93 Overheating and loosing coolant

[TeeJay37]

Hi everyone. I have a 1993 SE/SLE that I recently started having troubles with. Originally, the fuel pump went out, so it sat up for about four weeks, until I found the time to swap it. Immediately after fixing it, it was idling really high causing it to overheat. I didn't have the time or knowledge to diagnose it, so I took it to a mechanic. He changed a sensor (sorry, can't remember which) and told me to get a tune up, as it was missing. I swapped the spark plugs and wires, and it ran fine after that. A couple of weeks later, I noticed it was overheating. I wasn't far from home, so I just drove it home, and when I parked, I got a lot of smoke from under the hood. I noticed the reservoir was empty, then gave it a few hours to cool, then checked the radiator, and it was empty. I then put at least a gal and a half of water. When I started it up, it started smoking at the rear head, which I assume is the head gasket. It is also smoking white out of the tailpipe. It doesn't seem to be dumping the water, but I assume it's just all evaporating through one of those locations.

My question:
Is this the head gasket blown, or could this be a different issue? Is it something relatively simple to fix, and how much would it be to fix it. I'm mostly trying to find out if it's worth fixing, as I would probably sell it soon to buy a truck.

Thanks in advance.

[Bob Dillon]

It doesn't seem to be dumping the water, but I assume it's just all evaporating through one of those locations.

My question:
Is this the head gasket blown, or could this be a different issue? Is it something relatively simple to fix, and how much would it be to fix it. I'm mostly trying to find out if it's worth fixing, as I would probably sell it soon to buy a truck.

Thanks in advance.

It's almost certainly not the head gasket. 3800s seldome blow them.

This is your most likely problem:

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... c1061.html

[RJolly87]

93 is a series 1, and requires a little bit different approach.

It sounds like the final steam show was the boilover when it got too hot.

How hot did the engine get?

[TeeJay37]

It steamed more than just at the end. It did it a pretty good bit when I started it after filling it. It was probably little enough to where it was dissipated from the wind. It red-lined. I have a video of where the smoke was coming from. Is there any way I could post it?