Sorry if this shows up twice - resending because it didn't make it to the
list after over 24 hours...
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All,
Well, it of course had to happen then . . my wife, the baby, and her
parents took a trip to upstate NY, and on the way back, the Olds, for the
first time, left someone stranded. It overheated.
So, one very long drive to pick them up (fortunately they'd made it back
into NJ before any trouble struck), and one very long tow later (just over
100 miles!), I've gotten under it to look at the thing.
Slow leak out of one of the core/freeze plugs (which one *is* the right
term, anyway?). Since this is an 89 Olds 88 Royale, 3800 V6, it of course
is one of the two that's on the side of the block facing the firewall. I
can BARELY get my finger in that area between the block and the
transaxle... so being able to get the old one out is nearly out of the
question. It's dripping about 1-4 drops per second, but is otherwise
REALLY solidly in there. And if I could, while I may be able to get one of
those rubber expansion plug replacements in there, I don't think I could
get a wrench up there to tighten it.
Does anyone have any idea what the standard amount of labor time would be
for replacing that thing on this particular car at a shop, or, worst case
(shudder) at a GM dealership? I'm just wary of getting wildly different
estimates from different places.
And speaking of shops, anyone know of a trustworthy one near either Berlin,
NJ, or Williamstown, NJ? I'm within 20 minutes of the Atco raceway, and 10
minutes of Albion U-pull-it, for those familiar with the area.
Thanks! Any info on either of those two questions would be very greatly
appreciated!
- Joe Vahabzadeh
