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Thread: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by turbovanman View Post
    Not true, in the minivans, you drop the whole thing onto a dolly and voila, all the room you need,
    Wish we had an engine cradle dolly, I did head gaskets on a Pontiac Aztec and there was no room at all.
    Ian Adams Function>Form 1990 shadow scrapped, too rusty:( 1991 Spirit R/T Scrapped, parts sold:( 1989 Turbo Caravan Daily beater with built-[I]ish [/I]​engine slowly evolving into weekend turbo beater.

  2. #22
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Quote Originally Posted by shackwrrr View Post
    Wish we had an engine cradle dolly, I did head gaskets on a Pontiac Aztec and there was no room at all.
    I snagged the Kent Moore cradle for the first gen U vans from a GM dealer that closed, I used it for everything, it rocks, even TM's,
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  3. #23
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    So dump it on the floor and wheel the car back off it... drop it on a flat P-dolly... drop it on a pallet truck... drop it on a greased runner sledge made out of 2x4s... chain it to a tree and drive backwards...
    DD1: '02 T&C Ltd, 3.8 AWD. DD2: '15 Versa Note SV, replacing.. DDx: '14 Versa Note SV << freshly killded :( ....... Projects: '88 Voyager 3.0, Auto with shift kit, timing advance, walker sound FX muffler on 15" pumpers wrapped in 215/65/R15 H rated Nexens.... and a '95 phord escort wagon PnP head << Both may need to go :( ..... I like 3.0s ... so??? ... stop looking at me like I've got two heads!

  4. #24
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Quote Originally Posted by RoadWarrior222 View Post
    So dump it on the floor and wheel the car back off it... drop it on a flat P-dolly... drop it on a pallet truck... drop it on a greased runner sledge made out of 2x4s... chain it to a tree and drive backwards...
    Wait, thats not common knowledge? I thought everyone did that. Hmm....


  5. #25
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Yah, it's just frigging strange wanting to use the correct tool when there's such a rich variety of alternatives....
    DD1: '02 T&C Ltd, 3.8 AWD. DD2: '15 Versa Note SV, replacing.. DDx: '14 Versa Note SV << freshly killded :( ....... Projects: '88 Voyager 3.0, Auto with shift kit, timing advance, walker sound FX muffler on 15" pumpers wrapped in 215/65/R15 H rated Nexens.... and a '95 phord escort wagon PnP head << Both may need to go :( ..... I like 3.0s ... so??? ... stop looking at me like I've got two heads!

  6. #26
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    I did the head gaskets on a 3.4l in a Pontiac Montana for my neighbor. The real problem and what caused the head gasket issue was the coolant line for the heater that connects to the intake manifold. Those engines have a doomed to fail quick connect on the intake manifold that the heater hose plugs into. The little plastic piece inside fails and lets the hose move and leak. you may want to take a look and see if that is your leak. He bought from a used car lot and they had pulled the hose out and gooped silicone on it and stuffed it back in there. It will be on the tbody side of the car underneath a whole bunch of crap. I did the gaskets in the van and it was tight but not unbearable. He got another 40,000 miles out of it before it let go completely. I did use new bolts. Good luck.

  7. #27
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    "it" meaning the heads, gaskets, the motor, or the coolant line???

    (This are why I like buying, "selling because X broke" cars or trade ins... get to fix it up right yourself, don't have 20 bodges waiting to come undone... that and I just don't trust cheaper lots to get a "real" safety inspection. )
    DD1: '02 T&C Ltd, 3.8 AWD. DD2: '15 Versa Note SV, replacing.. DDx: '14 Versa Note SV << freshly killded :( ....... Projects: '88 Voyager 3.0, Auto with shift kit, timing advance, walker sound FX muffler on 15" pumpers wrapped in 215/65/R15 H rated Nexens.... and a '95 phord escort wagon PnP head << Both may need to go :( ..... I like 3.0s ... so??? ... stop looking at me like I've got two heads!

