2002 Pontiac Montana, possible head gasket failure?

[GT2000]

Ok, here we go........ my grandma's van. We thought it had a blown head gasket, well a mechanic told us that anyway. It would get to running temp and keep going up. It would smoke on start up but then mysteriously go away. We ran a compression test on it and it was just fine. No film on the oil cap. The coolant was only a tiny bit low, Minuscule. So can I rule out a head gasket at Least, is the motor just junk??

What could It be then if it's not a head gasket? Water pump, thermostat?? I don't know, what do you guys think? Let me know because this is her only car and she needs it to work.

It has the GM 3400 V6/ LA1 A 2002 Pontiac Montana

 

[melsg5]

you can test for head gasket by getting a coolant hydrocarbon test kit at an auto parts store.
you can test for leaks by renting a cooling system pressure tester.
if nothing is found try changing the thermostat and flushing the cooling system

 

[chrisgblues]

My 2005 occasionally shows a very high temperature. So I took it to my trusted indy shop and they figured out that it was just the stepper motor on the instrument panel. The actual engine temperature was fine. So you might want to check that out first? This is quite common, and intermittent. You can get replacement parts on ebay cheap.

The smoke on startup could just be the old age of the engine, if it goes away quickly I would just live with it, and change the oil regularly.

 

[GT2000]

I believe we have some, "chocolate milk" going on in the engine oil

______________________________

 

[melsg5]

well than you have confirmed you have an internal coolant leak. Have you looked into whether you have an engine effected by the lower intake manifold gasket failure?

 

[GT2000]

Update: My grandma gave me her van because she was sick of it sitting around and she didn't have enough to get it fixed, and i called a junkyard and they said they would put in a new motor for 1100$ tax and all included. Do you guys think it would be worth it to do it and resale for a profit. The van has 138K and everything works except the fuel gauge and there is little to no rust.

 

[melsg5]

you have to see how much a 2002 is going for in your area to determine whether it is worth it.

 

[JShakey]

Ok, here we go........ my grandma's van. We thought it had a blown head gasket, well a mechanic told us that anyway. It would get to running temp and keep going up. It would smoke on start up but then mysteriously go away. We ran a compression test on it and it was just fine. No film on the oil cap. The coolant was only a tiny bit low, Minuscule. So can I rule out a head gasket at Least, is the motor just junk??

What could It be then if it's not a head gasket? Water pump, thermostat?? I don't know, what do you guys think? Let me know because this is her only car and she needs it to work.

It has the GM 3400 V6/ LA1 A 2002 Pontiac Montana

I would get a engine block tester from your local parts store . It is a easy way to tell if there are gasses in your cooling system

______________________________

 

[melsg5]

that was suggested in post #2 above, thanks.