Ok I wasn't sure where to post this so I will post here and if needs to be moved np But onto the car. Yesterday the car was getting really hot, but the gauge never hit 260 temp. I babied the car home and parked it. The heat was blowing cold air, and wouldn't even bring the car temp down. The thermostat has been changed by the way. Today my dad started the car to see how it was doing, it starts up, but after a minute of running it blowns a lotta white smoke from the exhaust. The coolant was also low. SO any ideas what this can be? WE think its a blown head gasket or a cracked head.

 

You could start by doing a compression test.

 

+1 z28pete. Also, do a very good, and I mean VERY good visual inspection. Check every inch of the heads, block, etc. Look for anything that looks out of the ordinary. Depending on what you see could tell you whats wrong.

Did you actually turn the heat on or did you turn the AC on? To bring the temp down a little while overheating, you turn the heat on. It sucks some of the hot air from under the hood in. At least that is what I was told.

 

tried both. used the fan test with ac. the heat was a no go. it was up as hot as it could go, and blowing floor and face. The air was freezing cold and the engine temp went up. and to be honest im not to sure what Im looking for. dumb question, andone have a few pics of the inside of their 3.4 l that i could get an idea? I have some what of a clean but Im completely new to engines etc,

 

Just clearing this up, it doesn't suck hot air from under the hood. Turning the heater on brings coolant through the heater core in your dash, and the air from there goes through into the cabin. When your heater core gets clogged, the ehater won't be hot anymore, obviously. It reduces coolant temperature temporarily because it acts as a second radiator so-to-speak, though a very inefficient one compared to a working full-size rad.

 

Very informative info in here. Totally agreed on the compression test too.

Your largest symptoms listed are:

- White smoke (oil burns dark and with blue in it, white is generally from coolant)
- Low coolant (coolant has to go SOMEWHERE, it's either going to stay in the car, it's been puked out of overflow or it is leaking, or it is being BURNED or mixing with oil)
- No heat

As said if the heater core is clogged you'll get no heat. Or, if there is air in the system that will also cause it since the heater core is warmed by the coolant in the first place.

If you do a compression test that'll tell a lot of what the issue is. On a compression test you want consistency across the board on all your cylinders. Having one much lower than the others or several indicates an issue.

If you pull the dipstick out do you see any contamination? Does it smell like coolant if you open up the oil cap and smell? It is absolutely a no doubt about it sort of smell. If enough got in the engine and you check your oil you would sometimes see droplets on the dipstick or sometimes see contamination on the dipstick.

Other thing is that if it is blown you don't want to really drive that sucker at the risk of that causing issues.

You can also check out the radiator cap, sometimes on a blown head gasket you'll see a milky dark froth. Compression test is probably fine but I'd resist driving it until you've identified the culprit.

I'd check the basics first and try not to drive it until you find out. You can ruin an engine by driving it with a blown head gasket if the contamination is large enough.