Help Please!

[maureen0312]

Hi - hoping someone out there can assist me in determining what may be wrong with my Sunfire (96 sunfire GT - manual). I will do my best at describing what is going on - for one, the car is overheating (I know this because of the temp gage), it is also NOT blowing hot air when I turn the heat on - its ice cold. It also is not holding water - it is pouring out! On top of that there is white smoke blasting out of the tailpipe. Keep in mind - this all happened at once! One day it was fine, the next - this is the deal. I am also unable to start it up - the fuel line keeps freezing - so I cant even get it to a shop! Not long ago (a few months) it broke down and it turned out to just be a coil...now this...I have different peoples opinions - radiator (obviously one of the problems), water pump, heater core, even a possible blown head gasket...but no one is a mechanic and none of them own a Sunfire so these are just guesses.

If anyone can help me in determining what the real damage is and the approximate cost of fix-it-yourself vs taking it to the shop, I would appreciate it. What I really need to do is figure out whether or not it is even worth fixing...

Thanks!

Maureen

[GTP Dad]

The head gasket is blown and you will need to get it replaced. Don't drive the car as you will do even more damage. When the car overheated the head gasket went. Unless you are mechanically inclined don't try to repair it yourself because it will take time to change since you need to remove a lot of the accessories to get to the head. You don't say what size engine you have but if it is a 4 cylinder the timing issue alone takes some mechanical expertise. As far as the cost plan to spend $1000 to $1200 to repair. Hope this helps! P.S. Have them put new hoses on and a new thermostat in the engine since the thermostat probably caused you problem in the first place.

[BodyKits]

Originally Posted by GTP Dad

The head gasket is blown and you will need to get it replaced. Don't drive the car as you will do even more damage. When the car overheated the head gasket went. Unless you are mechanically inclined don't try to repair it yourself because it will take time to change since you need to remove a lot of the accessories to get to the head. You don't say what size engine you have but if it is a 4 cylinder the timing issue alone takes some mechanical expertise. As far as the cost plan to spend $1000 to $1200 to repair. Hope this helps! P.S. Have them put new hoses on and a new thermostat in the engine since the thermostat probably caused you problem in the first place.

WHAT GTP SAID IS A GOOD DIAGNOSIS OF THE PROBLEM, THERE REALLY ISNT MUCH ELSE THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS OR WHAT ELSE COULD BE WRONG. GOOD JOB GTP!

[maureen0312]

GTP - thanks so much for your opinion. It is what I DIDNT want to hear - but that's life, right? Is it really possible that this happened in ONE night? The car had never overheated before! I was stuck in snow for a couple hours (we had a bad storm here about a month ago) I parked the car, it sat overnight - next day I couldnt start it (fuel line froze) - because I couldnt start it - meant i couldnt move it and it got a snow ban ticket, then got towed - got it towed back to my house. Once it was able to start - these were the issues. How in one night could all that damaged be caused? Was it from the constant 1st gear and reverse I was putting it in to get it out of the snow? Is it typical of an older pontiac? And finally (I am such a pain) - is it worth dropping all that money into it?

[GTP Dad]

It is very possible for all this to happen in one night. Actually it can happen in a 15 minute period if the thermostat sticks closed and no coolant gets to the engine. The heads on these engines are aluminum and are very susceptible to warping when they get to hot. That is what causes the gasket to go.
This is not typical of Pontiacs or Chryslers or Fords. The problem lies in the aluminum heads. I would believe that he constant rocking back and forth probably caused the engine to overheat and you probably didn't notice the temp. guage go into the red since you were concentrating on getting the car out of the snow.
As far as putting money in a 96 Sunfire, ask yourself can I afford a new car at 15 or 20 thousand dollars or can I better afford to replace the head on my current car for $1200. Your choice. If you want to put a used engine in your car let me know the size and I will see if I can locate one on the web for you at a local wrecking yard in your area.