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My engines intake gasket/valve cover gaskets have been replaced and the motor was flushed. Within 30 days after the repair the car overheated and another mechanic is diagnosing this again as the problem. He told me that the thermostat should have been replaced when this work was performed the first time and that any certified mechanic should know this. Thanks for any help or enlightenment you can give me. ~MB
I suppose if the cooling system was all gunked up that yeah, replacing the thermostat is a good precautionary move. But it has nothing to do with a crankcase flush.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
we can't remove the ignition key.
engine can be switched off, but lock won't go back to release
position.
this started happening out of the blue.
is this the key itself, the lock or an electrical problem?
Have you tried yanking the steering wheel to its most extreme position (left or right) while trying to remove the key?
Is the shifter in Park?
Hope this helps.
- shifter is in park.
- yanking on the steering wheel to no avail.
- we were driving the car for 90+ minutes before this first happened, everything was running normally during this time.
- in the position where the key is stuck, it appears that the battery is getting drained.
- after a jumpstart of the battery, car comes on normally,
except that the dash board now shows a 'SECURITY' warning.
car's in the shop now, i'll let y'all know what the finding was.
When I start my car the radio plays, but when I shift into anything but park or neutral I can't hear it.
All lights are on and digital volume displays,and I can change stations, just no sound. My C.D player doesn't work either.
Gear shifter is on the console between the seats.
Occasionally it will come off and on as I'm driving, ie.. hitting a bump or not just does.
Any suggestions as to what this might be? :confuse:
TIA,
Whit
but water from the exhuast is probably a natural consequence or byproduct of combustion.
i think you may be flooding your engine. why not try giving the vehicle a few secs to establish pressure at the fuel rail via the pump, before turning key all the way to start. avoid pressing on the accelerator.
other things: maybe really fouled plugs. possibly excessively clogged engine air filter (cheap to replace). i'd also run a can of Fuel Injector cleaner through when I filled up (you pour it into an empty tank).
maybe someone else can help with other suggestions.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I had it replaced - things are working again.
Thanks for all contributions here.
I have a question in regard to changing my fluid. I changed the fluid in the rear end of my 1997 jeep yesterday. It was a windy day and I noticed that a few particles of road sand may have splashed up into my differential while I had the case open. I did not see very much if any and I did wipe it clean but Im sure there is some microscopic sand particles in there. My question is..Do I have anything to worry about.? Should I change the fluid again? Or does my logic which believes that if there was any very fine sand pebbles in there it will all get crunched up over time serve me right. Or could even he smallest dust particles ultimately cause any damage? The fluid change with lucas rear differential fluid really did quite the rear down. I had not changed it in 120k and it does sound great. Any help with this question will be greatly appreciated
Mike
Do you mean you lose two quarts of oil in 6000 miles? That's one quart per 3000 which is good from what I've always thought.
You don't say how many mile are on the car and if you know the whole history from new or it you bought it used.
If you mean the orange coolant is brownish with gunk in it, that may mean the Dexcool coolant has never been changed or someone added green stuff to it. The Dexcool will turn dark and form goop when overheated or run low with air in the radiator (even though the overflow reseroir is full) the air mixes with DexCool while running hot and causes deterioration.
If your crankcase has coolant that has gotten into it, the oil looks milky and like chocolate milk is in it.
I'm not hearing that to be what you're saying. But the car needs a professional, trustable person checking it.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The description of the goopy precipitate sounds like descriptions of other Dexcool stories and the Fords had a similar description years back. One factor is mixing with air in a system that's not been purged. A seep around the radiator cap allowing air into the radiator instead of recalling coolant from the reservoir allows that air. Mix with hot DexCool and they describe it as crud in the reservoir.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I don't know anyone with a Vibe whose hood I can look under
I change mine every two years. Fill and drain a couple of times with distilled water. And refill with DexCool. I suspect the car above has never been drained and cleaned in 4 years.
I hope it's just needing a flush and cleaning chemical for them to be okay. If air's been in the radiator while running hot the mixing with air makes the precipitates or sludge form. That was the Ford problem and I believe some Century/Regals had a crook in the radiator cap making them hard to fill and purge completely. That was one cause my dealer service manager told me.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I absolutely have no external leaks, and I have not noticed any smoke bellowing from the exhaust. Given the fact that the radiator was drained a little over a year ago, and is now a merky tobacco color, what happened, and more importantly, what is the damage potential to the engine?
after stopping. the steering wheel does not seem to be locked. The only way I can get it out is turn the engine back on and turn off or step hard on the brake. This does not happen every time.
Thanks
What happened with the brown gunk?
Glad you found a cheap reason for the oil consumption! Did the car idle okay with the PCV valve problem?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
When you say you put it in neutral, and it won't move. Are you saying that you absolutely can not push the car with the engine off and it is in neutral? If so, sounds like either the output shaft of the transmission is bound up (not allowing the driveshaft to turn when vehicle pushed)....or you have a parking brake jammed on.
I'm not an automatic transmission guru, but what you might want to try is dropping the driveshaft, to see if the engine will turn the transmission output w/o any driveshaft. If it doesn't, then you know you have a transmission problem....and most likely the transmission is coming back out anyhow, so not wasted work dropping the driveshaft. If it does turn the shaft, then you know the problem is in your differential/axle/brakes.
You have fluid in the transmission, right?
So to understand your situation correctly, did you take the transmission out of the car and take it somewhere for them to rebuild it, and then you put it back into the vehicle? or did you take the vehicle to a transmission shop and they rebuilt it in the car?
Can you get the vehicle towed to the transmission shop?