hi i just bought a 1998 chevy malibu. there are no signs of coolant in the oil or white smoke coming from the exaust but car would not start and it was leaking coolamt from the exhaust manifold area i

Asked by kingstell01 Mar 21, 2015 at 11:00 PM about the 1998 Chevrolet Malibu FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I just bought a 1998 chevy Malibu. the car broke down on
me on the way home. it wont start. there are no signs of coolant in the oil or white smoke from exhaust, however it was leaking coolant out of exhaust manifold area it looks like and there is dirt and oily gook in the coolant resavore. any ideas what it is

3 Answers

103,205

You most likely have a blown head gasket, or warped/cracked head. Not all head gasket issues cause white smoke or coolant in oil, although it seems you do have oil in the coolant. Try some NAPA "Block Tester," it'll tell you if exhaust gases are getting into the coolant indicating one of those conditions above.

2 people found this helpful.
1,095

Ken above is correct , first thing I thought was a blown head gasket , outside chance of a bad freeze plug in the engine .

No oil in or on anything, no water leaks? visible anyway? Sounds like your intake manifold gave out to me. Resevoir sludge? Sounds like the previous owner added wrong fluid. Doubt head gasket. Hope this helps.

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