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Comments
Have you tried disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery for 45 minutes or so, then driving the car? Do the problems continue to occur/does the car drive and accelerate OK?
--Robert
Disconnecting the battery resets the PCM (Powertrain Control Module - i.e. your car's main computer) and its "learned" settings.
I would try that before swapping sensors - make sure the problem reoccurs after a reset.
May also want to track down where "alcan" posts - he's pretty service knowledgeable and might be able to help you troubleshoot this further (I have a Classic Aurora, not a 2001+, so I'm a bit out of my league when it comes to model-specific issues).
--Robert
--window--I was thinking the same
--radio-- still no sound, checked fuse, it's fine, checked all connections I could easily get to, I live in GA, have had very high humidity--in fact, my trunk area was a little damp after all the pounding rain from Cindy & Dennis--(I need to clean out the garage), I have read that some owners have humidity problems.
--still have a whine--
--have always used Dex--(orange) leak seems to be at hose connections to actual radiator (either large rubber, or the smaller metal one) Can see corrosion caused by fluid--still the "Mensa" Service Techs say no leak!!
--Robert
Was your battery shorter than original?
paul
whine- I have always had a Power steering whine in my classic. Just learned to live with it myself.
bose- Im not positive , but dont the Bose systems run off of an amp in the trunk? If so I would bet money the amp is blown. Because you say the head unit seems to work fine. Might find an amp at a salvage yard ?
radiator leak- If noone can find the leak it must not be too large. Have you had the GM seal tabs put in the radiator ? If not I would flush the radiator and have the seal tabs put in. Its one of the best things you can do with these aluminum engines and maybe it will seal your leak. Maybe even save your head gasket or give you a little more time if thats the problem. A head gasket is going to run you a couple grand for this car.
Any help would be great
Thanks, pl390
--Robert
P.S. Don't let your tank get below 2-3 gallons of gas, as the gas in the tank helps cool the fuel pump. If you are constantly running low on gas, you are shortening the life of the pump...
is there a check engine light? if so what are the codes?
When I replaced my Classic's battery in 2001, the ACDelco designation was 76-84. I just checked the ACDelco website and it shows 79-7YR as replacement for my car. I guess that is what you have. Google returned zero hits for the 76-84, which was the same size as my original 681.
Looks like ACDelco has gone to a smaller physical size for replacement. What are the electrical ratings of your new 79-7YR? Both my original and the replacement are rated 970 CCA and 480 reserve test.
Les
All the above is to say that 'i feel i've gotten good value from the car and if i have to walk away from it - so be it. A $2,000+ repair pretty much seals it's fate'. And yet, it seems a shame to walk away from a machine like this without a bit more of a fight.
The primary complicating factor in the decision is the intermittcncy. The temp gage has gone into red a couple times with AC running - only once without it running. OTOH, yesterday in 90+ temps it tolerated a 60 mile drive with AC.
1) Why is it so hard to definitively determine if coolent is being burned in the cylinders? That sure seems like it'd be detectable.
2) If this is a coolent system leak (not head gaskets), would it be possible to escape the the odor of leaking coolent? I park over gravel so obviously i won't see a puddle but shouldn't i see discoloration?
3) But way more indicators point to head gasket than otherwise so I should probably accept that as the source of my problems and given that I don't want to spend $2K or write it off as a total loss and junk it I begin to ponder taking on the job myself. To my standards 'unfeasible' is lack of a shop guide that would adequately document the steps required and/or an array of specialized tools needed to get far enough into the system to get the heads out.
I can afford to spend my own time this way easier than I can afford $$$.
whattayathink?
many thx
--steve...
I replaced mine myself. After draining the coolant, you remove the bar across the top of the radiator, the engine oil cooler and transaxle fluid cooler lines, upper and lower hoses, and fasteners to the a/c condenser and fans, then pull the radiator up and out. The greatest difficulty I ran into was the molded rubber pads that hold the radiator at the bottom had distorted with age and did not fit well nor stay in place when I tried to insert the new radiator. I finally figured out a way to hold them in place with cord until I got the radiator in place, then pulled the cord free. I do not remember if this is required, but removing the air deflector will give you much better (and maybe needed) access to the lower hose and lower cooler connections.
If they have never been replaced, I suggest you take this opportunity to replace the upper and lower radiator hoses and thermostat. If the old coolant was dirty, you should probably flush the system to clean it. Clean the expansion tank. Insert three of the GM walnut shell tablets (Bars Leaks also sells them (and probably makes them for GM)) into the lower radiator hose. Refill the cooling system with 50/50 mixture of Dex-Cool and distilled water.
Hope this helps.
Les
2 of Gabriel's ready-mount strut assemblies that can be purchased from Autozone/CarQuest/etc. New Bosch rotors, new Morse ceramic pads, new front bushings for the lower control arms, a pair of new tie-rod ends and a lube kit for the intermediate steering shaft. Not pictured are a pair of stabalizer link kits, Inner and outer CV boot kits and a pair of new ball joints. Things always come up while working on this car and today was no exception.
After opening everything up in the wheelwell and taking the old strut assembly, we notice our first problem. The strut mount is obviously the wrong size for my car. After a call to Autozone and one to Gabriel's support, it's determined that this is indeed the part issued for the 95 Aurora...it's just the wrong size. So we compress the springs and take just the mount from the old struts and put them on the new. problem solved and I get to keep the entire new assembly, just with the original mount. Here's a pic of them side by side.
