Hello guys, I recently bought a 2004 Monte Carlo ss, its the dale Jr supercharged version. I bought it off a friend of a friend fairly cheap ($1500) because it was having an overheating problem. I took it to a garage and it turned out the coolant elbows had broken and that's where all the coolant was leaking. I brought it home and changed them but it was still overheating. I then had the water pump and thermostat changed, but still overheating. I noticed there are bubbles in the radiator and overflow along with no heat in the car. Someone told me it could be a head gasket but I don't know for sure. The car has 157,000 miles on it and I was wondering if it is worth putting over $1000 into for repairs or if I should just let it go since it has so many miles. Any input will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

It could be a head gasket, or possibly an intake manifold gasket. Is there any evidence of an external leak? If you are finding coolant on the ground or in the engine compartment you need to locate and repair the leak. A cooling system pressure test can be done to help find a leak. Once the cooling system is pressurized you look and listen for the leak. If none are found then the leak is internal. You can usually borrow the tester from the local O Reilly's, Autozone, etc.

A cylinder leak down test is the best way to determine if you have a blown head gasket. However, you can use the cooling system pressure tester and a stethoscope. Remove all spark plugs from the engine, then pressurize the cooling system. Place the end of the stethoscope into each cylinder and listen for a hissing/gurgling sound. If you hear it in any one of the cylinders you have a blown head gasket. If you hear it faintly in more then one cylinder you have a leaking intake manifold gasket. When/If you do the repair check the heads to make sure they are flat before putting them back on the engine.

 

I don't see any coolant on the ground or engine compartment. When I bought the car I was told it needed a water pump, got that fixed but when I went to fill it with coolant it just poured out the side of the engine. After reading up on the forums I was able to establish that the coolant elbows where broke. I changed them and got everything back together, filled up the coolant and ran the car for the first time since I had it and it went to ted on the temp gauge within minutes. There is no heat in the car, and bubbles in the overflow. After it starts to warm up it pushes all the coolant out the tip of the overflow. My biggest concern is that there are bubbles in the cooling system. My biggest worry is the car has 157,000 miles on it and I'm not sure how long these motors go for. I don't want to put money into a gasket if there isn't much life left in the car. I only paid $1500 for the whole car, is it worth repairing or selling as is?

 

if it were me i would repair it, its a limited edition monte, you got it for very cheap. you could fix it and probably sell it and make money in all honesty. i do my own work so this is easy for me to fix and would only cost around 400-500 in parts but even if i couldnt do it myself i would have a shop repair it i feel the car is worth keeping.... just my .02

 

Would it be better to try and find a motor with lower miles on it at this point or just fix this one?

 

depends, you could find another engine but they wont be cheap do to the sc. you can get a NA 3800 cheap and dime a dozen but not the sc 3800 there a little more rare and worth a lot more. i say pull the heads have a machine shop inspect them etc and rebuild that engine. there is tons of people running very high mileage on the 3800 bottom end. not saying you wont ever have a problem with it because people have spun bearings etc but i have seen them last a very long time also.... is there coolant in the oil? if there is then just buy another engine because the coolant probably trashed all the bearings in the bottom end....

 

The oil looks good still, I am not very mechanically inclined but thank you for your input on the situation, I'm going to take it to a garage for a real diagnoses and repair. Probably going to have to go to the dealership though because there are not really any decent garages around my area.

 

i would find a decent garage and NOT go to the dealership!! the dealership will charge you an arm and a leg!

 

Let me know what is wrong I'm interested in hearing what's wrong. If it were me I'd be tempted to take it to the dealer just because they always change it back with stock parts and if your like me then you are sorta **** about stuff like that. Also the dealership is used to working on their own companies motors all the time and will most likely know what it is and get it fixed right the first time which may save you money in the end.

 

I didn't want to take it to the dealership because I know it is going to cost a fortune but hopefully they will figure it out quickly and accurately. Just dropped it off about an hour ago. I'll update as soon as I hear from them. Hopefully tomorrow, what little I got to drive the car it was very fun.