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My question is: Can you "blow" just an intake gasket and cause all this without having a "blown" head gasket?
:sick:
Drain your oil immediately if you do your own oil changes. There is likely coolant in the oil. If your oil looks chocolatey or milky that's a sure sign. The symptom that the car didn't want to turn over meant that enough has leaked past the seals (probably when the motor was shut off hot and temperature and pressure went up even more) that it hydrolocked. Usually they won't turn at all and damage is done to starter or motor parts.
The coolant in the oil attacks the bearings and ruins them. People have fixed the problems only to run their motor a few weeks or months and have them self destruct due to the damage done by the acidic etching on the moving parts.
If you change your own oil, put in any, cheap oil and run the motor just a minute or so to get fresh, clean oil to the bearings. Then don't run it at all.
Have the car repaired by towing it somewhere. However at 200,000 you may not choose to repair the motor and instead replace it with one from a recycling yard or rebuilt. Your choice based on what you have. If the motor were running well and the trans is fine and the body is fairly good, you may want to repair and take your chances.
To assess how likey oil has coolant contamination, use the appearance of the oil on the dipstick and if you can drain it look at what comes out for milkiness. It is possible the coolant leak has been slow enough that the coolant has been burning off in the cylinders with little getting past the rings. It's possible it just increased in volume the last time you shut it off. So you have a decision to make.
If you have the UIM replaced, have the lower gaskets replaced under the metal Lower Intake Manifold with the aluminum framed- GM gasket. Don't use the original design. Have the UIM replaced with a Dorman units or one that has a modification for the EGR tube that sticks up out of the metal LIM and carries the hot exhaust gases that get recycled. That hot area deteriorates and is often the source of the leak as well as the O-rings in the gaskets on the UIM.
Replacement might run $300 for parts ($175 Dorman upper, $30 LIM gasket, NEW spark plugs (Delco/GM--originals has white stuff on them from coolant burning). Labor is variable. The oxygen sensor sometimes is hurt by coolant, but likely not. Use only GM oxygen sensor replacements.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I still would recommend replacing the LIM gasket at your high mileage. That car's done great!
You might have noticed an occasional miss if it were leaking for a while earlier. You may have caught it at the earliest major problem.
Good luck with her.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The only way to determine if the thermostat is making the motor warm up to 195 before opening is to use a temperature reading device (infrared, e.g.) or try a little hand test. You can try holding the upper radiator hose after the motor has been running at the full temperature for a while. My subjective description is that it's too hot to hold for more than couple of seconds.
Another judgement is whether the heater puts out enough heat after the motor has reached that 1/4 setting. If it does, your thermostat is probably okay and it's just the gauge is reading different.
>saw was a red light beside the volt gage that flikers
If the light is supposed to turn on to make you notice that charging has dropped below acceptable limits, I'd check first to be sure the battery cables are clean and not corroded. Remove the negative first and use a wire cleaner to be sure you've got bright metal contact. Then take off the positives. If you have a double positive cable with one cable on top of the next be sure to check in between. Reconnect positives and then negatives.
Be sure to turn off the heater/AC with the key ON before removing cables. A few people think removing cables for a battery change has caused the auto AC units to go crazy.
Check connetions at the alternator and grounds below the coils and on the fender behind the battery. Move the bolts if they are loose to tighten them for a good connection.
You're down to a bad alternator regulator or other part. You can remove the alternator and take it to some auto parts stores for free testing. And you can have a test run on the car but I'm not sure if they pick up little quirks like you might be getting.
>Car bogs down
Has he had a free code scan run at the auto parts stores? His 95 may be that in between version I and version II that takes an odd connector, but it's worth checking at several different ones to see if they have the ability to scan. Just get the codes; do NOT buy parts based on the codes. YOU have to figure out what is causing the code.
How did he know his catalytic converter was bad? I have suspicion the same problem with the bogging may be why he thought the catalytic converter was bad. Diagnosis is first in line. Trying new parts instead of diagnosis can get expensive.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Ignition switch at base of steering column?