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by wallace View Post
    I did the head gaskets on a 3.4l in a Pontiac Montana for my neighbor. The real problem and what caused the head gasket issue was the coolant line for the heater that connects to the intake manifold. Those engines have a doomed to fail quick connect on the intake manifold that the heater hose plugs into. The little plastic piece inside fails and lets the hose move and leak. you may want to take a look and see if that is your leak. He bought from a used car lot and they had pulled the hose out and gooped silicone on it and stuffed it back in there. It will be on the tbody side of the car underneath a whole bunch of crap. I did the gaskets in the van and it was tight but not unbearable. He got another 40,000 miles out of it before it let go completely. I did use new bolts. Good luck.
    Correction......only if someone has performed work that required the removal of the heater pipe that did not know how to remove it. They aren't doomed unless it is messed with. They make replacements for them too.
    Bryan
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  9. #29
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Quote Originally Posted by black86glhs View Post
    Correction......only if someone has performed work that required the removal of the heater pipe that did not know how to remove it. They aren't doomed unless it is messed with. They make replacements for them too.
    I agree, almost never do they break on their own. All 90s GMs have those quick connects too. 4.3L, 5.0L, 5.7L...everything. Not just a 3.4L

  10. #30
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Quote Originally Posted by black86glhs View Post
    Correction......only if someone has performed work that required the removal of the heater pipe that did not know how to remove it. They aren't doomed unless it is messed with. They make replacements for them too.
    I had one fail on my 99 suburban in WV. Was surprised the dealer had 6 of them in stock. The guy at the counter said it was a common failure. The plastic POS they use gets brittle over time from the heat and fails eventually. I think its one of those engineered parts that guarantees the General does a brisk business in head gaskets and those little heater hose gizmos.

  11. #31
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Quote Originally Posted by wallace View Post
    I had one fail on my 99 suburban in WV. Was surprised the dealer had 6 of them in stock. The guy at the counter said it was a common failure. The plastic POS they use gets brittle over time from the heat and fails eventually. I think its one of those engineered parts that guarantees the General does a brisk business in head gaskets and those little heater hose gizmos.
    It is a common failure, but its usually because of them being disturbed. But it does happen. I get people in here all the time wanting them.

  12. #32
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Quote Originally Posted by wallace View Post
    I had one fail on my 99 suburban in WV. Was surprised the dealer had 6 of them in stock. The guy at the counter said it was a common failure. The plastic POS they use gets brittle over time from the heat and fails eventually. I think its one of those engineered parts that guarantees the General does a brisk business in head gaskets and those little heater hose gizmos.
    Believe me I know about them. I have been with GM since 1988 until I left the auto biz in 2005. My point, as Mike said, was that the plastic usually doesn't just fail. It usually gets chewed up trying to get the pipe out. I know because it happens on anything with more than 60k miles when you have to remove the pipe....LOL. It wouldn't surprise me if they changed the type of plastic to something thinner and more prone to breaking in the later models, though.
    Stupid cars companies and their evil been counters!!!
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Ok guys it seems to be getting coolant in the oil so it's due time. Can someone help me with a parts list for doin the head gaskets and such so I don't forget anything. And are head bolts needed?

    Here's what I know I need

    Head gaskets 2
    Intake mani gasket
    Exhaust mani gaskets 2
    Valve cover gaskets. 2

  14. #34
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    die grinder, ball cutter, cone cutter, sanding rolls... ... ...
    DD1: '02 T&C Ltd, 3.8 AWD. DD2: '15 Versa Note SV, replacing.. DDx: '14 Versa Note SV << freshly killded :( ....... Projects: '88 Voyager 3.0, Auto with shift kit, timing advance, walker sound FX muffler on 15" pumpers wrapped in 215/65/R15 H rated Nexens.... and a '95 phord escort wagon PnP head << Both may need to go :( ..... I like 3.0s ... so??? ... stop looking at me like I've got two heads!

  15. #35
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Quote Originally Posted by bgbmxer View Post
    Ok guys it seems to be getting coolant in the oil so it's due time. Can someone help me with a parts list for doin the head gaskets and such so I don't forget anything. And are head bolts needed?

    Here's what I know I need

    Head gaskets 2
    Intake mani gasket
    Exhaust mani gaskets 2
    Valve cover gaskets. 2
    The heater pipe adapter (the one we were talking about above), upper to lower plenum gaskets (they usually tear or break during removal, get some injector O-rings too. Pull the upper plenum with the throttle body if you can, much faster. Some you can and others you can't. I think on the Alero you can.
    Set the power steering pump to the side and just remove the alternator. Pull the coil bracket out and the alternator bracket and the rest is easy to figure out.
    Bryan
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  16. #36
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    So I got it tore down to the the point where the intake and all is off. Got a few questions. Can I tell if a Headgsskets blown by a simple compression test? The lower intake gaskets are harder then a wedding dick and the one looks like it was seeping by and has buildup like the stop leak stuff that was in it. How often do these things warp heads and also use said the pushrods were different lengths and to keep track of them do the rockers need to be adjusted on these things or no.