To this day, I believe that if you put these on a 96 and above, you'd have no problem. I think it's just another case of the 95 being a sort of "one off" with so many of its parts. I'll confirm it next time I can get someone to lift the hood of their 96.
Next come the control arm bushings. We didn't have a press with us at the shop, so it's a simple deal of hammering them out. Tough to do until you get a little heat on the arm by way of the torch. Standard stuff in any shop, and with some heat, the metal expands and they hammer right out. A few minutes later, it's cooled and we've got the new ones in.
The wheel well looks mighty empty, eh?
At about this point was when we noticed a hole in the inner and outer CV boot, so it was off to Autozone to get the outer and the local Chevy dealer to get the inner. Fit them to the CV shaft, re-grease and reassemble the shaft and we're good to go. While buttoning up the suspension, one of my stabilizer links snapped, so it was back out to get a pair of them. They go for 7 bucks each, and I couldn't bear to put a new one on the passenger side and keep the old on the driver's side. Then go the tie rod ends..grease em and re-grease the ball joints. By that time, the brakes were a snap. Rotors and calipers on, new pads on and bleed them all the way around. Here's a finished view:
I decided to skip the new ball joints because mine looked pretty good and on the Aurora, they are riveted to the control arm....a total nightmare to replace. After the work was completed, it was off to get an alignment and put the good wheels on for the first time this summer. She rides great, I am very happy with the quality of the Gabriel's. What can I say, the car rides better than it ever has since I owned it, but we didn't miss many parts on this front suspension rebuild.
-Brian
Problem is that cooling is marginal and I would like some hints.
I put one can of freon in and it took it very slowly. I am about to borrow a set of gauges to check pressures. This is a 96 with 128K. Do these pumps have a wear issue with age?
Other issues I might look at?
So, check the pressure...my guess is that you are just a bit low. Squeeze every bit that you can into that thing and still be withing safe operating pressures and it should cool back down for you.
Also, did you paint your calipers? They go from dirty black powdercoat looking to clean aluminum paint looking.
Nope, didn't paint 'em at all. In one of the pics you see a caliper hanging by wire in the empty wheel well...that's still the old on hanging on, hadn't changed it out yet. I thought about painting the new pair black again, but liked the look of them unpainted. I know, they'll be covered in rust in a year and look like garbage, but I'll enjoy them until that point.
As for the ISS lube kit, you're right, I forgot to mention in my post that we skipped it for now. With the few problems we ran into during the work, it turned into a 2-day job and I put the ISS lube on hold for a bit. I am not in terrible need of it, but I picked it up anyway since I was at the dealer for the bushings. I'll get it sooner or later, and will post up some pics. I'll probably take care of the multi-function switch grease problem at the same time...so I'll grab pics of that as well.
-Brian
However, the other day I was driving home and the display indicated a "Check Charge System" error. I looked at the volts for my battery and it was hovering just around 12.0 (with slight fluctuation up and down between 12.2 and 11.8 .. turning everything off got the volts up to 12.5.... normal reading while driving is 13.8-14ish)
I assumed it was the battery, so I pulled it out and had Auto Zone test it.. it tested OK. I tried a different battery and got the same result.. 12-12.5 volts. When I attempt to start the car, I hear a loud clicking noise and then nothing... no grinding, or chugging like it is trying to crank.
Any ideas on what I should be checking to correct the problem? I hope to have a service manual soon, but have been unable to locate one thus far.
If it helps or is possibly related, my driver side control for the passenger window will sometimes not roll the window up (down works all the time) and the recline on the driver side seat controls has been working intermittently. Both of those issues have been present since I acquired the car.
Thanks for any help!
I'd like to, as it might be covered with road grime limiting heat transfer.
Another note is that down stream from the orifice tube, near the low fitting, the tube doesn't seem to be very cold. Also the return line from the evaporator is of equal coldness to the feel.
Such rip off expertise is why I dread a shop. Even though that system had the correct amount of freon and it is an electrical, no compressor engage situation, it is likely anywhere she takes it now they will declare it a leaking system, pump all the freon out and bill for an entire fill once the electrical is fixed.
Help if you can, please.
Les
Les
Les
out was the starter. i changeit the first time the car was fine after one month it
started the same problem and i went to the shop where i put the starter and it happen to be a bad starter i gueess thats luck , so we put the second starter and from then no more problem with the battery .
I flushed the engine cause the oil was completely black for $ 70, 2 days ago the radiator had a crack in it and was leaking a little bit that was $400, I changed the thermostat too and the water pump belt $50 , I changed the FPR $80, but still the car wont start with the first try maybe with the second or third i dont know what is wrong with it??? I hear a noise krrr krrr kr down from the water pump belt????...I guess its not the water pump cause i will go nuts... what can i do i love the car but its costing me a lot of money .
Is the requirement for silicone grease still present. I use it on all after seeing what just a loose connection arc can do. That creation of ozone at the metal contact points will eat up the metal in short order. Might look like 20 years of rust.
For the paint checking, if it's clearcoat checking, polishing the paint more might just make it worse. I've had a couple cars where the clear started to fail and in my experience it seems best to just wax the car a lot to try to slow/stop it from getting worse. The Nissan has had checking and slight bubbling for about 5 years now and it really hasn't gotten much worse since I've started maintaining the finish. It's swirly a bit, and the gloss isn't the best, but it looks pretty good after occasional chemical cleaning and keeping it well waxed.