Hello I am new to this forum I have a 02 ss monte carlo with 101000 miles on the clock. My question is what are the tell tale signs of a head gasket leak? Yesterday my wife stoped at a neighbors house and left the monte running i walked out side and saw white smoke pouring out of the exaust. As i walked up to it i could smell a oily gasy smell and it looked like it had condensate dripping out the exaust tips. I drove it to the house and shut it off let it cool the oil seems to be good on level and the coolent is ok its a little dark collored. Their was no condensate on the oil fill cap. I would appriciate any help Thanks Hartley

 

What Engine do you have? 3.4L or 3.8L...Its a rather common problem on the 3.4L for headgaskets and intake gaskets to leak coolant and need replaced. The 3.8L does not have the head gasket problem, but does get leaky intake gaskets as well.

If you have the 3400, I would bet your head gasket is bad, its sounds like it from what you've described. When is the last time you changed the coolant? or has it ever been done?

 

He has the SS so it's a 3.8.

I would say not to worry about the headgasket unless you are overheating and your coolant is disappearing and showing up on your dipstick. The 3800s aren't as prone for the headgasket issue.

Though we are prone for having UIM and LIM leaks. I would say maybe get a flush done, change your oil, and see if anything starts to go wrong.

If it does get that car pressure tested to find where the leak is.

 

its the 3800 engine i dont know about the coolant being changed i was going to change it before winter got here. What would cause the white smoke if its not the head gasket? What would a faulty injector do?

 

Oh Duh, I missed the SS part...haha

I would think maybe your intake gaskets...

 

Well it's possible that you are leaking a coolant, just doesn't have to be at the head-gasket.

 

i have a stupid question is their anyway to tell the difference between a intake gasket and a head gasket leak? Ever since i got this car i have noticed a slight coolent loss but could never find a leak, as in a drip or a puddle but the motor has always ran great no misses or hesitation. but last night when i drove it to my driveway i did notice that it was running a little rough at around 1500 rpm but went away around 2000 rpm. But now that as i have searched around a little, and it appears that these intake gaskets are known for leaking.

 

Yea, I doubt its the head gasket on the 3.8L its very rare...but the intakes are really common on the 3.8L...I am pretty sure thats your problem. And the hesitation is probably from the intake leaking, your leak probably got worse over time. If you take the car in and get a pressure test on the cooling system, they will confirm where the leak is coming from. Like I said though, MAJOR chance its the intake gasket. Once you get it replaced, make sure to change the coolant like every 30,000 miles, 50,000 at most. Do not follow the 100,000 mile guideline in the owners manual.

 

The beauty of the LIM is that it will make your coolant disappear and you won't see it on the dipstick or leaking anywhere... It's the invisible killer.

Pressure test ASAP to make sure, then get that fixed. (Not cheap if you pay for the LIM gasket to be changed, it requires almost as much work as the head-gasket)

 

Your looking at $750-850 for the LIM done by a GM dealer.