i just bought a 97 v6 3.8 Manual trans,a few days ago and my husband was looking over it and notice that the oil cap and a bit of milky liquid on the top, he also said there was some oil in the radiator,whit smoke does come out of the exhaust sounds great, the dip stick is clean and normal...he tried a test by draing the radiator (needed a flush) of the old stuff did the flush and put good water to rinse it out but started the car to see if id bubbled, it didnt bubble however it did rasie and didnt overflow til the motor was turned off....is it a blown head gasket/intake, if so...whats the avg cost to have it fixed in a shop...ty sooo much!

 

Sounds like a head gasket. The 3.8 Camaro's are notorious for head gaskets going bad. It will cost a pretty penny to have it fixed if you take it to a shop. If you do it yourself, you can do it for the cost of a head gasket set, and a set of head bolts.

Shop: $600-$800

Youself: $120-$200

 

might be part of the PCV system in the dipstick isnt milky and radiator isnt bubblin..
i know a kid who had a milky dipstick and his car poured out smoke.. changed the two dollar part and viola.. no more smoke or 2% milk

 

ty guys, my friend just cam by had this machine that hooked up to my car to it gave a code of misfire?...yup im a girl..lol..he also rev the motor and no more smoke, maybe the smoke was there bc it was very cold this morning, do you think that the oil my hubby might be seeing is the flush stuff?...i read some where that sometimes the mikly liquid could be some sort of condensation?..sorry for all the question..i just really want to take care of this care

 

It also could be a weak water pump if you have condensation on your oil cap. My friends Cadillac was doing everything that yours is. Milky oil cap. Oil dipstick was good. No smoke. Not running rough. And no exhaust in the antifreeze. Her issue was the water pump...

 

if the car sat for a while condensation can build up in the motor. if thats it it should be burned off after a few heatups. the water will turn to steam and get sucked out the pcv system. have you changed the oil and filter? your car also has an oil cooler that can fail (not common but does happen) and transfer oil into the cooling system. oil pressure is higher than the pressure in the cooling system so coolant will only go into the oil for a short time when the motor is first turned off. that allows a small amount of coolant into the oil. anyways it may be worth it to have or do a compression test on all your cylinders to see if you have any weak cylinders that would indicate a posible bad/failing head gasket. also do a pressure test on the cooling system. keep an eye on the coolant and oil for sure.

 

Stop speculating and do a compression check. If its off you can bet your *** its a Head/Headgasket. A DIY job is not going to be 120-200 more like 250-300. Plus there are a few speacialty tools you will need. Torque anglers, torque wrench, valve spring compressor, and pretty much every extension available and swivel sockets. You will also need new head bolts and lifter bolts. So add all the tools you dont have that you need to buy and all the fluids you will need and it can easily get expensive. There is more im forgetting but there is alot.

 

You can also purchase a test kit at your local parts store. It will look for combustion gases into the coolant, and is easy to use.

 

I'm guessing condensation on the oil cap if you are not lossing coolant and there is no mixture in the oil pan. If it is a head gasket, and you do it yourself, you are looking at around $200 for the gasket set that includes everything you need as far as gaskets, another 20 or so dollars for head bolts as they are torque to yield. Around $100 to have heads checked and surfaced at machine shop then add in oil, filter, antifreeze,bandaids and you are pushing $500 when it is all said and done.

 

this is the best way to tell if you have a blown head gasket 100% guaranteed you can have a blown headgasket and pass a compression test... not often but it can