I have a 98 Venture with 194,000. I'm the second owner; my in-laws bought the vehicle new and I purchased it from them Sept '06 with 181,000 miles on it. I just completed a head gasket job, which included the following replacements / rebuilds in the process:
- Both heads resurfaced, valves ground/lapped, new valve seals/guides
- Head Gaskets, Bolts
- LIM Gasket, Bolts (updated kit, and torqued to GM's new recommendation)
- Fuel injector o-rings and 'sleeves' replaced
- Thermostat, Water Pump
- AC Delco OEM Spark Plugs (it was still running on the originals, and I verified the new ones to the originals by part #)
- AC Delco OEM Plug Wires
- Alternator Rebuilt
- Oil Pump Drive o-ring replaced
As many hours as I've put in on this job, I'm sure I've forgotten something here...
Anyway, to the matter at hand. Started her up last night, and I have a flashing Service Engine Soon light, and it's throwing P0300. The idle is consistent, but rough (not much up and down in idle speed, but there's a DEFINITE miss). The miss persists as I accelerate up to highway speed. Van dies when I tax the engine at all (example: cutting the wheels sharply at low speed).
The background for the head gasket project is this: temp gauge acting funny - showing overheat before the thermostat would even open, needle all over the place from bottom of normal op range to the red, etc. Then, when I started it one evening to take to a reputable local dealer for diagnosis, engine was missing, SES light flashing, tremendous amount of white smoke billowing from the tailpipe.
Does anyone have any recommendations for what the most likely culprit could be? I've been told by a few friends that when coolant was pouring into my #1 cylinder due to the bad head gasket, a healthy amount of it (well, UNHEALTHY really) was passing right into the exhaust, thereby possibly killing either or both of my O2 sensors, as well as my catalytic converter. Does this sound plausible?
I'm desperate for answers here, as I've put nearly $600 total into this project and still don't have the van in driveable condition. Help, fellow Venture owners!
Thank you so much in advance for any help you can provide.