95 3.4 v6 headgasket
 

Hi all,

I recently bought a beautiful 95 t-top camaro as a project. Actually it usually runs just fine, mostly just interior and wiring work needed at the time i purchased it. However the other day it started losing horsepower uphill and i noticed white smoke from the tailpipe now and then. Well, tonight after driving for a while, i parked my car and instantly white smoke comes billowing out from under the hood with little to no odor, although it is wintertime so my nose might not be detecting smells at all. Anyway I'm pretty positive its the headgasket due to a bunch of symptoms that all seem to point toward that horrible reality.

I'm not bad as a mechanic with lighter things, but i've never had to replace a head gasket before. Luckily my stepdad who is a GREAT mechanic (like he build jeeps from the ground up) is in town and im hoping he can help me with this as far as labor goes. Just wondering from you guys who might have experienced this on a similar model...what exactly am i in for? like roughly how much am i looking at in terms of parts and how much of a pain is this gonna be if i do have someone very knowledgeable guiding me through it? Unfortunatley taking it to a shop is not an option, i'm not rich. Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Let me be the first to welcome you to the forums.

Lucky for you, if it is the head gasket, you're catching it early. I had to repair both mine after I bought the car and it had been sitting for some time. Difficulty is not hard, just time consuming, in my opinion. To double check it is the head gasket, open your oil drain plug a little and check the oil for a mixture of oil/coolant. And as obvious as it is, DO NOT drive the car until you have diagnosed and corrected the problem.

As far as price goes, all depends on what you want to do. Some would just like to get the car running and work on it from there. Others, would rather take the time, pull the engine, rebuild it, clean it and make it look pretty. All depends on your budget and how much time you got.
When I did mine, I didn't pull the engine and do all that because I didn't have the time to do so. I needed my new car up and running for my jobs and school.