head gasket

[pwhite]

How do you know when you have a bad one?

 

[UNGN]

milkshake oil, bubble in the overflow tank, coolant leaking down the side of the block, You're engine makes Breathing sounds, no compression in a cylinder and the big one: your radiator hoses blow off and water pours out your tailpipes.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

lower vacuum on your aftermarket boost gauge

pressure built up from boost getting under the intake, and pushing alot of oil out of the breathers

milkshake for oil

sounds like its running on 5 cylinders

oil fouled spark plug

there are more symptoms

HTH

 

[FJM568]

Or if your Scott Simpson last year or year before last(don't remember) in BG, running on 1 cyl...He blew his head gaskets on 5 of 6 cyls...

 

[turbov6joe]

Scott Simpson really knows how to go out with a bang! We wrenched on that motor in the parking lot of Motel V6 from 10am untill 1am the next day and got it back on the road. NEVER in my life have I ever seen 5 of 6 blown to hell and back! Turns out his heads were as flat West Virginia

 

[pwhite]

where can i get head gaskets from. are the ones at the auto parts stores as good as any other or do i need to buy speical ones. any tips on changing them. Thanks

 

[UNGN]

GM is the best place for stock gaskets.

P/N 25528486

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

GM ones work great-- they ought to cost around 32.00 EACH
try www.ronklein.com
go to the parts department and ask for jeff-- i think he is the parts manager-- tell him youve got a 87 gn and need a price on head gaskets-

need a tip??
do them both, not just one or the other--
also - purchase some arp head bolts-
hth
bryan

 

[pwhite]

can bubble in overflow tank be anything other than blown head gasket. car seems to run fine not too hot doesnt realy miss or run on 5 cyclinders. oil doesnt look that bad.

 

[Steve Wood]

Are the bubbles what make you think you have a bad headgasket?

 

[pwhite]

Yes plus i have an oil leak that ends up drip ing from the trans. bell house . it kind of looks like it has a greenish tint. The oil on the dip stick looks ok but seems alittle thin.Steve W could you point me in the direction of a good houston GN shop was thinking getting the car looked at not just the head gasket but give me an overview of what needs to be done if anything to the car. Have a scanmaster but am still haveing trouble tuning the car. Can a bad head gasket cause you to knock at boost above 14# but not below. thanks

 

[Steve Wood]

I think the best place is Conley's Performance Plus.

281-540-3278
1443A Aldine Bender Road - Houston TX 77032

They are located just south of IAH and to the east of the Hardy Toll Road.

Give them a call and tell them that I suggested you let them look at the car.


Mike Kurtz, of PMAC tranny fame, is also very good. He is located off Grand Parkway near Richmond and now calls himself Century....I think Conley's is closer if you are somewhere near DeerPark.

Both of the above are very honest and are early pioneers in the turbo Buick business.

 

[Steve Wood]

Oh, I think I suggested this before, but, if there is water in the oil, it will look like a scummy chocolate shake....if it has fuel in it, it will smell like gasoline. Change it if it has that smell before you drive it someplace.

 

[pwhite]

Thanks steve W for the shop referal. the oil doesnt look like a milk shake or smell like gas, just bubbles in the overflow when hot. How do i tune my milivolts down there at 850 to 900 at wot but the car still knocks at 15 # of boost

 

[Steve Wood]

1. Do you have an adjustable fuel pressure regulator? Lowering fp should lower O2s.

2. What scan tool are you using to look at the O2s? Some, likke the OTc4000 read .500 when the key is turned to the "run" position and others, like Direct Scan, TurboLink, or ScanMaster read .441 in the "run" position. (engine not running)

If you are using one of the latter three, something around .800-.820 is probably pretty good for 93 octane. If you are using OTC, AutoXray, etc, then .860-.900 would be more the range. Now, depending upon what chip you are using, knock at 15# may, or may not be normal. Most of the modern chips seem to be able to run 16-17 on 93 octane.

And, of course, it has to be real detonation and not false caused by a bad motor mount or down pipe hitting the control arm, etc.

I am over in the sw side of town, Chimney Rock, South Braeswood area...I will be happy to help you with it if you wanta come by.

 

[pwhite]

steve w I runa 93 chip from precision its was made to work with my 42.5 injectors. I do have a adj. fuel pressure reg. set at 43# line off. If i drop the pressure it knocks alittle more. I run a scanmaster2.1. with the car off the o2 milivolts read 0. If your serious about looking at my car I would realy appreciate it. E mail me at plwhite@pdq.net and we will exchange #s or something Thanks

 

[pwhite]

How hot should Ii be running on a scanmaster at dead stop (traffic) or on the freeway doing 65mph ?