    ---------- Post added at 03:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:59 PM ----------

    My other question is can I do a simple compression test and see if I have to pull the heads or not. It's weird because I only have water in the oil not the other way around like I think a head gasket would be.

  17. #37
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Coolant in oil can come from a straight leak to inside the cylinder, where there's enough to get by the rings, instead of all being burned/evaporated off. Also oil pressure drops almost immediately you stop the motor, whereas coolant pressure declines slowly as it cools... ergo you can then have 15psi coolant pressure squirting into a normally 30psi oil passage...

    There's also nothing that says it can't leak to the oil returns.
    DD1: '02 T&C Ltd, 3.8 AWD. DD2: '15 Versa Note SV, replacing.. DDx: '14 Versa Note SV << freshly killded :( ....... Projects: '88 Voyager 3.0, Auto with shift kit, timing advance, walker sound FX muffler on 15" pumpers wrapped in 215/65/R15 H rated Nexens.... and a '95 phord escort wagon PnP head << Both may need to go :( ..... I like 3.0s ... so??? ... stop looking at me like I've got two heads!

  18. #38
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Quote Originally Posted by RoadWarrior222 View Post
    Coolant in oil can come from a straight leak to inside the cylinder, where there's enough to get by the rings, instead of all being burned/evaporated off. Also oil pressure drops almost immediately you stop the motor, whereas coolant pressure declines slowly as it cools... ergo you can then have 15psi coolant pressure squirting into a normally 30psi oil passage...

    There's also nothing that says it can't leak to the oil returns.
    Both intake gaskets have huge cracks right next to the oil return passages on the head and the compression is the same across the board. It doesn't actually idle rough either

    ---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 PM ----------

    My main question is are the rockers adjustable since the way the gaskets are setup you have to remove the pushrods. Is there an easier way.

  19. #39
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    The intake gaskets are most likely your problem. I bet the seeping you saw at the head gasket was the coolant running down the head from the intake. Common misdiagnoses.
    The rockers get torqued to 14 ft lbs and another 30*.
    Intake bolts are 115 in lbs.
    NO on the rockers. You have to pull the pushrods and keep them in order or you will be pulling the heads to fix bent valves.
    Water in the oil is the same for both head gaskets and intake gaskets on these. A block with a crack in the oil passage next to a coolant passage will net you oil in the coolant or a leaky oil cooler inside the radiator.
    If it did not run bad prior, the head gaskets may be fine. Unfortunately, without hearing it run, I can't say. If the numbers are good (135-145 psi) between them all, I would lean towards the intakes causing the leaks and milkshake. Those are my thoughts.
    Bryan
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    Re: 99 Oldsmobile alero head gaskets leaking help

    Quote Originally Posted by black86glhs View Post
    The intake gaskets are most likely your problem. I bet the seeping you saw at the head gasket was the coolant running down the head from the intake. Common misdiagnoses.
    The rockers get torqued to 14 ft lbs and another 30*.
    Intake bolts are 115 in lbs.
    NO on the rockers. You have to pull the pushrods and keep them in order or you will be pulling the heads to fix bent valves.
    Water in the oil is the same for both head gaskets and intake gaskets on these. A block with a crack in the oil passage next to a coolant passage will net you oil in the coolant or a leaky oil cooler inside the radiator.
    If it did not run bad prior, the head gaskets may be fine. Unfortunately, without hearing it run, I can't say. If the numbers are good (135-145 psi) between them all, I would lean towards the intakes causing the leaks and milkshake. Those are my thoughts.
    The numbers were in the 140 range all across so I'm hoping this is it. The intake gaskets were horribly cracked in multiple places so im guessing that's what's wrong. Id rather not pull the heads if I don't have to that always snowballs into more money.

    So they made pushrods to length and all I gotta do is pull them out and put them back in The same order torque and put it all back together

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