I drive a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu LS (3.1L V6) with an automatic transmission.
I purchased the car used with 55K miles on it in October of 2006.
Four months after purchasing the vehicle, I was informed that coolant was leaking into my oil as a result of a faulty intake manifold gasket (a disturbingly common issue with this engine) by a mechanic after an oil change . With this, they informed me of an expensive repair that should be an absolute priority. This particular mechanic told me that I’d be pushing it if I waited any longer than "two weeks".
Five years later, I have put 100k additional miles on the engine and have yet to take care of the intake manifold gasket leak issue.
I can say that I am NOT hard on this vehicle and am very good about taking care of its regular maintenance. For the past few years, I have been strictly using MobilOne’s Extended Performance 5W-30 oil and Mobile One oil filters. Each time that I change my oil (every 3,000 – 4,500 miles) I have WalMart perform their Fuel Injection Service (though they’ve recently informed me that I shouldn’t bother doing this more than once a year). Additionally, because of the leak, I have to routinely add DexCool pre-diluted coolant to the car’s coolant reservoir.
Now that the car is ten years and 155,000 miles old, is it worth having the repairs done? Is my car a ticking time bomb of expensive repairs? Or am I doing something right in my regular maintenance and shouldn’t worry about it as long as I keep up with it?

Thanks for reading. Any opinion/advice will be helpful.

-Brandon

Part 1removing the cylinder head of a chinese 4 stroke single cylinder motorbike

i have a 1985 Suzuki GS1150E and i just put royal purple motor oil in it it runs great sept now oil sprayes out the top of the cam cover. is there a quick temporary fix till i replace the gasket that wont ruin the paint on the engine more than it already is? i just wanna ride it around til i fix it.
sadly gaskets cost like OEM and i don’t know how to make my own.
p.s as far as can tell is seems the oil is spraying out of the front left part of the gasket i cant actual figure it out. but were the spray hits on my bike it seems to be the only probable spot since i do see some oil around it and it only sprays when i’m at high rpm’s and the bike is rolling.

I recently had my twin garret turbos rebuilt and the entire engine rebuilt. both only have about 3000k miles on them. All ran perfect until I was racing and accidentally missed a gear (revved up to 7500rpm) and immediately let of the gas. 6000rpm is when i shift and the max rpm tach goes up to 8k. after that i notice when i get into my boost or pick up hard it blows white smoke and then dissipates when i drive normal on the highway or rd. and when i pick up hard then stop for a light it will roll smoke and then stop after like 30sec. basically when i get on it it smokes and when im cruising its fine. if i rev it in neautral no smoke comes out. only when im in gear getting on it happens. the oil and antifreeze coolant is full and consumption is normal. i dint see any leaks. no bubbles in my radiator when i cold start the engine to test for blown head gasket. color of oil looks fine. engine temp and water temp never over heat. oil to the turbos have already been restricted before and was perfect. what the hell is going on. its a brand new motor and i dont have symptoms of a cracked head gasket. its a tricky situation, car runs fine; no power lose or no bogging down, but smoks still i use 93 octane. ideas???

Besides minor engine services like replacement of oil,air,fuel filters and replacement of oil.

The car is currently using 20w50 graded motor oil along with Ryco filters,NGK ignition leads,bosch plugs the non platinum ones and still drives thirsty. The car has had a blown head gasket before but before the blown head gasket the car had decent fuel efficiency and also the vacuum was noticably audible, i could feel the air brush against my hand as i put it in front of the the air inlet but after the head gasket replacement the engine now runs thirsty and hot like a radiator heater but temp sensor reads normal but the spark plugs all have a black ring on their ceramic insulators and engine runs rough on thinner motor oils. But i will eventually buy either a VX Commodore or a car manufactured after 2000 depending which one is not a fuel guzzler.
I am thinking of putting in a higher flowing air filter, if it will improve fuel efficiency.
I have heard about motor oils with fuel saving additives but would that cause any damage for an old engine.
Also after head gasket replacement the vacuum is not that audible and suction is much weaker.

Hi all,

I have a 99 Passat with the infamous 1.8T.

Long story short, there is a crack in the pan and I cant stop the leak for the life of me. I used so much JB Weld and silicone sealer like you have no idea.

I have searched far and low for a DETAILED explanation on how to change it. Came across a couple dead links, and some replies which stated: "get a manual". If only I had the time and money to do so.

