head gasket

[chólo]

i purchased a 92 grand am. it has 160,000 miles on it and seems to run fine. I have been told that the 2.3 quad OHC engines tend to blow head gaskets. if this is true, how much life is left on the engine. any other information on the engine would be helpful. thanx

[Hoags]

They have been known for head gaskets, but you may be one of the lucky ones and never have a problem. You state that you purchased this car , maybe the previous owner had the gasket replaced.
As for how much life is left in the car, there are many variables involved such as your driving habits as well as your maintenance habits. In your case alot is riding on the habits of the previous owner. A friend of mine had a 92 that ended up with well over 300,000 miles. I only wish I could tell how long my vehicles where going to last.

Take good care of her and with any luck you'll have her a long time to come.

Good luck, and welcome to the forum, as I tell all the newbies you will get alot of gerat information and advice from this forum, there are a lot of knowledgable guy/gals here to help out with a very wide range of issues.

[Knifeblade]

Cholo, just keep it well-maintained, regular oil/filter changes, coolant flushes, the basic stuff. I make a practice of looking the engine over weekly, check levels and condition of the fluids, then start it and listen to the engine run while looking it all over again.