Crankshaft position sensor.
You don't say how many miles are on the car. I don't have any real clues as to what is happening--I'm just throwing out some guesses. The immediate restart sounds like what crankshaft position sensors ahve done to some people. But start with the easiest first.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Next the key has a resistor chip in it near the head; it's a small black piece about 2 mm x 2 mm with a metal contact on each side. That's what is read by a Theft Deterrent Module each time the key is inserted. Use a pencil eraser and rub the contacts on that black chip.
Third the contacts inside the key lock cylinder may be worn or dirty. These are the contacts that rub lightly on the chip when the key is inserted and read the resistance of that chip. You can dip the key in rubbing alcohol and insert it quickly to get alcohol on those contacts to try to clean them. They also seem to wear. I would guess if you have a set of keys that are heavy or long and swing back and forth in the lock cylinder as you drive those contacts may be worn.
Fourth the two tiny wires that read the resistance go down the steering column and are bent and unbent each time the tilt wheel is put up and down. After lots of cycles and years on the car those little wires have individual strands taht break from being flexed. This changes the resistance of those wires and changes the resistance read for the key chip on the other end.
The system is called VATS. You can search on the internet and find lots of mentions. A solution is to go to the bottom of the steering column and locate the connector for many wires and identify the little orange or other color tube that has the two wires from the lock cylinder inside (they're not two separate little wires).
You replace the two wires with a set of resistors that you put into their contacts or cut the wires and solder them on the ends. E.g., my resistance for the key chip at the key says about 870 ohms. There are lists of the 15 resistances used for VATS keys on the internet. Find the one closest to your reading for your key chips.
Buy resistor packs at Radio Shack or a friendly auto alarm installer that replaces that resistance. Alarm installers have premade resistors because they were always replacing the security VATS system with their own and they bypass the resistance. An easy fix might be to have an alarm installer put in the resistors for you.
The TDM, theft module, has 4 failure modes. One of which is that it decides it's not working right and quits protecting the car in case of the wrong resistance reading. Some people have cut their wires while the car was running to put the module into that mode. I do not recommend that unless you are a car geek who can fix it if soemthing goes wrong.
With luck yours will default into that mode if the light is coming on and going off while you're driving. That's what mine did. If I change battery, I'm going to jump the cables to keep power to the system so the TDM doesn't go into a check mode again.
Another factor I found before mine failed in default mode was if I put the key in quickly and turned without waiting to start, it would stall for 3 minutes. If I put the key in, and let the system do its checks, I would start 99% of the time without a wait.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The car will stall about 5 times in a row when just driving 7 or 8 miles. It seems to always stall a slower speeds and never stalls when I driving over 55 mph on the highway. Someone suggested camshaft sensor. I would appreciate any ideas.
Thank you,
Two hundred Plus Guy
Be sure to call them if it's not a local place where you know, and ask them if they have the connector to check on your car. There was a year or two where the connector is odd before ALDC II became the standard.
Remember the code is only a symptom. Don't replace parts based on that. Use that to diagnose. My first real thought is the MAF sensor. Or the IAC may be sticking. Both of these are on the throttle body and can be removed. The MAF can be cleaned but the little wire is fragile. Use CRC cleaners that are for intake cleaning, such as CRC on the shelf at stores.
Crankshaft sensor usually has people saying it won't restart right away. Yours is up there in miles thought. I'd have to go look for camshaft sensor symptoms. Yours may or may not fit.
The check engine light code needs to be read first.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Thank you for your help,
Two hundred Plus Guy
Thanks,
Two Hundred
Check battery cables at both ends first. If it has the double layer positive cable check between the two positives. Pull the plastic on the copper cables back to be sure they are not corroded down into the cable.
It might be a crankshaft position sensor, but people sometimes have stalling problems with those. But one symptom is they act up when hot for some people. Try pouring cold water on it--it's beside the crankshaft balancer and tucked behind the edge.
Could be a contact or connection on the ESC beneath the coils. Some have found a ground wire in the connector that had poor contact.