Now, I bought a used oil pan. Cleaned the living hell out of it and also got some silicone gasket maker (since I was told the gaskets cause leaks after a couple months).

All I am asking is: Can someone please spread the holiday cheer and help me with a detailed explanation on how to do this? Maybe even some pics?

I know to lower the subframe, and to use a jack to hoist the motor up. But how?!?!

Thanks again,

Goinagainsttheflow…. (Except in traffic)

i bought the car with nothing wrong with it its turbo 5 speed it drove so amazingly it didnt even grind in 3rd like a lot of them seem to do… some 50 year old guy had it sitting in the road and i offered him 1000 for it and he took it…. the next day it started over heating i put new antifreeze and a thermostat in and worked great then 2 days later i went to start it and it sputtered knowing about these cars i stopped cranking it popped the timing belt cover and belt was loose so i towed it home and when i found out i had a rebuilt motor an a rebuilt head 100% rebuilt i almost killed some on cause on a brand new motor almost all the valves were bent….. anyways got it apart bad tentsioner so i bought a good head from my friend had it cleaned and oiled when we put it on (and we did everyting by the book with a new gasket kit timing belt kit and head bolts) timed it a few times but got it right and after a few cranks and a little starter fluid it ran drove it home (30 miles from friends house) the exhaust manifold was glowing red think cause bad gasket between manifold and turbo housing, but not sure when we first started it had bad turbo lag cause that bad gasket but got that replaced and still over heats and the next morning had a tick i dont think its a rod knok but idk my friend says he wants to time it again and we havded to adjust the Cam angle censor…
if you need anymore info just ask but i need your opinion does it need timed? maybe bad CAS? can being out of time cause it to over heat? or the tick noise?

I bought a 2003 ford taurus DOHC 24 valve, 3.0 motor and i noticed it was leaking oil, and i forgot to buy oil so i drove it 3 miles and came back home and opened the hood to put oil in. When i took the cap off to the motor oil i saw white smoke come out. Is it just hot because i didnt put oil or because it has a blown head gasket?

I have a 1990 eagle talon tsi hoping to soon run 20psi the head gasket went so I got the head resurfaced cause It was warped and got a head gasket kit after I put everything in and got it back together I went to start it and it will only turn over I have spark I can hear my fuel pump turn on and my cas is in time. Im not getting fuel for some reason because I loosened the ends on my fuel rail and cranked it over and nothing came out. What gives? Did I mix up some hoses when I Put it all back together? Thanks in advance

Just got more info I I pump the gas pedal while cranking it it will start up and it will run unless I take my foot off the gas, won’t idle.

It does idle when I take my foot off the gas now but it’s runs really rough and adjusting the idle screw has no effect

I tried replacing the feul filter and no change. I jut did an oil change and put brand new fully synthetic oil and new oil filter in no change, just recently I started the car up like normal pumping the gas until it started and revving it until it would idle, very badly but it would idle then I was checking hoses under the hood and I wanted to check to see if any smoke was coming out the muffler so I press he gas with my hand and then the car dies now it won’t even turn over I thought the battery might have died so I jumped it and it still wouldn’t turn over.
Head gasket is on and everything is torqued..

I have an 86 Ford LTD, I just bought. It burns oil. My crankcase venilation hose is disconnected from the little spot it plugs into going to the air filter. I hear if I don’t reconnect it, I risk blowing out my valve cover gasket. It was disconnected when I bought the car, and I finally just figured out what the hose was for. From what I understand, that burnt oil smoke is actually SUPPOSED to go back into the motor to be reused via the air intake manifold. Is that true? Should I reconnect this hose?

I know.. the Goal is to get AS MUCh of my "Milkshake Oil" out as possible.

Someone suggested i Change the Oil in 500 Miles. I will do this. Valvoline Synthetic Blend MaxLife 5W-30 has been settled upon for my car. Oil Filter Was Replaced.

I wonder:

1) How long should i let my car Idle for?
2) I will be making sure my Oil is topped off.. Im also making sure Coolant is too, i know i "Add" this with the car running, into the Expansion tank. — NO MORE SMOKE OR BUBBLES AND ALL THAT NASTY BLOWN HEAD GASKET STUFF!! YES!!
3) Someone said I should wipe the Oil Cap to get all the Remnants of the Oil out..

