First off let me say I am new here and new to F body cars as well.
I have always had "muscle cars" of the 60s and 70s but simply got fed up with rust, maintenance, trying to break into the 13s ect so I decided to get myself into something "new".
I recently bought a 98 Formula out of state and had it sent to me.
A couple things conern me, I maybe making a mountain out of a mole hill but want some opinions.


What makes me think it could be a head gasket problem-

Car gets alot of condensation out of the exhaust, seems to be clear and odorless however. Has been in my barn which is very damp and has been raining out.
Also been idleing alot so perhaps thats the culprit.

Whiteish smoke-

Nothing on start up, after a few seconds it starts and continues, after 10 mins its greatly diminished but remains faint.
I have never smelled a exhaust with antifreeze before so I cant be certain, it smells funny to me but then again I am used to cars from the 70s.
Whatever the case, I wouldnt call it sweet but overpowering for sure.

Also I should add the temperature here as been in the 40s to maybe 60 and very humid if not even rain.
It has been this way for days I just need a nice 70 degree day to check it out but none in the forecast.
I dont remember seeing anything when I ran it on a limited basis the first day I got it when it was 70ish.


What makes me think its not a head gasket-

Coolant and oil look fine- I know this dosent really mean anything one way or another, coolant level seemed to be good, overflow was at "cold" level when it was hot so I topped it off. No white stuff on oil cap ect.

Dosent leak any oil or coolant I can see.

Car seems to run and idle fine, plenty of power. Have driven down the driveway, breaks the tires anything over quarter throttle.

I havent driven it and dont want to spend the sales tax money to put a "dead" car on the road.

Temp seems good, will hit 210 if it idles for about 20 mins in park, fan comes on and it backs down, comes up again a few minutes later.
If it hits 210 a few hits on the throttle sends it down back into the 180 range also.


Heater has plenty of heat.


I did a Block test on it today with one of those $50 color changing kits from Autozone, did it 3 seperate times, stayed 100% blue (which is good) a few sniffs of the tailpipe turned it yellow so I know it works, just dont know how accuretly.


Car has 60k miles on it and I dont think it has even been raced, modded or apart.

Is it just the dismal humid cool weather here and lack of some good old road time to clean it out or is there more to it?

Opinions welcome

I will keep a eye on coolant, had to take some out and put it back in with the test today so I have to level it out again.
Even pulling the plugs is a big thing to me on these newer cars, its a whole different ball game from a 60s big block!

Thanks for any input and excuse any ignorance on my part!
Just worried about my "new" car.
I want to get this puppy on the road and have some fun with her!

Tim

 

Welcome to the board.

I would drive it a little. Once it has come up to full operating temp, there should be no steam coming from the pipes. Put some real miles on it on the freeway and see how it works out.

Any of them will emit steam while first started in cool humid conditions.

 

I agree...there is no way to tell w/out driving it. Now if you are overheating or losing coolant then start to worry. Could be the cold weather, affecting it, w/condensation. But a somewhat simple check is to drain the oil, or even loosen the drain plug a bit. If you have any water in the pan since it is heavier than the oil and not as dense it will drain out first and then you know that you do have a head gskt going out. But highly doubtful if the car isn't over heating. But if you do the next question would be how to figure out what side??????

 

I can tell you one thing from my experience with Turbo Buicks; If you get coolant in the oil, the oil will look like a chocolate milkshake after it has been run...

 

I do want to drive it but dont want to spend $900 in sales tax only to find it could have been better spent on engine work.

I loosed the drain plug and let about a 50 cent piece size spot of oil out.
No water or wetness just oil.
Also didnt notice any white gunk or any build up on the plug or pan.
If it would ever warm up about 55 outside I could be sure, Thats NY for ya!
Maybe by June!

 

Unless you are going to convert the car into a drag racer you will eventually have to pay the state sales tax to get it registered. I suppose you could move your permenant residence to a state that has a low sales tax but this is probably not a prudent move....

If your state sales tax rate is 5% that means you paid approximately $18,000 for the car ..That seems high for a 1998 formula ...then again, you may have only paid 13,333 if you live in NYC and pay state ans city sales tax at the rate of 6.75%...

If you estimate repairs at $900 you could wait three years and pay only $777 in today's dollars for the same repair - assuming a compound inflation rate of 5%.

All in all, as a CPA I recommend that you flip for the $900 sales tax today and drive the car around until you can determine if you need a head gasket or two... Since the work is not that complicated you should also consider wrenching yourself...

These repairs, are not tax deductible, even if you pay someone else, however. The only exception is if the car is used for a business but if I was the IRS and you told me you bought a 98 formula for your business I would laugh and pull your bogas deductions.

 

the job of the convertor is to turn carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and water so what you are seeing is probably water vapor as it condenses i would be willing to bet with your local conditions that's what it is

Jay

 

Exactly what I was gonna say, you're just worried because you bought it used. Relax and go dive!