Head Gasket

[Ghostrder]

Hi guys. New to the forum. I own a 2001 Chevy Venture. 3.0 V6. Vehicle started leaking oil a few months ago. Finally figured out it was the head gasket. Started leaking coolant as well. I procrastinated and just kept adding fluids as needed. a few days ago temperature started to spike into the red. Plenty of fluid in radiator and oil level is fine. I'm figuring that there is air in the system. Engine gets really hot, but no hot air coming from heater. I'm thnking of replacing head gasket myself. Can I do this without changing manifold gaskets as well or do I need to do everything. How involved is the job. Ar the parts expensive. Any help would be appreciated.

[Nitro23]

You will need to change LIM gasket, Exhaust Manifold gaskets, along with the heads. Heads require new bolts. Here's the kits I used.

LIM Kit - 19169127 new kit - GM Parts direct $48

HG Bolts - Felpro ES72892
Head Gasket Felpro HS9071PT

Got both Felpros from Amazon with free shipping.

Bought the Exhaust Manifold Gasket from AutoZone.

There are a series of O-rings which also will need replaced.
Alos R/R the plugs, plug wires, T-Stat while your in there.

Some Tips for the Job:

Leave the Throttle Body and fuel injector Rail in/ on the Upper Intake and take out as one Unit.

Leave the rear exhaust manifold on the head on removal and reinstall.

Plan on replacing the heads. I had 2 motors (4 heads) hoping to have a good set. All 4 were cracked.

There are some good write-ups in this forum for all the work.

Good Luck. It's not a tough job but there is a lot of things which need to be taken apart.

[Sparky1349]

Hey Ghostrider,

How did you determine that it is the head gasket, by far the most common issue with loss of coolant and oil leaks is the LIM gasket. My 2001 Venture was going through a quart of oil every 750 miles, but until it started leaking coolant on the top of the block I didn't realize it was the LIM gasket, I started looking on this forum and figured it out. If you have oil/coolant on the top of the block on the drivers and passengers side it is probably the intake gasket. Remember if there is a LIM gasket leak and the oil and coolant has been blowing around it may appear to be leaking from the heads. No heat could be the Dexcool turning to Jello in the heater core due to low coolant level/air getting into the system, which is also a common LIM gasket issue. There is a pretty substantial difference in effort to replace the LIM and the heads, I would want to be real confident before tackling the heads if I wasn't positive that they needed it.

Good luck,

Sparky

[Ghostrder]

I've had oil visibly leaking from the front of the engine. Coming from under the exhaust manifold.The starter motor is saturated. Also the LIM needs replacng I found out today. While attempting to bleed air out of the coolant system I also visibly observed coolant weeping from that area also. This thing is all jacked up. I don't think I want to tackle this myself, so I'm taking it to my friends shop tomorrow. I don't think he'll gouge me too bad . Just an unexpected expense at a bad time.

[tepco]

Originally Posted by Nitro23

You will need to change LIM gasket, Exhaust Manifold gaskets, along with the heads. Heads require new bolts. Here's the kits I used.

LIM Kit - 19169127 new kit - GM Parts direct $48

HG Bolts - Felpro ES72892
Head Gasket Felpro HS9071PT

Got both Felpros from Amazon with free shipping.

Bought the Exhaust Manifold Gasket from AutoZone.

There are a series of O-rings which also will need replaced.
Alos R/R the plugs, plug wires, T-Stat while your in there.

Some Tips for the Job:

Leave the Throttle Body and fuel injector Rail in/ on the Upper Intake and take out as one Unit.

Leave the rear exhaust manifold on the head on removal and reinstall.

Plan on replacing the heads. I had 2 motors (4 heads) hoping to have a good set. All 4 were cracked.

There are some good write-ups in this forum for all the work.

Good Luck. It's not a tough job but there is a lot of things which need to be taken apart.

Good tips, im about to jump into this myself. Mine went at 70 mph. I have alread done the IMG last year 12k ago. I think i freed up some Dex-crap which did me in this time.

GL

[Ghostrder]

Well, had the LIM replaced. Had an insane amount of air to bleed out of the system. Then found out the small "S" shaped hose on top of the water pump had a pinhole leak, and kept sucking air into the system. My mechanic replaced, but we still kept experiencing high temps, and you could see air bubble form in the resevior as the vehicle ran. Bled it some more and when driving home temp gauge spiked, and had to pull over to let the vehicle cool down. Fans are working, as is the water pump and thethermostat is operating fine. My mechanic thinks head(s) could be cracked. I'm going to try bleeding one more time, and then back in the shop it goes. Any suggestions would be helpful.

[Nitro23]

Definitely a cracked head! That's the only way to get gases (AIR) in with the coolant.