If the head gasket on my 1998 Chevey malibu is bad, can I replace that myself?

Im pretty sure this is leaking some kind of liquid out of the seams. I discovered it because it leaked down into one of the spark plugs so it was sputtering and stuff. What comes out of the seam of a bad head gasket? Is it water, or oil? I know that I'm not losing any engine oil because it check it all the time and its still full. I think its water. If I need to change the head gasket, can I do that completely by myself? And what is all involved in that? ThanksIf the head gasket on my 1998 Chevey malibu is bad, can I replace that myself?Shop talk.....

Let it run until It give up(keep some money reserved for tow truck just is case.).



What I am thinking is: may be a piece of paper went into admission manifold ( and end up in the combustion chamber) ,the spark plug were too old(or wrong ones).



You don't say anything like %26quot;my engine misfire%26quot;,%26quot; my engine stall%26quot;

%26quot;my car is overheating%26quot;.%26quot; my engine runs uneven%26quot;
If the head gasket on my 1998 Chevey malibu is bad, can I replace that myself?
its alot of work and your head might even be warped and or cracked....... you should have it magna-fluxed......
If the head gasket on my 1998 Chevey malibu is bad, can I replace that myself?
sorry but if you have to ask I'd say no there's a lot you need to know to replace a head gasket if in fact that is the problem. first do a compression test on the motor to see if you have equal compression in all Cly.if one or more Cly is off by 10 or more pounds your gasket is bad.it could be an intake gasket which could leak coolant and cause a sputter.it's hard to say without a hands on diagnosis
tools and knowledge. Torque specifications, torque wrench, knowledge of the correct tightening pattern, other wrenches, screwdrivers, gaskets. Check either a book store, library, or auto shop and take a gander at what is involved. Not as simple as changing an oil filter.
If your put some antifreeze in the cooling system the water coming out of the block should be the color of the antifreeze. Yes you can change it yourself. First you have to have the proper tool including a torque wrench. You can buy a manual that will give you step by step instructions for that and many more tasks you may need to do in the future. I bought Chilton and there's another one out there, i forget the name,,,Hayes,, i believe. They should cost no more than $16.00 or so. I sure hope you head is not cracked and you do it for nothing. Take the block to an auto part or service center to have i checked, they use a dye to find any cracks. Good luck.
Now a day quite a few special tool required. If you can afford to buy the tools I can't see why anyone can't learn. First go and buy yourself a service manual and read the part about replacing the head gasket and see if you really want to tackle the job. Your school or town library might have a book on the subject also instead of buying one. Good Luck. The money that you save on labor would pay for the tools that you would wind up keeping after wards. That is if you did the job correctly.
you might get lucky and only need an intake gasket you didn't say if you had 4 or 6 cyl the 6 is notorious for intake gaskets they made of plastic, it is something a do it your selfer should not attempt, do not let the water in the water bottle get low this is sure is sure to make your head gaskets cook this motor has bleeders in it to bleed out air pockets if your water bottle has run empty it's probabally too late intake is about 6hrs headgaskets 12-18 hrs depending if you warped the head or not about the same for 4 cyl $400 intake 800-1200 headgaskets sorry for the bad news