ponyboyt Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 was driving it kinda hard for about 15 minutes, car just rolled 300,000 km's. We had the rad hose off earlier to change the alternator and power/ground wires, and i had topped it up with just water but i'd guess way less than a litre. Anyway, it was fine all day. Then last night i was in a hurry. I have been watching the dash closely all day. I missed a turn, glanced at the dash, guages were fine. Started a u-turn, pulled out a bit hard then looked at the dash and saw my temp needle was maxed. Car went nuts, went into limp mode. Drove maybe 2 km's and stopped and popped the hood. I couldnt smell anything or see any smoke or anything, turned the key to see if the engine would trn over easy and it did. I can hear bubbling under the coolant cap. Rad hose is too hot to hold but touchable. I waited a few minutes and started the car, it was still in limp but i had to move. About 10 seconds later it cooled down VERY quickly. Stayed at normal temp for about 15 minutes, then all of a sudden its running hot but not maxed. Its siting aroundthe 3/4 moving back and forth a bit. Car is backfiring once (only once) whenever i give it say more than 5% more pedal than i would driving light in town. (this car starts in 2nd gear). It shakes and shudders pretty bad, especialy when sitting still, in gear with brakes on. Stops shaking if i put it in neutral but runs rough if i bring the rpms up. It feels like it still has the same power it did before this happens, just the odd hesitation and missfire, and rough running. Codes: PCM 0300 - Current PZM 1558, 1981, 1983 all history MSM 2119, 0856, 1983, 1656 - all history. TCS 1232 (thats been on for weeks, when thats fixed it will have code for ABS Pump Motor Stalled). Some of those codes will be from when we swapped the alternator. I know i cleared the codes but i think i swapped the ground wire after so some might be carried over. The engine isnt making any noise otherthan what it did before, a light tick in the top-end. Oh and the heatshield for the cat is loose, it always vibrated. But no new knocks or clicks or anything. Im hoping today to check coolant for contaminants, otherwise im not sure what else to do. The car runs hot and runs like crap right now, and it was totaly out of the blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 So you did nothing to the cooling system other than add water? Did you put the cap back on correctly? If you only went to the first detent, it was not sealed and you WILL overheat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lothos Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 Was it coolant or just plain water you added? The car might be burping out air bubbles too. WARNING: I'm a total car newbie, don't be surprised if I ask a stupid question! Just trying to learn. Cheers! 5% discount code at RockAuto.com - click here for your discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponyboyt Posted May 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 Was it coolant or just plain water you added? The car might be burping out air bubbles too. we pulled the top rad hose to get the fan out so i could get at the alternator. Pulled it off fast and jerked it up to spill as little as possible. It may have been a bit low on coolant before that, but however much leaked out is what i put back in, and yes it was water. I had put non-mixwed coolant in a few weeks ago, about 1 litre. the car is not overheating now but its running hotter than normal. Its still mis-firing and it backfires once if you kinda hit the gas. It backfires every time i do it, and only once. Im so hoping this isnt going to turn into a head gasket, i cant afford it right now and i already have a lot of work into the car. Last week i changed the heater fan and had to pull a spark plug wire, ill check that tomorow and see if something is up there. But lm sure i put 350+k on the car after changing the alt and had no mishaps at all till it just instantly overheated last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VtSTS Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Was it coolant or just plain water you added? The car might be burping out air bubbles too. we pulled the top rad hose to get the fan out so i could get at the alternator. Pulled it off fast and jerked it up to spill as little as possible. It may have been a bit low on coolant before that, but however much leaked out is what i put back in, and yes it was water. I had put non-mixwed coolant in a few weeks ago, about 1 litre. the car is not overheating now but its running hotter than normal. Its still mis-firing and it backfires once if you kinda hit the gas. It backfires every time i do it, and only once. Im so hoping this isnt going to turn into a head gasket, i cant afford it right now and i already have a lot of work into the car. Last week i changed the heater fan and had to pull a spark plug wire, ill check that tomorow and see if something is up there. But lm sure i put 350+k on the car after changing the alt and had no mishaps at all till it just instantly overheated last night. If the mixture is not 50/50 and especially more water than coolant, won't it run hot? The coolant helps keep the motor cooler. Are the fans kicking on? I'm having fan issues now wtih my 97sts. Did you fill the coolant with cap off and car running with full heat on? If not I would open the cap, (always when engine is cool) start car with heat on full blast, fill with a 50/50 mixture, up to 2" from top of tank, let car idle with heat on until it reaches temp, if it goes lower in this time top it off while still running and then put cap back on when it doesn't go down anymore. This helps bleed the air out so to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 No need for the heat on at all to purge air from the system. That was necessary in the old days when there was a heater control valve. All you need to do is rev the engine to 3-4K a few times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VtSTS Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 No need for the heat on at all to purge air from the system. That was necessary in the old days when there was a heater control valve. All you need to do is rev the engine to 3-4K a few times. Didn't know that. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponyboyt Posted May 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 No need for the heat on at all to purge air from the system. That was necessary in the old days when there was a heater control valve. All you need to do is rev the engine to 3-4K a few times. Didn't know that. Thanks! the cap was NOT on right when i checked it the next day. I think that still doesnt explain why i'm losing coolant. Ill buy a jug today and run it idle for a while and see what happens. So far its looking like a new engine. Even a head gasket i would rather just swap the whole engine on this one, it was burning a litre of oil a day ( i drive a LOT) til i put some Lucas in and got it down to about a litre a week. Was thinking bad rings so an engine swap was planned anyway. So far i found 3..... a '97 STS with 160,000km for 600 (ad says will pass etest but car is rusted) a 97 Concours thats already had some parts stripped for $500 a brand new NS motor and trans thats never been in a car from some dude in town for $5000. My car needs shocks all around, needs bushings in rear, and the front end is pretty loose in the steering. i REALLY like this car and would like to see it cleaned up. I dont wanna lose it to just giving up and parting it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponyboyt Posted June 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 i have driven the car about 700 km's since it overheated. Oil stick still says full. I had checked the anti-freeze after a 10 minute run right after i put in the 6 litres and it had dropped an inch in the tank, it hasnt dropped since in 700k. Something telling me this is a way more simple problem. I have the new coilpack off my 94 parts car, gonna check that along with plugs and wires this week. Sounds a lot cheaper than a head gasket..... I drove the car to Hamilton last night, about 180k round trip. Got it up to speed and set the cruise and it was fine all the way. Just bad hesitation and choppyness accelerating. Mileage was good (around 28) and temp needle stayed dead centre. I think i need to learn to not panic and just think stuff through befre i start seein dollar signs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponyboyt Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I took it to the dealer at lunch today. I figure at 99 bucks a hour they HAVE to come up with some straight aswers. They called me at 2:00. Basicly went like this: "We puled 2 plugs and figured we should call. They are both cracked and boken in half, your plug wires are also shot. New plugs (AC Delco Platinum tipped?) are $16 each. Wires are $340." Told him to go ahead with the plugs. Thats double the price of my parts store, but i dont want to put them in. I can get wires after work today for $120 and change them myself. They are still doing a compression test as i am still concerned about coolant loss. Guess ill update more later. Fingers crossed :X: new plugs and runs like a champ. Compression test: 160-180 on all but one cylender (4 was at 140). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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