Surprise, surprise, this is in regards to the infamous Quad 4 engine
from GM  :cry:   It’s my fiance’s mother’s car, a 1994 Oldsmobile
Achieva S, with the 2.3L SOHC. Has about 180K kilometers. I did all of
the maintanence work on the car since they’ve bought it and I’ve
always noticed one thing: white foam on the dipstick. Granted, it
could have been the head gasket, but I think it was because they do a
lot of short trip driving, and it was likely condensation in the oil.
But, since we’ve moved to Australia, they’ve told us that the engine
started "leaking" coolant, and hasn’t been driven since. BTW, the
heater core blew twice, within a span of a month. Wierd... Also, while
we drove it, it would have a severe stumble on startup and would
occassionally hesitate when driving. The MPG have not been the
greatest either.  I suspect the head gasket because these engines are
notorious for that, and I will do a compression check on the
cylinders.
So, my question is, what should I see when I do the check? Never done
it before, so anything you can help me with, would be appreciated.
Is there anything else I should check to be certain?
Also, is there anything you guys can tell me about working on these
engines?  Never done it, and I’ve always really only worked on SBC
V8’s.  How tough of a job to do the head gasket, if that is the
problem?

This car is going to be our DD when we get back to Canada, so what
"minimum" work should I do while I’m changing the head gasket? Mind
you, I want to keep the $$$ down   :wink:
Thanks!

Cheers,
Steve