Could be fuel pump not pumping with enough pressure. Need pressure gauge and flow measuring capability to see if it pumps enough volume as well as at a high enough pressure.
Camshaft position sensor may be off, but I think people say those set a code and light.
Have you taken it to Autozone or Advance Auto to have the codes read. Don't buy anything based on codes; just get them and then go back and check.
Also some people have had trouble with the buss ground in the door jamb under the driver's foot beside the A-pillar. If you're in an area where the snow and salt or lots of wet weather gets drops of water carried onto the carpet there as the feet go in and out--or the car leaks or the windows sometimes are left open, these corrode. Usually someone will have other symptoms that come and go with the corroded buss like power door locks work and then don't work or power windows or the AC controls cut in and out. link title
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I am the second owner of a 1997 Buick Le Saber Custom with (dont laugh) 240k, and it has been a great car until now.
First off, three times of late,(last 30 days) when I turn the key to the on position at start a solenoid beside the glove box keeps rattling, and you can hear the fuel pump going, the fuel going through the rail on the engine, and there is good pressure at the relief/test valve, and returning to the tank, but the pump never quits. Nor will the engine fire on cranking. Is it cycling due to failure of the fuel pressure regulator on the rail? I have examined it for signs of fuel leakage in the stem and tube, but there is nothing there.
Secondly, before this last bout of fuel cycling and no start of which it has yet to recover from, on our last drive we had a sudden period of high Rpm’s of around 3000, and I noticed a quick but massive discharge on the Alt gauge, check engine light was on and I had to actually hold it back from lunging, yet there was no power/poor acceleration when given the gas. I made it back into town, (4 miles) pulled in and shut it down at the grocery store, I restarted it right then, and it ran at the normal Rpm’s. When we came out of the store it did it’s clicking no fuel routine, I checked all wire terminals, at some point it decided to start again and get us home driving normaly.
Again upon our arrival home I restarted it several times with no noticed problems.
The next morning, once again nothing but the solenoid clicking and fuel cycling through the rail.
Is it a brain box issue? Or fuel regulator?
If I could just get it started I could drive it to a code reader, and I might get a solid lead, but I hesitate paying to get it towed to a service station, as I am a family of four w/ limited income and am more of a “DIY” person.
Any ideas on this would be appreciated, as I would love to get a few more cheap miles out of this great Buick.
Thanks,
Michael
eldon
But check fuel pressure regulator hose on front of motor for gasoline in the vacuum tube? The fuel pressure regulators sometimes fail and let fuel into the intake manifold. There was a recall on some models because a backfire could occur which might split the ABS plastic manifold. I do not know if that affects your year. Check the NHSTA site for recalls.
Also try turning the key to ON for two seconds until the fuel pump cuts off and then OFF and back to ON 3 times to thoroughly prime the fuel system. You might have a weakened fuel pump or pressure valve. Has the car been driven low on fuel? That's hard on the pumps in some models.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
If the motor does not even turn over, you could have a bad starter motor or a bad connection. The most likely is the cable at the battery on the positive connection. There are two cables, one on top of the other. It must be taken off and cleaned with the plastic cover pulled back.
Turn ON the key and turn the automatic air conditioner to off. Then turn the key OFF. Now you're ready to remove the negative cable from the battery. Then with it off, remove the positive cable. You'll probably find a white powder between the cables on the positive post of the battery.
If you hear nothing when you turn the key to CRANK, not even an initial thunk from the starter, your starter could be bad. If the headlights don't dim when that happens, it indicates a bad connection or bad starter.
IF the headlights dim, that means the starter is drawing current, but your motor could be hydrolocked, a cylinder has water in it and the starter can't crank it.
If there's water in the cylinder get the old oil out and run motor with new oil briefly to get good oil to bearings. Then repair car.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You may have a bad TPS (throttle position sensor) that rotates with the throttle plate to tell the computer what the driver is requesting in power. The electrical contact rheostat may not be changing smoothly. So the computer gets odd signals.
