Blown head gasket - NEED HELP

My 95 3.1 Grand Prix has a blown head gasket, I think. It had a real bad leak in the radiator, which I tried patching (actually it was my ex who did the patching). The patch never held (tried to patch it 2 or 3 times)longer than a couple of days and so it was always overheating. I recently replaced the radiator (hoses and thermostat too) thinking that would fix my over-heating problem. It didn't. It red-lined faster than it ever has and I have white smoke (steam?) coming from the tailpipe. The inside of the oil filler cap looks like choc milk, which I'm told is from water getting into the system, but there is none on the oil dipstick. I've been told that I need to replace the head gasket. **My question is this..Can anyone give me step by step instructions on how this is done? And which parts would it also be a good idea to replace at the same time? Which gasket or gaskets- head, intake manifold or both? What about headbolts - should I replace those? Will I need any special tools? Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. And should this repair fix my overheating issue?

Thanks,
D

Frankly if you have never done this before I wouldn't recommend it. You will need a good shop manual, a variety of tools and a lift if possible, the rear head is tough to work on. A major head gasket kit comes with everything you need. Some head bolts are one time use only, the manual will tell you about that, also the radiator obviously. Again not really a "dyer" type repair.

With head gaskets blown you really need to take your heads to a machine shop! Want to make sure the head did not warp,, the job is NOT fun at all! But you really need to get the heads checked,,,

I can change my own oil and I'm (unfortunately) all too familiar with the radiator and its system, but I would never attempt this kind of repair myself. I'd end up with worse problems. My friend is going to do it for me. He says he's done this type of repair before. I just want to make sure that there's some good instructions to fall back on if he runs into any problems. I have a Chilton repair manual. Any thing else you can reccommend?

Chilton is not as good as Haynes. You may want to consider getting one and useing Chilton as a secondary referance.

I recommend that you make sure the person doing the repairs uses new head bolts and on some models you will need new intake manifold bolts too. Make absolutely certain that the oil is changed before restart and I would replace the thermostat while you have it torn apart.

Things that he must do when fixing a head gasket on a 3.1 (unless he wants to do it again real soon):
1. Have heads checked for warpage and cracks. Failure to do so will result in doing the job over as these heads commonly warp and/or crack.
2. Use new head bolts. These engines use torque-to-yeild bolts that must be replaced.
3. After re-assembly, follow the factory cooling system bleed proceedure, not doing so is probably what caused your head gasket failure in the first place.
4. Replace the oil pump drive o-ring while the engine is torn apart, as they are common to fail, and are easy to access while the engine is apart (cheap too, only about $1)
5. Use threadlock on the intake bolts so they don't back out (especially if your engine uses the plastic intake gasket with the push-rod guides built into the gasket).
6. Finally, as GTPdad suggested, change the t-stat again in case it got crudded up with oil deposits which will cause it to react slowly and change the oil and filter, because coolant could have gotten into the oil system and thinned out the oil.

I wanted to give a much overdue update on my car and head gasket replacement. Although it did take my friend a lot longer than I thought it would to replace the head gasket, (I cant bitch cause he did it for free) my car is now running again and not overheating anymore - YAAHOO!!! Thanks Dan. The only problem is now it doesn't pass emissions. I passed the CO part (max allowed was 12.00 grams/mile - I got 11.39g/m) But on the HC I got 2.38g/m and max allowed is 0.80, and on NOX I got 2.68 and max allowed is 2.00g/m.

I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions.
***richtazz and GTP Dad: I really appreciate the specific advice you offered regarding the repair, and I did everything you said to...used new head bolts, replaced t-stat, had head machined at a shop, etc....Thanks again for your help.

Check and clean the egr valve and the passageways going into the manifold. These can carbon up and cause the egr not to work properly. Also since you had a head gasket problem you may have damaged the cat due to the antifreeze that was introduced. You may need to change it too. You can buy a good aftermarket cat for around $75, this should correct your problems.

Thanks GTP Dad for your quick reply.

I think part of the problem is a vacuum leak. We're going to find and fix that. My friend had mentioned the possibilty of the CAT being the source of the problem. You mentioned that it could have gone bad due to the introduction of coolant. What if it was only water that had gone through it? Since my radiator had been leaking so badly, I had water only in the cooling system?

The water in the cat can make it rust. I would get a new cat. My 2 cents.