My dad doesn't want to get it fixed, he thinks it'll be fine. I can't afford anything right now and I won't be working as I'll be in autobody/paint school for 9 months So I certainly can't afford it.

 

Can't you just temporarily throw on a cheap set of headers?

 

No, because it costs a lot to put headers on my car. 3.4 = small space = pain in mechanic's ***. He doesn't even want to pay for a simple gasket change.

 

Don't see how the same engine bay could be any smaller on a 3.4 then a LT1.

BTW, my pacesetters have been on the car for over a year now and I am very pleased.

 

If you have a leak in the headers, whether its a cracked primary, or a gasket leak, it will really screw up your A/F ratio. The leak will actually pull air into the header tube, and when that air hits the O2 sensor, it sees "lean" and the PCM starts to pour in fuel your engine does not need. You will be running excessively rich, your fuel mileage will drop, you may start to foul spark plugs, and in an extreme case you could pour enough fuel into the cylinders to wash the lubrication off the cylinder walls and dilute the oil.

Maybe "dad" needs to rethink this.

 

Very,very good advice here. Maybe it's time you learn to turn a wrench yourself, and leave dad out of the equation.