--- Kevin Wright <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Some of you may have noticed me asking about the > "exhaust gas > detector" for checking coolant a couple of weeks > ago. Well, I found > the problem. This is on my wife's Astro van, so feel > free to ignore > this if non-Olds posts offend you. As others have > mentioned before, > this is the most comprehensive collection of > automotive wisdom I know. > The van has been slowly using coolant for some time. > Never steamed > out the tailpipe, the oil was never milky, it would > just get low and > start running hot - add more coolant and it was > happy for another > several weeks, until last weekend. My wife called me > at work on > Friday saying that it had died, and would not > restart. It did start > later, and she drove it another 5 or 10 minutes > before the same > happened again. This time she caught a ride home. I > ran the van long > enough to get it on a trailer and back off. I > suspected a fuel > pressure problem - it's been hard to start, then > this. I bought a > fuel pressure test gauge ($40!) and was running the > engine to see if > fuel pressure would drop as the pump heated up or > something (the > Central Multi-point Fuel Injection on these Votecs > is sensitive to > fuel pressure.) While it was idling I decided to top > off the coolant, > as it appeared low. I topped it up, then again as it > burped into the > system. Then again. And again. And again. Then I > finally got > suspicious and pulled the dipstick. It was *way* > over-full, and > milkshake city! I shut it down, proclaimed my > dissatisfaction in > largely unprintable terms, and went inside to > research the problem. > Turns out that GM used super-crappy *plastic* intake > gaskets (plastic > carrier with an elastomeric o-ring type actual > gasket. Combine this > with the generally destructive nature of Dex-Cool, > and you get > coolant leaks. Mine happened to be into the lifter > valley, rather > than the external leaks many get. I have pictures of > the gaskets if > anyone would like to see them, and I believe that I > will join the > lawsuit in progress against GM for this problem. > In the meantime, I'm hoping that the bearings > weren't completely > destroyed. I figure I'll spend $100 on gaskets and > such ($80 for the > Fel-Pro improved version of the gasket, a Perma-Dry > steel gasket. The > stock-type is $30. Fortunately, Rock Auto has them > on eBay for $70 > shipped) before I spend $2500 on a rebuilt engine or > $1000 on a good > used one. I don't have $1000 right now in any case. > > Now for the question: the oil/water was up to the > bottom of the > intake (something like 3 gallons came out!) and > mixed up pretty good. > I'd like to flush as much of this nasty emulsified > stuff out as > possible. I intend to fit a new filter, fill the > oil, and run the oil > pump with a priming tool to wash as much of the old > stuff out as I > can. Is there anything that ancient wisdom says > would be useful in > flushing the gunk out, either added to the oil or by > itself? > Kerosene? Marvel Mystery Oil? ATF? > > Any help is greatly appreciated! > > On digest mode, so I'm a little slow... > > Kevin Wright > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX > http:// > www.wankel.net/~krwright/cars/olds/70Olds.html > > '71 Cutlass S for sale, less engine and trans: > http://www.wankel.net/ > ~krwright/cars/olds/71_cutlass.html > > Snoopy: 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass S Sports Coupe - It > wants to be a > W-31! And have EFI, 4-wheel discs, a 6-speed, a > turbo or two... :) > ...and a '71 Holiday Coupe less engine/transmission > for sale - it'll > be parts if someone doesn't buy it! > >
