could it be the plastic elbow failing.

 

It is very uncommon for these cars to get coolant into the oil due to an issue with the head or head gaskets. It is a possible result but it would take a real bad crack. Most of the time on 3800 that has coolant in the oil it is an intake gasket issue. Coolant in the oil due to a bad head gasket is a common overhead cam issue. Over head cam motors have oil pressure going thru the headgasket push rod motors do not.

 

ok heres an update:

So I was dumb and continued to drive my car. Well it started overheating so I turned on the heat. My heat was ice cold. I got it parked in time before it got too hot (it didn't come close to red on the temperature gauge). Soooooooo what do you guys think now? Kind of serious at this point

 

You most likely trashed your motor. The no heat is a real bad sign. Maybe you should borrow a pressure tester and test your system.

Going to be a real shame if you wasted a motor because of a 2 dollar plastic elbow or even a 24 dollar water pump.

 

I would say the water pump is going out, or is out at this point. The original leak was from the weep hole. The no heat is no water circulating or not water left.

The gauge not showing hot means, the water isn't hot at that point. It doesn't mean that no where in the engine is it hot.

 

Ok I found what caused the overheating and cold heat: my radiator was empty which means its leaking while im driving... I put a gallon in it again and drove it home and it ran normal the whole way.. I'm sorry to keep saying random things but I figure the more info I give, the better answers I can get

 

Ya I was kinda assuming that it was the water pump too... I have a really really awful question but I need to know the answer. If it is the water pump, I can replace it on Friday and saturday. However, I can't miss class on thursday or Friday. Can I drive and keep filling my car up with coolant when it starts getting hot? Obviously I shouldn't drive it but I have no other options. On friday afternoon I'm gonna get the pressure tester and make for sure it's the pump. Then if it is, I will start the painful process of replacing it

 

Keep the coolant level up and purge the air out of the system too and you should be ok. As for the water pump you will need to remove the tensioner which has 2 little plastic elbows that allow the coolant to go to the heater core, replace these too, they cost like $3 or $4 from any auto part store and most of the time they dont come off pretty. Make sure there is no part of the old elbows left inside the bore of the intake manifold. The last time I replaced these parts I used some bearing grease to help them slide into place and also to help create a seal that will prevent water from passing through. So far so good it has worked.

Massey

 

You should not drive a car that will not hold coolant pressure. You risk damage to the motor. The system needs pressure to stop internal boiling. Coolant without pressure will boil at 212 degs. Even a small amount of pressure will jump that number up very quickly. High miles 3800 motors are prone to blown head gaskets. Cars that are run without coolant or without pressure will most like damage the motor.

I hear customs say this all the time, I have to be somewhere. How much of a problem is it going to be to go a week without the car and have a $1200 repair?

 

Like I said, my options are drive it to class one day with the coolant full (the school is less then 5 miles away. When I drove it this morning, my car didn't reach normal temperature yet when I parked.) or my other option is to miss my test, fail the class, and not graduate because this is my last semester. I understand the risks, I just wanted to know some preventative measures. The problem will be fixed tomorrow. Oh and I have have a 3.4L and not a 3800. I said it in the original post (not that it makes much of a difference because I understand what you are saying)