Hey guys im new to the forums i just bought a 99 sunfire GT with a 2.4 and it hesitates when it takes off and has a very rough idle like its missing..... when you go WOT it blows white smoke and it smells slightly like dexcool out of the exhaust.... the plugs have cloudy white tips.... ive replaced the coils the coil housing, spark plugs, spark boots, ignition module was tested and passed... idk what else it could be my boyfriend think its a headgasket any help is appreciated thanks

sounds like a headgasket to me. while you're at it, you'll probably want to do a water pump and timing set, serpentine belt and tensioner..



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It sounds like your boyfriend is right, watch your heat guage. If it gets hot or your coolant is disapearing then you have issues . I'd have someone pull the head off check it for warpage, and cracks. Get it machined if you need to. I believe if they have to remove more than .021 of material then you will either have to get a head gasket at least .051 thick or a different head.

Im thinking a blown head gasket could be the issue. The only thing that makes me think twice about it is it is not overheating and the coolant is not going down at all. My dad hooked a code reader up to my car and it brought up a code for a MAP sensor. I am not really sure that this would make it misfire and hesitate the way that it does.

if i remember right i think they can check to see if there is exhaust in your coolant. might wanna give that a try.

well there are a few signs of a blown head gasket. but u can also have a blown head gasket and not have any of these signs. If u pull out ur oil dipstick there might be a foaming ring around the top where the oil ends, after the running the car for about 10 mins, check the oil it might look cloudy kinda like chocolate milk, oil generally has no taste and antifreeze has a sweet taste (thats why dogs and cats like it lol) u can sucker someone into putting some oil on there fingertip and tasting it, also check ur overflow bottle u maye have traces of oil in there, u may see white smoke from the exhaust, It all depends on the way the head gasket blows that determines which signs u may see. But another thing that would make it misfire and hesitate and give u white smoke is a bad O2 sensor, i know this because my car did it. after i swapped the motor we tried to reuse the old O2 sensor and it was oily and dirty and my car would backfire and seem like it had 4 gerbils for horsepower and there was white smoke because i was running extremely rich. i replaced the sensor and it ran like a champ. But this is all from my personal experience some may disagree or agree


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