Head Gasket?

I have a 98 Transport with the 3.4. It started overheating about a week ago. It slowly lost coolant since I got it about 5 months ago. I changed the water pump and it seemed better but then it overheated again and now theres the milky residue when you remove the oil cap. Its not on dip stick. I just wanted to be sure. That does mean its the head gasket right? And how do I determine which one if it is?

Chris

Are you sure the intake gasket isn't leaking? Look above the transmission and below the throttle body. If you see coolant than the intake gasket is usually the problem. They are well know with this engine.

With that being said these engines like to pop head gaskets as well. Especially in an SUV/Minivan. Typically when the head gasket starts to fail it will start to push hydrocarbons the coolant. These can be detected with with a bulb testor or if its bad enough you can see a steady stream of bubbles come out of the coolant but the level never changes.

The good news is the oil is not milky so there is still hope for a repair and getting some more miles out of it.

AN additional symptom of blown head gasket is loss of heater performance. Il will eventually blow cold air only because the coolant circuit is invaded with exhaust (hydrocarbons as Airjer said) ...and that blocks heat transfer to the heater core.

I'm going to have to check that out because I'm pretty sure the heater still works fine. Is there any place online with instructions on changing the head gasket if that is the case?

Theres a pool of antifreeze underneath the throttle body and signs of leaking under the p/s pump. So I guess its definitely the lower intake gasket? I was thinking that was a good thing until I saw the writeup on how to do it lol Oh well at least now I know. Any idea on the average cost of doing it yourself?

ALl leads are for the intake gasket indeed. I think the cost is mostly time. Parts as such are not the issue. Check for gasket price and micellaneaous at rockauto.com . ..ahh..if you require help, the total price will go up with the beer party...

The updated aluminum gasket kit is around $60 and worth every penny... Also have different length pushrods.... When you do this work, keep everything in order... And yes its a bit of a PITA, and being in a van just makes it harder...

What brand makes the best intake gasket? I'm planning on changing it this weekend. So I'll have to get it from a local store.

I personally like the Fel-Pro set... Make sure its the latest and greatest updated set, metal as opposed to plastic, if it isn't refuse it... If I recall correctly there should be a " T " in the part number on the Box