What im wondering is: 4) After one or two SHORT 500 Mile OCI (Oil Change intervals) including Highway Trips to heat it up and all.. Should i use a Flush, liek SeaFoam or a Motor Flush to ALL THE WAY get rid of ANY Milkshake Remnant?

Car DID have blown head Gasket.. Head i took out had crack between Cylinders 2 and 3.

Thanks for the Suggestions…

1991 Olds Calais 2.5L "Iron Duke" Tech4 182,000 Miles
1989 Pontiac Grand Am 2.5L "Iron Duke" Head.. Unknown Mileage.
NEW Gaskets, Spark Plugs, Wires, Accompanyingf Gaskets.. Black RTV Silicone was used as well on Valve Cover by mechanics.

312 000km on car, 200 000 km on motor, 2.0 Liter 5 Speed.

Issue 1: Gas tank (plastic) is leaking at the top, strong odor when full. Does not leak when on flat ground, but steep hills and jerky driving cause it to leak until about 3/4 full.

Issue 2: Common with older engines, the bottom half is moist with oil (not yet dripping), not coming head gasket or oil pan. What can it be and how do I help it?

Issue 3: Just yesterday I noticed my amp amplifying engine and turn signal static. I think my deck is a pioneer DEH-1900MP and I am using the RCA cables on the back to signal the sub. When unpluged from the back of the deck all the noise is gone. I assume it is a ground issue in the stereo?

I change my oil and filter regularly with full synthetic.None of my fluids leak (but gas) and it does not burn oil.

Feel free to share any helpful mazda hints.

I use to have a 1993 with over 500 000km on it, all original. I put a hard 50 000km on it before it let me down. I sold it, but it only cost 0 to get it back on the road. YAY Mazda!

Okay I am stumped. I had a loping idle before that I couldn’t get rid of, and was able to take care of it. Now I have a new set of problems that I’m not really able to think through. Tonight I finished putting the motor back together and the loping idle was gone but I was getting a bit of smoke coming up from in between the motor and the fire wall, it would die when it would get hot, it would die when I would come to a stop, and I would get smoke out of the dip stick tube when I took it out. I have plenty of oil pressure, the oil isn’t foamy or milky, I’m not getting smoke from the exhaust, the timing is just fine, and I don’t have any vacuum leaks. I’m thinking that it can’t be the head gasket because I’m not getting coolant into the oil. It can’t be blow by because I’m not getting a bunch of smoke from the exhaust, It’s not the cams because it doesn’t want to die when it’s cold. It’s not the valve seals because they are brand spanking new. I think I might be losing compression somewhere, but I have no Idea how since I had the valve seats ground. This is driving me bananas.
It’s a 3L V6 that’s fuel injected. Its not the fuel system I’m sure, and I have spark.
The heads and everything else are most definitely torqued down to spec. The space is too tight for a mirror to see and most of the back of the motor is eclipsed by heat shield. I was thinking since the rings haven’t really seated yet, but I got a mile down the road and was doing 40 miles an hour at 2k RPM when the engine died and refused to start. I did stagger the compression rings but they could have shifted a small amount with the ring compressor. Since it died it is also cranking rather slow which leads me to believe that the motor is trying to lock up. I didn’t change the camshaft bearings as they were fine, I fully primed the motor before starting, the battery is fine, and there isn’t a problem with the starter.

Can Some One please give me some insight on the problem that I am having I have 96 gmc jimmy the oil look like a milk shake no white smoke come out the tail pipe the truck run rough I think I might have a blown head gasket Should i have this motor i fix or just buy a another motor I know a little something about car just trying to get a expert opinion please if any one can lead me in the right direction I am a single mother with two kids thank you
It a V6 It has about 170 k on it it stall and like it not getting any power and idle funny but that when i start it up i want drive it cause i don’t want to make it worse than what it is . it also had four wheel drive on it .

I have an 84 Chevy 350, and I’m about to have an oil pan put on it. The motor is currently in a 76 Trans Am. I was looking at the oil pan that’s already on the motor, and it has a spot on the left and right for a dipstick. My motor has a driver side dipstick. The new oil pan I bought only has a spot for a driver side dipstick, but the gasket that I bought with my new oil pan has a spot on the passenger and driver side for a dipstick. So do you think my new oil pan and gasket will work on my 350? Or do I need to exchange my oil pan for one that has spots on both sides for dispsticks?