Blown head gasket,warped heads,cracked block?hopefully LIM!

[Reichenbach79]

Hi everyone!New here and after doing some searching on here,and reading a numerous amount of post.I thought I would write a post and see if what you guys think.I got a 99 Grand am GT,3.4. Never overheated and never froze during winter. I noticed a couple months ago it looked like i had a little bit of oil in my antifreeze.(Milky substance on my radiator cap). It has always seem to use a little antifreeze here and there. My wife took my son to bus stop and said here coolant light came on, So i went out and put coolant in it. First time ever i had to add a whole gallon. The very next day she took him to bus stop and came back and said coolant light was on again. So i knew something was going on. I began to pull oil dipstick out and there it was, all my antifreeze is in the oil pan.So my main question is will I be able to visually see if the LIM is bad? And is there a way to test to see if I have a cracked block,blown head gasket or warped heads? Also when i start the car no missing or spitting and sputtering.This car is a 99 Grand Am GT 3.4. Has 80k miles on it.

[Reichenbach79]

Well Thanks everyone for the replies,but I think I found the problem. The 2 bolts on the front and back of the LIM where so loose i didn't even need a wrench to take them off.

[gmtech1]

Lol. Glad you found a problem. The only way to know for sure about a head is to pull it ( them) and have it inspected for warpage or cracking. A compression test should show a headgasket problem. Most likley you found the problem and replacing the LIM gaskets should take care of it. Be sure to change the oil and inspect the intake for any corrosion damage (pitting) in the corners.

[Reichenbach79]

Ok so I got the lim fixed glad that is all it was.Found the bolts were lose and the gaskets were bad.Towards the tranny both sides had a small crack.

[Reichenbach79]

Is there anything good out there that I can add to my engine oil and run it a little bit to help clean all the gunk from a bad LIM and antifreeze mixing with the oil? I put fresh oil and filter in and going to replace it after about 20 miles.

[gmtech1]

http://www.seafoamsales.com/using-se...kcase-oil.html

Some info on a Seafoam product. Just remember, if you run a cleaner through the crankcase, the oil filter will plug up quickly.

[Reichenbach79]

Thanks Gmtech,Like I posted gonna run car about 20 mins/miles and rechange oil.So far car has been running great.

[Reichenbach79]

Finally got the car fixed and inspected.Used it 1 day for work and when i left the house noticed the speedo was not working under 30 mph and it would be bouncing between 30-45 mph. At 50 mph and above seemed to work ok except every now and then it would drop to 30 then back up to the speed i was going. Then the CEL came on so i put a code scanner on it and got P0502 (VSS Vehicle Speed Sensor A circuit low input). After searching on here seen a post that someone had melted wires. Went out to see if that was my case. It wasn't seems my wires are all fine. Was wondering if their is a way to check this sensor to see if it is bad or if it is something else causing this malfunction? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Seems to be 1 issue after the other with this car. (Where's the nearest cliff?)

[gmtech1]

Without a scanner, the only thing you can really check is the resistance of the OSS (output speed sensor) on the trans. Resistance should be between 1,530-1,870 Ohms.

[Reichenbach79]

Ok Thanks Gmtech1.Will check that Sunday morning.I hate to buy parts not knowing if they are actually bad.

[Reichenbach79]

Checked resistance on the VSS. Pulled it out of the car. Not sure if your telling me to test it on 200k or 2000k ohm setting to I did both. 2000k setting it starts at 500 and goes up to about 545. On the 200k setting it started at 77.0 and kept going up over 110.0.

[gmtech1]

If you are only reading 500-545 ohms on the 2000 ohm scale, thats too low. As stated above, it should be between 1,530 and 1,870 ohms.

[Reichenbach79]

Thanks a bunch GM.The guys at the local dealership where either lying or just dumb,as they told me there was no way to test it.But went and picked up another and you were completely right it measured 1641 on the 2000 ohm meter. The bad one had nothing at all on that it was only on the 2000k meter it was reading 500-545.Thanks again.

[gmtech1]

Good to hear, glad you got it figured out!