Car advice

[Shalom]

What engine does your car have? The reason I ask is that some GM engines from the '90s were known to have warping issues that would cause a gasket to not seal properly (can't recall if it was the intake manifold gasket or the head gasket).

Lower intake manifold gasket.

If you've got a Vortec 4.3 V6 or 5.7 V8, and you haven't replaced the LIMG yet, you will.

Whatever idiot at GM specified a plastic gasket for this application, and decided to run water passages through the manifold itself to boot, needs to be shot. Repeatedly.

See my rants at blazerforum.com for more details. (Same user name.)

I don't think Olds used those engines, though; they were more a Chevy/Pontiac/GMC division thing.

(ETA: Oh yeah, the heads warp too. If you take them off, you might not get them back on.)

[Ophbalance]

Lower intake manifold gasket.

If you've got a Vortec 4.3 V6 or 5.7 V8, and you haven't replaced the LIMG yet, you will.

Whatever idiot at GM specified a plastic gasket for this application, and decided to run water passages through the head to boot, needs to be shot. Repeatedly.

See my rants at blazerforum.com for more details. (Same user name.)

Chrysler was just as bad with their 2.2 turbo engines (though, if I recall, that was a mitsu design). We blew one head gasket on our 2.2 LeBaron and replaced it. Within a year the thing was once again blown out near the same exact water jacket and letting coolant into the exhaust. At that point we parked it and sold it to be someone else's problem.

[protege]

Ford had some head gasket issues in the '80s...namely on the Tempo. Those things had a well-deserved reputation for cooling system problems and overheating. Our '87 was no exception. First time, was when it was about 3 years old. That damn car decided to lunch its gasket...in the outbound side of the Liberty Tunnels Dad had driven all the way across town to swap cars with mom, and nearly blew a gasket himself! Four years later, while I was driving, it overheated again. Then the engine blew up.

[MrWags]

Lower intake manifold gasket.

If you've got a Vortec 4.3 V6 or 5.7 V8, and you haven't replaced the LIMG yet, you will.

Whatever idiot at GM specified a plastic gasket for this application, and decided to run water passages through the manifold itself to boot, needs to be shot. Repeatedly.

See my rants at blazerforum.com for more details. (Same user name.)

I don't think Olds used those engines, though; they were more a Chevy/Pontiac/GMC division thing.

(ETA: Oh yeah, the heads warp too. If you take them off, you might not get them back on.)

The GM 3.1 and 3.4 V6 have the same problem. Those motors also have PLASTIC valve covers that leak as well. These engines were used in all GM divisions (except GMC).