Blown head gasket? on 03 Chevy Impala?

Question

I just got an impala 03 i had to get oil changed and they guy told me i have a blown head gasked and the intake gasket was also blown. so i took it back to the lot like 10 min later they said they promise me there is no blown gasket that the car had been sittin on the lot for a while and its only build up.Im a female and only 21 so i think someone is tryin to run game on me

The car runs great to me. no loud noises no signs of lost power.no white smoke in back or nothing

Answer 1

take it to your dealer.they will do a block check to see if the head gaskets are blown.they can take one look and tell if the intake is leaking but it is common.I did 3 of them last week.hope this helps you save some money

Answer 2

OK Here is what you look for. If the head gasket you will have oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil. Here is how you check. First look at the oil. Pull the dip stick and look for a brown mucky residue on it. Almost like a milk shake. since you just changed the oil I would look at it once a day for the next few days. Now for the coolant> NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP WHEN THE MOTOR IS HOT!!!!!!!!! You will get burned Just don't do it hot. when the motor is cold ( sitting for 2 hours) Look in the coolant container. Sine oil is lighter then water You will see the milk shake muck on the top if the head gasket is blown. The build up is a real possibility since th may have only started it up for a few minutes and then shut it off. An engine should be run for about 20 miles to evaporate the moisture that it makes as the engine warm up.(much like the moisture that come out of the tail pipe) As for the intake. Is the there a noticeable lack of power? A high idle? Are the idiot lights on? I have a feeling the car is OK Just check for these signs. Oil change guys have a tendency to be want to be tecks and not all that smart.

Answer 3

There are some tale tale symptoms of a blown head gasket:

1) Billowing white smoke out the tail pipe, this means that anti-freeze/oil is getting into the cylinders and burning off at a rapid rate.

2) Milky Oil (this would present itself at an oil change), this means that instead of anti-freeze getting into the cylinder, it's leaking into the block, and mixing with the oil. If the oil isn't dark amber and transparent (fresh oil), or totally black and opaque (old oil), chances are, it's blown. Oil that's been mixed with anti-freeze usually looks like a melted Mcdonald's milkshake.

3) Severe leakage around the exterior of the head gasket itself, visually obvious. Note: The head gasket is the one that pancaked between the head and the engine block, below the spark plugs on a V6 or V8 typically.

4) If the technician did a compression check on the cylinders, one or two cylinders may produce less pressure than the remaining cylinders. This would indicate pressure escaping from the cylinders via a blown head gasket, or pressure escaping down through the piston rings between the piston and the cylinder wall. (He would have to pull the plugs out for this, I doubt he did it)

5) The only way to diagnose a blown intake gasket (to my knowledge) is to put a vacuum gauge on the intake manifold, via one of the auxiliary vacuum lines. If the gauge jumps excessively at moderate engine RPM, chances are the gasket is blown.

Somebody else jump in here. Hope this info helped. If the oil change guy just jumped out at you and said, "you gotta blown head gasket", it's probably because he saw some funky oil, that, or he's full of crap. The intake gasket? Not so sure how he'd diagnose that one on the fly.

Tell you what, in the next couple of days, go get the oil changed again elsewhere, and see if the tech flags it as an issue. You may even be so bold as to see a sample of the oil that was just drained, and make a judgement call for yourself.

Answer 4

The chevy have an aluminum intake manifold if its a V-8 and may be leaking at the corner, not an expensive repair, A blown head gasket is expensive and will show up in the oil, and the exhaust with excessive whit smoke that don't clear up. The best way to tell without spending money is look under the oil fill cap and see if it has a milk color there, if it is it is likely a leaking head gasket. You can go to a radiator shop and ask them to do a leak test, they can tell you in five minuets. Also check your contract to see if you have a three day return policy and if you do return it if its bad. If its from a dealership you can try and call a Lemon Law attorney for some help Krohn and Moss are the BEST and you can find them on the Internet just type in your state as example "California lemon law" good luck and GOD Bless

Answer 5

Symptoms of a blown head gasket:
White steam from tail pipe--put your hand in the steam and smell you hand... it will smell like antifreeze. If you drive a car for 20 minutes the steam should go away, unless it's a bad head gasket.
In any case, have a car inspected by a good mechanic before you buy . Head gasket replacement is expensive and may not be the only problem with the car. Remember, there are lots of used cars out there, don't rush into a purchase.

Answer 6

The car should run bad if there is a blown head gasket and intake gasket, condensation will buid in a car that has been sitting for a while but not sure how bad your car was. Take it to another shop and explain the situation to them, they should be able to do a leak down test on the cooling system.

Answer 7

03 Chevy Impala

Answer 8

There was a recall on the 2003 impalas for intake gasket leaking/failures ( have 2 of them)find out if this was done.

Answer 9

Take it to a shop and have them take a look at it, if they say it is blown then take the car lot the quote from the shop,

Ways to check for blown head gaskets.

Oil leaking from the engine.
a skipping or spuddering sound.
antifreeze in the oil. (thats what they might have seen)
Oil in the antifreeze.

If you suppect that you bought a lemon, then most states have a lemon law.

Get it checked out before its too late, I think the car lot is running game on you.

Answer 10

Get another opinion from a different shop If not totally satisfied get even another. be sure to get the diagnosis in writing as well as repair cost then go back to your lot and demand satisfaction If neccessary