Surprise, surprise, this is in regards to the infamous Quad 4 engine from GM 
It's my fiance's mother's car, a 1994 Oldsmobile Achieva S, with the 2.3L SOHC. Has about 180K kilometers. I did all of the maintanence work on the car since they're bought it and I've always noticed one thing: white foam on the dipstick. Granted, it could have been the head gasket, but I think it was because they do a lot of short trip driving, and it was likely condensation in the oil. But, since we've moved to Australia, they've told us that the engine was "leaking" coolant, and hasn't been driven since. BTW, the heater core blew twice, within a span of a month. Wierd... Also, while we drove it, it would have a severe stumble on startup and would occassionally hesitate when driving. I suspect the head gasket because these engines are notorious for that, and I will do a compression check on the cylinders.
So, my question is, what should I see when I do the check? Never done it before, so anything you can help me with, would be appreciated.
Is there anything else I should check to be certain?
This car is going to be our DD when we get back, so what "minimum" work should I do while I'm changing the head gasket? Mind you, I want to keep the $$$ down
Thanks!
Cheers,
Steve
It's my fiance's mother's car, a 1994 Oldsmobile Achieva S, with the 2.3L SOHC. Has about 180K kilometers. I did all of the maintanence work on the car since they're bought it and I've always noticed one thing: white foam on the dipstick. Granted, it could have been the head gasket, but I think it was because they do a lot of short trip driving, and it was likely condensation in the oil. But, since we've moved to Australia, they've told us that the engine was "leaking" coolant, and hasn't been driven since. BTW, the heater core blew twice, within a span of a month. Wierd... Also, while we drove it, it would have a severe stumble on startup and would occassionally hesitate when driving. I suspect the head gasket because these engines are notorious for that, and I will do a compression check on the cylinders. So, my question is, what should I see when I do the check? Never done it before, so anything you can help me with, would be appreciated.
Is there anything else I should check to be certain?
This car is going to be our DD when we get back, so what "minimum" work should I do while I'm changing the head gasket? Mind you, I want to keep the $$$ down
Thanks!
Cheers,
Steve
SOLD: 1993 M6 Trans Am, black with ZR1 rims, Borla cat-back, Random Tech cat, SLP headers and Y, Morosso CAI
Comment