Hey there,

I'm no mechanic by far, but here is what happened to my 95' 3.4l...

Just got over 128,000 miles and all of a sudden the engine was over heating, sputtering, and not blowing ANY hot air through the ducts. I assumed it was the waterpump due to the obvious overheating and the faint but highpitch squeal from the front end of the engine...After it was taken to a mechanic it turned out that the one of the bolts on my head had cracked. Thank god it didnt warp my heads or anything, but my oil filled with radiator fluid and all that nice stuff...

Anyways, my question about this is...could the head bolt have just been faulty and cause all of my problems? The water pump was in perfect working order according to the mechanic. I mean, COULD it just be a faulty head bolt...my only thought was something else would have cause the pressure to build like that causing the head bolt to crack...any inqueries are welcome even though the mechanic says nothing is wrong with the car besides that.

My 2nd question is a lot more simple. The A/C in my car does not work. However it the clutch WILL engage if I manually wire power to it just as a test...however there appears to be no blown fuses or incorrect wiring to the A/C unit...Any ideas? I mean, it has to be a wiring problem doesn't it? I know the previous owner was big on stereo systems and didn't have a clue what he was doing. But I have no idea what he did or where he did it, if anywhere but under the hood. Any help is greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading all of my problems

 

head bolts stretch over time from heat and pressure. i've personally never had one crack or break but i don't believe it's unheard of. the ac problem could very well be a cut wire or just a bad switch. probably need to trace those ac compressors wires and find out for sure. sick

 

Alright thanks for the help. As for the A/C it HAS to be a bad switch then. I've spent hours running through wires schematics and they all match up. The thermostat was replaced in my car just in case that it caused the overheating problem. I guess the next thing I need to do is replace the switch. Thanks!

 

i'm sure your mechanic knows but, don't just replace one head bolt. you have to replace them all. head bolts can only be used once. twice and theres a good chance your gonna blow a gasket. sick

 

The head bolts used on the 3.4 are the stretch type and cannot be reused. The reason they broke could be that at one time the head was removed and the same head bolts reused.

Make sure the refrigerant in your AC system has not leaked out. Thre is a pressure switch that prevents the compressor clutch from operating if the pressure is too low. This is to prevent damage to the compressor as lubricant for the compressor is carried by the refrigerant.