM gasket?

[Night Fury]

75% chance the Lower Intake Manifold Gasket failed.

25% chance the Head gasket failed.

 

LIMG is a pretty involved job, but if you were to take it on and get stuck at a point, most of us have done the job dozens of times over and can help.

 

Depending on where the leak is, I would do the following:

 

If the leak is at the head, I would replace all gaskets from the block up, then flush the cooling system and make sure all is well

If the leak is at the LIM, I would just do from there up, then coolant flush, etc.

 

 

I feel your pain on the allergies. I hope you have a garage.

 

 

How does the oil look?

[Night Fury]

Should run less than $200 TOPS

[Amateurmech]

to be honest i dont even have a torque wrench, we have a garage but can't fit a car in it, and most of the tools are miss matched and not complete sets so im working with what i've got. the leak is coming from a small hole, (about the size of a pencil in roundness), located by the pulleys on the engine block under the power steering fluid resevoir, (i think thats the front of the engine right?). and the oil i changed about 3 months ago but it is riddled with milky white deposits. Also im wondering, do i have to take the whole engine out to do either of the gaskets? Because i dont have a cherry picker so if its going to be that involved i think i might just scrap the idea of fixing it....thanks for the responses theyve helped alot

Edited July 12, 2011 by Amateurmech
need more info