eroyce

I was driving my 2000 Firebird and I look down at the temp gauge and it was red lined so I pulled over and the car died just as I pulled in.

I popped the hood and there was fluid all over the intake and on the hood. So my guess was blown head gasket would I be right to assume this?

I haven't looked at it since. I just thought to myself "that sucks" and walked home.

What should I do to further look into this? If it is the heads I figured might as well get a new intake & throttle body and get better heads.

Open to suggestions. Thanks

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

The first thing to do is not start the engine again until you confirm what the problem is.

First, look for an obvious leak such as a blown hose. Can't find one?

Pull the dipstick and check for coolant in the oil. If you're not sure by looking at the stick, drain the oil and see what comes out.

njsteve

If the oil looks like chocolate milkshake, the water has mixed with it and the bearings will be shot. If the oil level is way too high but it still looks like good oil, then the water is at the bottom of the pan and didn't have time to mix and contaminate the bearings. This happened to me on my 6.5 diesel. I shut it off the moment that the head gasket blew. After towing it home I checked the oil and it looked like it was 4 quarts overfilled but perfectly normal colored. Turns out that while sitting, after the head gasket blew, the water seeped into the pan and displaced the lighter oil, so the oil was on top. I removed the drain plug and coolant came out for the first 15 seconds and then the oil. Had new head gaskets and head bolts installed and the engine was fine. (126,000 miles on it now)

P.S. Head gaskets don't normally blow externally, leaking fluid outside the engine. Normally you get a blast of white smoke out the exhaust as the initial signal that the head gasket breached, allowing coolant into the cylinder. So it may be that you had a coolant hose rupture, and then the overheating occurred at which point the engine melted down.

eroyce

I looked at it again today, with my buddy. We did find a hose or something to do with the smog loose, might as well been off.

I checked the oil and it looked fine as well as the coolant levels.

I started it and it fired up fine didn't smell anything nothing exploded in my buddy's eye. I did however get a "service engine soon" notification. Drove it about 100 yards to my house and left it.

What next? Drain the oil and look for water? Or get it diagnosed? Or what?

njsteve

Did your power steering cooler blow?

eroyce

I don't think so seeing as how I was still steering normally

eroyce

I started my engine and let it run till it started to overheat then shut it off. And my fans continued running after that. But,I couldn't see any leaks or busted lines. So maybe the fans weren't kicking when they were supposed to?

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

Have you looked in the radiator? BEFORE RUNNING THIS ENGINE AGAIN MAKE SURE THE RADIATOR IS FULL.

If the fans continued running after you shut off the engine and removed the key, you've really overheated the engine.

From the GM engine fan diagnostics manual: After vehicle is shut off, if engine coolant temperature at key-off is greater than 284øF (140øC) and system voltage is more than 12 volts. Fans will stay on for approximately 3 minutes.

njsteve

Here's a link to the power steering cooler with a photo. It plums into the lower radiator line and is prone to failure (but usually it is internal.). Maybe there's a leak at the hose junction with the radiator?

https://ls1tech.com/forums/pontiac-f...ng-cooler.html

eroyce

I'm guessing it's a line. A car savvy guy told me to take a hose a continue filling the radiator while the car is running to pinpoint the leak. Then if I find it drain it replace it fill it back up.