98 cavalier 2.2 issue

Billydroveit

Billydroveit

Club Member
Ok i have a new to me 98 Cavalier with a 2.2. It drives great and gets 28+MPG. The issue is it drinks about 20 oz of water every other day. I drive 72 miles a day on the freeway. Car runs and drives perfect while driving. Issue starts with idling. When i first start it it's fine and runs pretty good. But after driving it it starts to miss on what feels like the same cylindr, but only about every other revolution. Soon as it come off idle it's fine. Miss goes away and car drives smooth as silk with plenty of power. But the longer it idles, the worse it gets. Newer wires and plugs. I don't smell coolant coming out of the exhaust, and can't find any leaks under the hood. I just fill it up every other day, and it's fine. Hopefully i will be able to hook up my cooling system pressure tester this weekend and see what happens. No milk in the oil either, it's fresh oil.(well 600 miles on the oil) I'm starting to think it's the head gasket leaking into the water passage. ANy ideas from guys who have worked on these. Are there common issues with these cars? How hard to change the head gasket on this thing. It's my beater, and if it just keeps running without issue this way it just may live this way...


THanks in advance.
 
bad head gasket or intake....water goin into cylinder at idle causing it to miss and driving its really just misting were u wont notice ......pressure test will give u ideal.
 
notch92408 said:
bad head gasket or intake....water goin into cylinder at idle causing it to miss and driving its really just misting were u wont notice ......pressure test will give u ideal.
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Never worked on one. DO these have water in the intakes?

Just makes me nuts because i can't smell coolant while it's idling.
 
common head gasket problems with these. They are fairly easy, being that they are pushrod engines, no timing chain or belt to mess with. Make sure to have the head checked for cracks, flat deck surface and valve job while its off
 
82bird said:
common head gasket problems with these. They are fairly easy, being that they are pushrod engines, no timing chain or belt to mess with. Make sure to have the head checked for cracks, flat deck surface and valve job while its off
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THanks. Do you have to remove the intake mani, and exhaust mani, or can i get away with a quickie. There will be no valve job as this is a cheap ass beater i only paid 900 for. Hell im thinking about trying one of those head gasket sealers first. It runs so damn goodwhile driving, so unless someone has a reason for me not to try the cheap lazy way out, i'm gonna give it a go. But will also check into the labor time, and price to do the head gasket. I just don't have a ton of free time this year with a wedding coming up.
 
If you plan to beat the car thru winter, you'll want to NOT use that stuff as it can clog heater cores AND the car will probably start to overheat due to the gunk blocking up water passages.
 
Beigg said:
If you plan to beat the car thru winter, you'll want to NOT use that stuff as it can clog heater cores AND the car will probably start to overheat due to the gunk blocking up water passages.
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how hard is the head gasket job? I may have time this weekend.
 
Beigg said:
If you plan to beat the car thru winter, you'll want to NOT use that stuff as it can clog heater cores AND the car will probably start to overheat due to the gunk blocking up water passages.
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how hard is the head gasket job? I may have time this weekend.
 
is the cooling system building pressure? i recently bought a cavalier and it had a broken coolant cap, i got one at the junkyard(off a '99 model same as mine) and it was not building pressure and was using alot of coolant, turns out the car in the junkyard had the wrong style cap(saw some other 99's and noticed this) replaced the cap and its fine now, no leaks, builds pressure and doesnt run hot. make sure you have the correct style cap and its in good shape.

i think there was also a tsb on the cap mating surface of the coolant bottle being too rough and causing leaks lol check that too. other people can correct me if im wrong but i dont think the 2200(98+) had as many head gasket problens as 2.2's pull the plugs and see if it looks like they are burning coolant
 
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Its using ALOT of water. If it was leaking out the cap i would know it. It used about 40 ounces today plus in 100 miles. I'm going to pressure check it before it comes apart. Thanks for the replies guys. It looks like a pretty easy job. Think if i stay home this weekend i'm gonna tackle it.
 
Beigg said:
3-4 hr job with everything ready and a mechanical background or 6+ hrs for a noob most likely.
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Thanks, been a wrench for 10 years. Just for the blue oval though. Been doing non wrench stuff for 2 years though. Looks like an easy enough job being a pushrod motor. I suspect if it comes apart easily it'll take about 4 to 5 hours.
 
Intake can stay on "I" think, disconnect fuel lines and vac lines/wiring, just unbolt downpipe for exhaust and take the tensioner/brackets off along with alternator. Doin those i got it down to under 2 hours on a regular basis... been a while since doin one now tho.
 
Beigg said:
Intake can stay on "I" think, disconnect fuel lines and vac lines/wiring, just unbolt downpipe for exhaust and take the tensioner/brackets off along with alternator. Doin those i got it down to under 2 hours on a regular basis... been a while since doin one now tho.
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Looks like the exhaust manifold will be coming off. the down pipe bolts look rust/welded on. Manifold studs look pretty clean. Hopefully Reiko can get me some gaskets today! +1 to all who replied. Gonna try it with the intake attached. Head should be light enough to minipulate. Thanks a lot
 
Thanks for all the advice guys, i repped ya all. I got it done in a touch under 6 hours with eating dinner and having about 4 or 5 guys stop by and BS while working on it. Couldn't find my pressure tester, so i just tore into it. Gasket didn't look too bad, but had a few areas of questionable quality. Got it back together and it fired the first turn of the key, and runs tons better than it did. I appreciate the help/info.
 
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