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Head Gaskets My Father and I are working on our 1997 Pontiac Grand Am because the car started smoking. What we found, there was oil in the spark plugs between the heads. what we also found was that one of the heads had oil splattered on it and the other one didn't. when I took a closer look at the head with oil on it, the cover was crooked. What I thought was the gasket was missing therefore it was leaking oil. I later figured out that oil that was touching the sparkplugs must have ignited the oil causing the car to smoke.
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Replace your coolant temperature switch,it's screwed into block by oil filter.Here's a picture of what it look's like.Your water pump working properly.Are your spark plugs burning clean,not oily from bad piston rings?
Quit driving it. You have blown a intake manifold gasket or a head gasket. 3.4 engines are known for blowing intake gaskets. Check your oil, make sure it is not exessive or milky in color. White smoke is caused from water/coolant entering the cylinder.
depending which motor you have and where you see the antifreeze driping from will tell you if the altenator needs to be removed for access these cars were also notorius for intake manifold gasket leaks usualy at the front of the engene where the manifold meets the head can also apear at the trans end of the motor if there is no antifreese in the oil this where you could start looking
Have you cleaned the spark plugs? they will surely be filthy after a headgasket failure... maybe even cracked by the water going on the hot plug... I recommend changing the plugs before trying anything else.
If the oil overfilled itself, then likely the oil is floating on 4(?) quarts of antifreeze! The immediate repair may only be head gaskets, but the oil system has probably pumped the antifreeze through the bearings which didn't do them any favors. If the engine became hot enough to smoke, the heads probably have warped as well. You may be ahead by trying to obtain a used engine from a local wrecking yard. Not cheap in any case!
take out all the spark plugs and put a radiator pressre tester on the radiator and pressurize the system, then inspect each spark plug hole for coolant. you will find out what cylinder or head will need service. How did this car run before sitting? Blue smoke is not good, although it doesnt sound like you have run it long enough to verify any real cyl problems. if its smoking it may be overhaul time. and the complete engin ewill need disassembly.
You need to check the oil with the dipstick (wipe in down a few times) to see if it looks like a chockalate milk shake. If coolent has made its way into the oil you have blown head gasket. The fuel pump which is usually in the gas tank in most gm vehicles would not cause white smoke, if it failed you car would not start because your engine would not get any gas to the injectors
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