Hey guys I need some help I got a great deal on a 2001 monte Carlo la today and it runs rough check engine light is on and possibly a blown head gasket I need input from you mc people I had a 85 but that is completely different and this car is a 3.4 at 208k miles will try to learn to post pics on here also car is rust free got it for 50 bucks a 22 needing the bolt fixed and 2 CD players I figured it was a great deal just need some help here it holds coolant and doesn't smoke it just runs rough takes a while to start and you have to give it gas to get her going

 

hey i just got a 2001 monte carlo on trade and the guy i got it from said it has a bad head gasket it is a 2001 3.4 ls model it starts up after cranking for about 30 seconds and after giving it gas but until you give it gas it does not want to run the temp gauge has not risen past normal (about 160) but before i get into tearing her apart i just wanna know some opinions

 

I am sure some of the people who are more familiar with the newer Montes would be better at answering you than I.


What does your oil look like? Normal, whitish-brown, etc
What color is your exhaust?
Take your radiator cap off. Is there anything hanging off the cap that looks "sludgy" or like milk shake consistency/color?

 

that is where i am stumped because there is no milky oil it seems clean nothing under the cap and it doesn't blow any smoke the exhaust is black

 

Did the person say why they thought the head gasket was blown??

 

no sir just out of the blue saying that and while loading it onto the trailer to bring her home she didnt wanna run unless given gas and had what seemed like no power

 

well after putting water into the radiator she started just pouring out of the car seems like it was between the head and block i believe it is a head gasket tomorrow we will know more as we are pulling the engine apart to see what else could be wrong (cracked block/head)

 

ouch...sorry to hear about that. Lets us know what you find

 

Can you physically see where the water is actually coming out from? If not, I would do some more checking before pulling the engine apart. Normally when a head gasket fails, its creates a tiny passage from the water jacket to a new destination (a cylinder usually or sometimes out of the engine), normally it also requires the cooling system to be pressurized to force the coolant through this new passage because it is so tight, it does not flow coolant through easily.
So reading a description of "pouring out" instead of a trickle or a stream sounds unusual to me for a head gasket or even a lower intake gasket. I would suspect a failed hose or if the water is coming out by the firewall, maybe a failed heater core.

Just some food for thought. If you can give more of a description of where the water is actually being seen or a pic, we may be able to provide some additional information.
I would think water might tricked from a head gasket, not pour out of a head gasket.

 

sure enough the head gasket popped :/ no cracks to the naked eye but the head is getting sent to a machine shop to be pressure tested