bad headgasket??

[Mike The Canadian]

So I was running the car today a bit and noticed bubbling out of the corner where the head and block meet....

I checked the oil and it seemed fine/clean... nothing on the oil cap...

At this point I'm pretty damn worried... Is there any way to know how much time it has left?

I've been putting 1000 km a week on the bloody thing...

I've had a feeling something was going on there for a long time as it's looked moist/stained for a while... I've just never seen any bubbles or anything from it.

Car runs smooth and quiet once warm, good on gas... not puking coolant out of the overflow... no excessive/abnormal white smoke out the exhaust...

Anyone have any input?

Thanks,

Mike

[MMGT1]

Get it tested man... it does look like a head gasket though at first glance. Check valve cover carefully and see if you have a leak there first though before you freak yourself out

[Mike The Canadian]

How do I go about getting it tested?

[AleroB888]

Clean off all the mating surfaces in that area, head to LIM, head to block, where the gaskets meet, then observe exactly where the bubbling is coming from. I had some bubbling at the LIM/head in that area on my 2003 since I first got it at 24K, but now at 30K it's no worse. I know it will need an LIM gasket change, but lately there's been no bubbling/leaking.

[zzyzzx]

If it's not leaking badly, and only externally, I would leave it alone. I have a car that's been leaking antifreeze for more than 10 years, but in amounts so small it isn't worth fixing (and it's not leaving spots on the ground). Also, depending upon the car, I would be tempted to use of of those fix in a can thing (although I prefer to mostly use that type of thing on a beater / commuter car/ or a car that you don't plan on keeping long). They do get good reviews on Amazon.

[2fastshifter]

You can simply unplug the tube on the right(front) of the chainhousing. . . . .
If you see a lot of the same color yellowisch buttery stuff in there as i had on the photo it could be time for a headgasket change.
http://members.casema.nl/markennancy/alero/06.jpg

more pics:http://www.aleromod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32985&highlight=head