value depends on where your at. here a good 3.8 99 is up in the 4k range.

 

OK I think I just took a major gamble... I got my car diagnosed by a street mechanic that hangs around autozone and the first thing that caught my eye when I told him about the problem was that he used tap water and not distilled water to filled the radiator and he said it was fine and I really wanted to refuse but I didn't want to come at him the wrong way so I just let it be and Ill just flush it when he is done. So he gave me quote to fix the intake gasket for $200 and I said alright so I left my car at his place and he said its gonna take a whole day to work on it so Ill give him a chance also my pipe is leaking smoke that smells like it's burning bad.
Ill update you guys when I get it back tomorrow

Here is a video:

 

OK Update: Mechanic called me to show up and I did he said I had 4 leaking points and the main culprit was the thermostat. Thermostat needed replacing, the elbow behind the water pump and the elbow on the heater core and one under the thermostat. And I told him jesus christ what is this gonna cost me now and he told me $600 but he said to make it cheaper he can do $500 and block the leak under the thermostat with silicon and it'll hold for a while but I need to replace it in the near future, I agreed. I also asked him about the white smoke that's coming on the pipes and he said it could be due to the 4 leaks that I had that is reaching down the pipes that is causing all that smoke but he needs to get under the hood to see the problem. I also asked him how much was it to replace my tensioner pulley and he said he'll do it for free and I was happy with that... I also asked him if I needed to remove the whole tensioner to replace the pulley and he said that I only need to tensioner it down all the way with 2 wrenches with a little elbow grease and you're good and overall I cannot judge the work until all the work has been done so I will update you guys tomorrow.

But jesus I hope it was worth the $500

 

White smoke coming out the pipes? You mean the exhaust? There is only two things that's can cause that, ONE: bad intake gasket, TWO: blown head gasket. It is very rare for and intake gasket to cause that. I am sorry man but this thing is sounding like it have had a major over heat at some point. You get all the little leak sealed up its just going to make the big ones worse.

The are other things that can cause white exhaust but they are cracked engine block and warped or cracked heads.

Man the value of these things are dropping fast around me. In 2015 I paid $5700 for a 2000 Z28 with 42,000 miles on it. Today I put my 96 on Craigs list for $900 hoping to sell it for $750 and have not heard a peep. At the same time I put my daughters 04 impala with 200k on it for $650 with one month left on inspect and check engine light on,, 15 emails, the first one was within 45 minutes and he bought the car for asking price. That POS I bough last year with a new inspection for $1000. My daughter drove it for 11 months/20,000 miles and it cost her $350. That is a little over $30 a month.

 

@00:20 the pipe that has wetspot on that area looks to be spewing smoke out of there.
please please please don't let it be a blown gasket

 

You are talking white smoke from ON the pipe, NOT out of the pipe. White smoke out of the exhaust would be bad a blown head gaskets. On the pipe is just leak with good aim. I would be a little worried, These type of leaks don't just start one day, this car has been leaking for awhile and not holding pressure. I would be worried about possible other damage. But with a pressure tester really all you can do is pressure test, fix leaks, re-pressure test, fix leaks, repeat until you hold pressure.

Never use a jack stand like that again, Seriously the jack itself is safer. Any shift in the weight of the car or if the bottom of the riser starts to sink in the macadam she will fall and leave a nice divot in the parking lot.

 

Yes on the pipe, Im sorry. Ok thank god it isn't a blown head gasket. Yes it has been leaking even the mechanic said the leak would form puddles around my engine and form down to the pipes. I know I know I will never do that with a stand again I just couldn't get the damn jack go up all the way and I did not want to pay for another jack, I realized I could've lost my life or killed my car.

Yes other damage has to be considered but I really want to keep low on the budget knowing I invested a lot into this car.. As I was driving the car to the mechanics place I noticed the check engine light was on out of all days it just popped up. Could it be due to the leaks or the water that was mixed with the 50/50 coolant that the mechanic used..

 

5700$? for 42k miles??? And I spent over $6000+ just to maintain a car I barely even use! Man sounds like you got a deal

 

so you got 42000 miles of it thats not bad ,you would not get that out of a new v6 ,you may want to think engine or another car .not from the La area ,they may go for more out there, now next car learn more about preventive maintinance ,,i figure mine by the month at $200 a month i had for right near 2 years is 2400.00 plus i drove it for 2 years 10k miles they go for less but there are still deals out there got to shop till you drop i can imagine the people that have to sell out there couse there broke,the guy going to fix it for $200.00 not ,

 

with 137k an 4k with 8 dings in it an a blow head gasket, you meen for a good solid car under 100 k miles ,you all must make good money to pay so much for cars out there ,i have shopped some great deal out there on criags list there not alot but a few