Help with 97 Saturn SC2

[vipergtx500]

Hey guys i wanna see what you guys think about my friend's 97 saturn sc2 that's having a lot of problems. For starters, it is burning oil and burning/leaking coolant. The engined knocks and shakes pretty bad. It overheats and smokes out of the passenger side of the head. And what leads me to believe its def a head-gasket is there is moisture/liquid in one of the spark plug valleys, visible when you pull the plug wire, the end on the passenger side either 1 or 4 im not sure on those engines. Its the twin cam 16 valve. Lemme know if you think its something besides a slight head-gasket crack on the passenger side of the head. Thanx guys

[Ispooledurmom]

For starters id replace the head gasket change the oil and replace the spark plugs.
Maybe change out the coolant to.

The knock is propably a valve and its most likely shaking from being unblanced from on of the cylinder not getting any spark

[NastyEllEssWon]

those saturns are really prone to blowing rings

[madness410]

+1 burnt oil could mean the piston rings took a crap. does it smoke out of the exhaust? and whats the oil look like

[Ispooledurmom]

Anything metallic in the oil pan??

[91chevywt]

you should get a compression test gauge in there and see how things look.

Worst case scenario...warped head/deck or cracked head

But test the compression and see which cylinders are doing what. Then you can have a better idea of whats going on...and have an idea of what to look for.

[vipergtx500]

thanx guys, alotta eye openers. i think ill get a gauge so i can be more sure before telling them whether or not its worth fixing. can you rent one from autozone or do you have to buy one?

[boostinsidewayz]

well your friend probably let the oil get to low if its knocking. these motors are notrorious for burning large amounts of oil.

i doubt having anything in the plug valley is related to the HG, pretty much all unmaintained saturns have a leaking valve cover. which puts oil in the valley. unless you have a severely damaged head, the only thing in there would be water(not coolant) or oil.

[vipergtx500]

i did some research and alot of saturn guys use MMO to loosen up the piston rings, which helps with the oil consumption. Also, her hose connected to the pcv valve has cracked and it no long makes a seal around the pcv valve. I have a feelings this is causing some oil burning too because theres no vacuum being formed anymore.