The MAF (manifold air flow) sensor may be bad. Some people remove the connector and if the motor runs fine without it that's a good sign. If you have another vehicle with one, some people transfer a good one in place. Sometimes replacements don't work right, so get a good one if it is bad.
The fuel pump may not be pumping with enough pressure. A slight decrease below the correct pressure and volume from the pump affects the spray pattern on the injectors. At 15 years and 100K miles, if the car was often run with low fuel so the pump sometimes isn't cooled enough, the pump may have worn out. And it may just have worn out. If you end up replacing the pump, a lot of cheap, off brands have given trouble with pressure and running right. A Delco is a best replacement; costly, but best. I can cite a recent forum post where someone had lots of trouble with running; they ended up replacing the year-old replacement pump from a cheaper parts store.
Also the FPR (fuel pressure regulator) thats a small cylinder device on the fuel line with a vacuum line attached --usually on front of the motor next to valve cover--may be bad. It adjusts the fuel pressure when the vacuum drops to give a higher pressure for better spray pattern. Pull off the vacuum line to it and if there's gasoline in the line that's a sure sign it has failed. It also may fail other ways.
And the FIRST thing to check is the electrical system. Have the plugs been replaced within the last 40-50 K? Plug wires? They may be giving poor connection causing poor ignition. And also the coils can fail giving a symptom like you're getting.
The plugs and wires are relatively cheap and easy to do. When you pull the plugs, look at the tips to see if they are oil fouled or show white deposits for the very rare coolant leak for those years. Look at the ends of the spark plugs wires. Sometimes corrosion is inside the end connectors.
Assume the easiest problem and it often saves money over the more esoteric problems. These motors and transmissions are dependable and durable.
If I were a betting person, I'd wager on plugs, wires, or ignition coil. You might pick up coils from a recycling yard. The coils are easy to switch on most of these...
Again, the years of your 3800 (it's not a 3.8) don't have manifold leaks.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
At the time, they reimbursed me for about half of the expense to repair.
Good luck!
I have a buick le sabre 1995 and I am the second owner. When I first purchased the car everything looked okay, but about two months ago this problem started. When I start the car the check engine light comes on and I turn off the car and start it again and the light goes off. One day I only turned the car on once and the light was on. I was driving and I stopped at a stop light my car turned off by itself. The steering wheel wouldn’t move and the car would not start. I kept on trying to turn it on for about 5 minutes and it started back up. I don’t know why the check engine light turns on the first time I turn on the car and it is off the second time. If anyone has had the same problem, or knows anything about this I would really apprechiate the answer.
A light can be the gas cap not sealing, but it usually doesn't do the check so that it would turn the light off on a restart. Leaks in the pressure sealing for the gas vapor system are common problems. The code check at a store will help.
I Have read in other forums that some 1994 and 1995 Bonnevilles have problems with the computer more often than is common ont he H-bodies (Olds, Bonneville, LeSabre, Park Ave, Olds 98). Replacing the computer helps.
The stalling and restart can be the crankshaft position sensor, which may not give a code.
You didn't mention how many miles on the car. You can also have trouble with MAF sensor and throttle position sensor wearing after lots of miles and years.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I know that the computer and many other parts were replaced (then he put the original parts back when the problem wasn't resolved).
I would love to know if anyone has discovered the solution
Thanks much
Several people suggest that anything other than Delco replacements have given trouble in several months.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Tally, did you replace anything in your quest for fixing the problem?
This is an extremely frustrating problem - the car has basically been at the shop since April! Fortunately, we have other vehicles, but I hate just junking the car over this - I would at least like to sell it for something.
Any other suggestions are supremely appreciated
Turns out the problem was two fold, with the coil (I think) being the first - the NAPA part works for all cars except the '91, where there are issues. While that 'bad' part was in the car, our guy changed the computer, and that didn't correct the problem, so he put the old computer back in. With changing other parts, he and a buddy finally determined that the NAPA part was no good, and got me a used one. Then another buddy suggested trying to replace the computer again, and that turned out to be the second part of the problem - both parts simultaneously were bad.
Thanks for all the assistance!! Happy New Year!