Gaskets leaking oil ?

Hi! I'm new to this group, but I have a 97 Pontiac Grand Am and it's automatic with a V 6 engine and that's all I know cuz I'm a girl lol Well yesterday my car overheated and one of the radiator hoses exploded, so I bought a new hose and had my friend put it on ( my mechanic is my friend ) and he said it was overheated most likely because one of the radiator hoses had a leak, and it was an old hose anyway. I know it wasn't the radiator cuz I bought and had my new radiator installed like last week. Well after he replaced the hose, he said he assumed that the thermostat was already new, because the lower hose was brand new, so he felt like the car dealer probably renewed both since the hose was new, so he ran the car for a while to see how it reacted, and all of a sudden this smelly steam stuff started coming from under the engine, and out of the tail pipe there was a LOT of smog coming out, so he said he thinks it's a gasket something, something about the gaskets cooking the oil or something and that they needed to be changed, because the engine oil is still full it's not even low on oil or anything. Could someone help me understand this and maybe tell me what you think? and also, how much normally is labor for replacing gaskets? Thanks!

He most likely was talking about the Head Gasket, which if it went bad, could be catastrophic to the motor, as the coolant then mixes with the Oil in the crankcase and cracks the head.

If that is the case, check to see if in the oil dipstick and the filler neck look like a chocolate milkshake.

That is worsecase scenario.

It could also simply be that your waterpump went bad.

Cad

Sounds like a leak for sure saxicles, Did your friend the mechanic say which gaskets he though was bad?

If it was just steam coming from under the hood,
then it would probly be a coolant leak.

If it was pouring smoke out from under the hood, from burning oil, then you'd probly hav an intake, or as Cadinrfv suggested the heads.
The V6 engines do blow/leak oil from the intake, along the edge of the heads, on the front and backend of these V6s.

Price depends on whats wrong, and what you are willing to put into the engine.
If its just an intake job, it could run $500-1200 just depends on location.
If you get both the head gaskets and intake for $500-1200, I'd call that a deal. :grinyes: