HI there, my 2003 Oldsmobile Alero, is overheating if I drive it more than 10-15 minutes, also it's recently been struggling to accelerate going up hills she only drives 10mph and can only go 35mph now. The loss of acceleration started a month ago As for the overheating, I keep pouring gallons of coolant into her & I put a temp sealant in the coolant but its no longer holding the problem off and I desperately need it repaired before It dies. My questions to you are; --- What can I expect the mechanic to find needs repair? ---What will it run me if I locate and order all the parts myself? I'm just back to work after several months of unemployment and have like $150 to at least start on some repairs now. I'll be force to make the repairs one paycheck at a time, each week, so --- what do you recommend I start repairing first as in what's most detrimental to saving my betsy's engine?? AND FINALLY: ---What are the possible repair maintnances costs for a common problems like these-what should I expect to have saved up to pay the mechanic first visit/paycheck? $200-400? $700-2000? Thanks for your time. ~Tara

Hi there!


You might have a bad head gasket on your car and thats what keeps it lose the coolant and also power, and the head gasket Cost only around $50 but the repair depends on the Mechanic. If you take to a shop they will charge you about $500 and if you try to get somebody who does that kind of jobs for Extra cash then he will be Heck of lot cheaper. Good luck

Wow you are into lots of detail here. As far as what the mechanic can find it could be numerous things,( I know you didnt want to hear that) for starters the coolant loss will be my main concern as to why the car is overheating lack of coolant will be the cause, now for the loss of coolant, if there isnt an obvious leak than my opinion will be that your mechanic is probably going to find head gasket issues which is not good and can be very costly, if you are seeing a leak it could be hoses, water pump, freeze plug. etc. The head gasket issue would alos cause your loss of power you described so thats what im figuring he is going to find. Betsys bill will probably be costly parts will vary from brand and parts store and labor will vary as well from shop to shop but i will tell you what my shop would charge i have to give a couple prices because i dont know if you have a 4 cylinder or v6 the 4 cylinder i would charge labor wise 600.00 i get 60.00 per hour and the 4 cylinder calls for 10.1 hours labor this is just for the gasket replaced you may need machine work done on the head as well which will cost more. on the v6 model it calls for 11.5 hours which comes to 690.00 i labor costs. as i said before pricing will not neccesarily be the same as different areas have different labor rates. I hope this helps you and hopefully your betsys will get better

It sounds to me like you may have a blown Headgasket, which will result in overheating and a loss of power from the lack of compression in the engine.. You can expect to spent at least $500 dollars to Remove and Repair Cylinder Head and replace the Headgasket to repair this problem. I do not recommend driving your vehicle any further or more severe damage to your engine will occur which will result in added expenses.

Since I do not have your car in front of me I cannot fully diagnose the problem, but all indicatores point to a blown Headgasket.

Well, first the overheating. Don't waste time with a Mechanic on this or the money. If you are in a southern state remove the thermostat and see if that resolves the issue. Typically overheating is caused by a faulty Thermostat, Low Radiator fluid or a bad water pump. What concerns me about this is the lose of power you are having which could indicate a much larger problem. Check teh Radiator fluid for oil and the oil for Anti Freeze which would turn the oil a Creamy white or milky color. If nether condition exist then the problem is most likely one of the first three. If either condition exist you are going to need a lot of money because that means the motor needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Check the transmission fluid level to make sure you have the correct amount of fluid in the transmission. Low Fluid in the transmission will effect the shifting which will cause your problem going up hills. if you live in the Midwestern or Northern states you'll need to replace the thermostat when you remove it because of the cold weather. Make sure you use a 50/50 mix of Anti freeze so your motor doesn't freeze in the cold. also you'll want to check the battery, you can get it tested free at Auto Zone and Advance auto. A weak battery will cause issues in accelerating but if that is the case the Alternator is also going out. Parts for all of these repairs are going to Run from $20 for the Thermostat to around $150 for the Alternator or water pump, which averages about $40 Dollars.

I have a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero 3.4 I think the head gasket is blown. Steam comes out of the radiator reservoir and white smoke out of exhaust. The white smoke stops after a couple mins. Could it be something else that's a easy fix?

Are the fans running?

Probably a blown head gasket.

Run it down the road and get it warmed up. Bring it home and pull the plugs out. After it has sat a spell have someone spin it over and see if water comes out one of the plug holes..Check your plugs carefully. One that has water in it will appear different from the others.

I have used "Bars Leak" in the radiator before. That might help for a while but won't fix a bad leak.

Change fuel filter for power problem...

Water in exhaust could have damaged the O2 sensor