How To Test A Blown Head Gasket (1992-1993 3.3L V6 Pontiac Grand Am)

Testing a blown head gasket, on your 3.3L V6 Pontiac Grand Am, is not difficult.

In this tutorial, I'm going to explain the 4 tests that you can perform to find out if you have a blown head gasket on your hands.

Two of those four tests do not require any tools whatsoever and can be done under 5 minutes.

You can find this tutorial in Spanish here: Cómo Probar Los Empaques De Cabeza (1992, 1993 3.3L V6 Pontiac Grand Am) (at: autotecnico-online.com).

This tutorial applies to the following vehicles:

• 3.3L V6 Pontiac Grand Am: 1992, 1993.

Symptoms Of A Blown Head Gasket

For the most part, cylinder head gasket failures fall into one of two categories.

Either the head gasket failure causes the engine to not start.

Or the engine starts, runs, but overheats within minutes due to a head gasket failure.

Here's a basic list of the symptoms you're going to see when your 3.3L V6 Pontiac Grand Am suffers a head gasket failure:

• The engine overheats for no apparent reason. All engine cooling system components (like fan motor, water pump, etc.) are working fine.
• White smoke is coming out of the tail-pipe and it smells like anti-freeze being cooked.
• The engine won't start.
• The engine oil is thick and a milky white color.

TEST 1: Engine Oil The Color Of Coffee With Too Much Creamer

The most common blown head gasket test performed is checking the color and viscosity of the engine oil sticking to the engine oil level dipstick.

If the engine oil, that's sticking to the engine oil dipstick, is the color of coffee with too much creamer (a milky white color), then you can correctly conclude that one or both of the head gaskets have failed.

If the engine oil looks OK (its normal color), then your next step is TEST 2.

Let's get started:

1. 1

   Open the hood.

2. 2

   Pull out the engine oil dipstick.

3. 3

   Check the color of the oil sticking to the engine oil dipstick.
   
   You'll see one of two results:
   
   1.) The engine oil looks like coffee with too much creamer.
   
   2.) The engine oil is its usual normal color.

Alright, let's analyze your test result:

CASE 1: The engine oil has the color of coffee with too much creamer. This test result confirms that one or both head gaskets are blown on your 3.3L V6 Pontiac Grand Am.

CASE 2: The color of the engine oil is normal. This is the correct and expected test result.

The next test is to see if the engine's compression pressures are escaping into the engine's cooling system (radiator). For this test go to: TEST 2: Coolant Shooting Out From Open Radiator.