95 Cutlass? Time to Replace Your Head Gaskets

[maxtone_witherball]

I would just like to get an idea how many people with a '95 Cutlass Supreme like me have have had thier head gaskets replaced. Mine blew this year at around 135,000 miles. The mechanic who replaced mine said that the original gasket looked like it was made of some cheap kind of material. Also, with aluminum heads on a cast iron block, the different rates of thermal expansion of those two materials will work the gasket extremely hard and cause pre-mature failure. This is either a poor design, or ,I believe, intentional on the part of the manufacturer to make your engine last less than 10 years so you will be more likely to go buy a new car instead of paying lots of money to fix your old one.

Nevertheless, all people with this car should beware. It is only a matter of time before these gaskets will fail and cause you about $1200 in repairs. So keep a close eye on your coolant level. If you notice coolant disappearing without an obvious leak, that is your first sign. Also don't drive it if it overheats or you will warp or crack the heads. I was lucky because as soon as I saw the needle go HOT, I immediately shut the car off and towed it to the shop.

[gemjewel]

Originally Posted by maxtone_witherball

I would just like to get an idea how many people with a '95 Cutlass Supreme like me have have had thier head gaskets replaced. Mine blew this year at around 135,000 miles. The mechanic who replaced mine said that the original gasket looked like it was made of some cheap kind of material. Also, with aluminum heads on a cast iron block, the different rates of thermal expansion of those two materials will work the gasket extremely hard and cause pre-mature failure. This is either a poor design, or ,I believe, intentional on the part of the manufacturer to make your engine last less than 10 years so you will be more likely to go buy a new car instead of paying lots of money to fix your old one.

Nevertheless, all people with this car should beware. It is only a matter of time before these gaskets will fail and cause you about $1200 in repairs. So keep a close eye on your coolant level. If you notice coolant disappearing without an obvious leak, that is your first sign. Also don't drive it if it overheats or you will warp or crack the heads. I was lucky because as soon as I saw the needle go HOT, I immediately shut the car off and towed it to the shop.

Just want to let you know that the same exact thing happened to me. I had to replace both the upper and lower gaskets and my first sign was coolant leaking. The mileage on my car was 138,000 miles. I didn't drive it any after I saw the HOT light come on, so the heads didn't crack or warp either.