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Comments
I believe, that more reliable way is oil analysis. Car owner collects a bit of oil (siphon, or drain), sends the sample to laboratory, and receives results by mail. There are special kits for this, they costs about $20.
Again, I never did it myself. You'd better ask on oil conference, Engine Oil
The last: the 3.1l engine is prone to developing a leak from intake manifold. Common General Motor's 2.8, 3.1, 3.4 V6's engine problems
I had such experience with my car, a 98 Malibu (the same engine).
If coolant leaks inside engine, it contaminates oil; otherwise it simply leaks, eating slowly the metal. GM recommends a yearly pressure check of coolant system in Malibu manual. The check costs about $20 to $25 at local Firestone. I did it about a years ago and found a leak.
Replacing the intake manifold gasket cost me $550 at the Firestone. Probably would be even more expensive at dealership, but Firestone is not a cheap place either.
I'm a new member. I'm not an American and never used American car before, so I know very few about it. It's the first time I checked this website and, fortunately, found this discussion room. I have a couple of problems and I'm sure that someone here can help me.
I just bought my Chevy, Lumina'96 a month ago. The old owner, who is also not an American, didn't know anything about this car(even he used this car for two years). Neither do I. I, then, have to figure everything out by myself.
1. The milage is 105,000. I would like to ask if it's the time to change a timing belt. If so, how much it will cost?
2. "service engine soon" light has come up. The old owner said it's been like this for a while. He had checked the car and there was no problem. What can be the cause of this sign and what should I do?
Thank you so much.
I just purchased a 98 lumina and when i'm running the ac the air comes out of the vent for a while then after a minute or so air stops coming out of vents and starts coming out thru the vents on the floor.It continues(vents on dashboard and floor) to switch back and forth.Does anyone Know what could be causing this problem?
Thanks
Any suggestions?
The radio shows " LOC"
I bought the cd player at junk yard and cannot unlock it without the code
Help!
about 70k miles on it. Car runs good
but brakes are terrible. I understand
there was a class action suit to
recompense owners for brake repairs.
My dad had made several repair
attempts before he passed but nothing
seems to work. The deadline for
submitting repair costs to GM has
gone by, nevertheless I'd like to
do whatever it takes to fix the
brake problems. Anyone who has had
experience with brake problems on the
92 Lumina and knows of a worthwhile
solution would e appreciated
I paid for several brake jobs (the only major problem I had with that car in 120,000 miles over 5 years), with several sets of remanufactured rear calipers from a third-party. GM dealers had a tool to fix the rear calipers, which third-party places didn't have. Have the GM dealer fix the calipers, and then use your parking brake religiously. This keeps the rear calipers moving/from freezing, and helps prevent the premature brake wear.
Hope this helps,
--Robert
The alternator is a weak spot in the Lumina (one of a surprising few), and may sooner than later lead to a dead battery (had to replace both early last year on my '96 Lumina, right before I sold it :-)
Hope this helps,
--Robert
thanks
jeff
Since the alternators aren't very expensive GM is getting away with this inferior part. I got a rebuilt with 2 yr. warranty--not from GM!
Same here!
The first-generation Lumina, Grand Prix, Cutlass, and Regal were 4-wheel discs, but had problems with the rear calipers seizing open, causing the fronts to do all of the work, and the need for multiple brake jobs. The '95 and later Luminas should not have this problem...
Shawn
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?GMcnsmrs&1
Sell your GM car while you can...
p.s. has taken over two weeks to fix my car. hope its better than new when i get it back.
shawn
Shawn
i actually brought it to the dealer and paid $60 for him to do the code
It turned out to be the intake manifold gasket. It was probably going for a while but in it's early stages the coolant vaporized quicker than I could detect it in the oil, but when it finally broke loose completely there was no doubt. I was fortunate in that I stopped the engine before any other major damage occured since water makes a bad lubricant. You may also be experiencing the early stages of a bad intake manifold gasket as well. Good luck!
1. The intake manifold gasket as sealant mentioned in post # 449.
2. Head gasket.
3. Warpage of the aluminum head.
4. Valve seals. This won't cause coolant loss, but will cause excessive oil consumption. I put new gaskets on my car from the block up, and had a machinist plane the heads. He also installed new valve seals for me. At 170,000 miles the problems have yet to recur.