My uncle came home a few hours ago and asked to come out while the car was still smoking . I come out and can see some steam/smoke coming out. Its kinda wet around the water pump and below it, towards the firewall. This is a Quad 4 engine I believe. I asked him if he checked the dipstick yet, and he said no and proceeded to lift it out. Well, the end was coated with a nice creamy white substance. This would be a blown headgasket, yes? He said it started smoking just as he turned onto the road that leads to the house, maybe a 1/10 - 2/10 of mile. He said the motor wasn't making any noise, so I'm guessing he's okay as far as the bearings? Anyone know how hard it is to do the headgasket on the thing, like to you have to have anything special or remove like a thousand things before you can take off the head? Any other info anyone can share in relation to this would be appreciated.
It is not all that difficult.....I think the flat rate is like 12 hours or something. The hardest part is getting the timing aligned and keep the cams from turning while you do so. If you are doing it....make sure to replace the water pump and it's pulley while you are there. The water pump alone is about a 6 hour job on those things. Much easier when the head is off. Ya better have a manual handy for reference if you plan to tear into it. Head gaskets are a real problem for the quad 4. They are even worse for the 2.2 chevy engine.....those leak externally at the corner head bolt on 90% of every one I have ever seen. Check out a Chilton/Motor manual before you start the project to make sure it's something you want to do though. If you don't have access to one, let me know and I can print/fax or scan the instructions step by step from my ShopKey program.
what exactly is a quad 4? I4 engine? did a headgasket on a 2.5(?) chevy not too long ago without much difficulty. worst part was figuring out where all the wires and crap we pulled off went. just yanked the exhaust and intake manifolds, valve cover, rockers and a pushrods, then pulled the head, replaced gasket and reassembled.
91 grand prix Change the head gasket 2 times on my sons 91 gran prix last summer.This was with the Buick front wheel drive V6.
The Quad 4 is just a name for GM's 2.3 and 2.4 dual overhead cam inline 4's. They are a pretty decent engine for what they are but have a few design flaws in my opinion, head design being #1 .:gt: The 2.5 is about the same as the 2.2 chevy.......very easy to put a head gasket in one of those. It almost has to be, as often as you have to put them in I would even rather do the rear head on a V6 than have to do a Quad 4........ they are not the funnest ones, as they take alot of time....
I had an Olds Calais International with a Quad 4 for years - I loved that car. I had one head gasket fail, I believe because one of those stupid plastic heater hose connectors on the heater core broke and I overheated the crap out of it. I attempted to tear into it to do the head gasket myself, but after studying the factory servive manual, I decide I didn't want the car down for a week. So I just paid to have it done, and its not cheap. Take Mikes advice and have the water pump done at the same time. I think I also had some of the chain guides replaced too. Mark
As a former owner of a 91 Olds Quad 442 and ex-professional mechanic I'd tell you to suck it up and take it to someone. I've done maybe 3 or 4 of them back in the day and there is a LOT of work involved in pulling one of these suckers. Seems like warranty paid about 8 hours and the last couple of them I did was under that but not by a lot and thats with the car on a hoist and several thousand dollars worth of tools in the chest behind me. On top of that there was a special tool set from GM to help you keep the cams aligned. It's a lot of money but unless you're willing to take the chance of downing the car for a while I'd take it to a pro. BTW the head gasket kit should come with new bolts but in case it does not make sure to replace the head bolts. Did I mention they were "torque to yeild" and that you would need a torque angle meter? regards
