kobalt Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Hey all, when I shift my Seville from P to R or D, I get a bit of a lurch with an audiable dull "thud". The same thing happens in mild to moderate acceleration from a roll or very slow speed. I suspect the engine mounts. Any mounts prone to this more than others? In addition I did notice that my car is using green coolant instead of dexcool. According to the records, the waterpump was replaced in mid 2002 and the dealer flushed the coolant. Why would they put green coolant in? Is it time for change? Thank you in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 .... In addition I did notice that my car is using green coolant instead of dexcool.... Is it time for change? Thank you in advance! Yes, yes, yes..... Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Hey all, when I shift my Seville from P to R or D, I get a bit of a lurch with an audiable dull "thud". The same thing happens in mild to moderate acceleration from a roll or very slow speed. I suspect the engine mounts. Any mounts prone to this more than others? In addition I did notice that my car is using green coolant instead of dexcool. According to the records, the waterpump was replaced in mid 2002 and the dealer flushed the coolant. Why would they put green coolant in? Is it time for change? Thank you in advance! Open the hood and watch the engine from the drivers seat for excessive movement while power braking (put in D or R when the brake is applied firmly and increase RPMs). Drain the coolant by removing lower radiator hose, do not flush, add three pellets of bar's leaks (gold powder from Wal-Mart) to the lower radiator hose and fill it with 50/50 mix of antifreeze. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Take a look at the two dog-bones at the front of the car that stabilize the engine from tilting, see how the four bushings are, grab them and see if there is play. Why a dealer would use GREEN I don't know, get your receipt out if you have it, if they used a GREEN part number I would be very upset about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobalt Posted January 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Thank you for your answers. One more question - why wouldn't I want to flush? To avoid contamination perhaps? As for dexcool I just might want to stay witht the green. Dexcool plugged up my buddy's heater core and severly restricted radiator flow in his Caprice. It sort of gelled up into orange gunk everywhere. But I am open minded - any good reason why dexcool is the better choice? Thank you again Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Thank you for your answers. One more question - why wouldn't I want to flush? To avoid contamination perhaps? As for dexcool I just might want to stay witht the green. Dexcool plugged up my buddy's heater core and severly restricted radiator flow in his Caprice. It sort of gelled up into orange gunk everywhere. But I am open minded - any good reason why dexcool is the better choice? Thank you again Mike Too late for you, once green was used, the dexcool will no longer provide additional benefit over the green, your system is contaminated with silicates now and needs to be flushed every two years I believe, even if you used dexcool it also would need to be flushed every two years. Keep an open mind about the Dexcool and the stories you are hearing.. Did dexcool come in your friends Caprice or did he use it on his own. There are some stories about people using dexcool in their cast iron block engines and allowing the coolant level to run low for extended periods of time, causing rust to develop... Tell us about your friends story when you get time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobalt Posted January 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Scotty, Green coolant it is then - no use spending the extra $ in my case. From your post I insinuate that one of the benefits of dexcool is less maintenance. Anything else special about it? As for my buddy he owns a 95 Caprice 9C1. Shortly after the purchase he noticed that the engine temperature gets dangerously high while the car is in traffic and had very little heat in the passanger cabin. The reservoir was labled "dexcool only" and the level appeared correct. The coolant looked carmel in color and appeared dirty. We decided to chage it but only a little came out of the block and the radiator was draining very slowly. Forcing some water through the system caused dexcool-colored clumps to come out of his radiator and block! Clumps of coolant! At this point we decided to fill it up with good 'ol prestone green stuff. Have not had a heat problem since. Sometime later on we removed the heator core and found it plugged up with what looked like orange wax/jello. Im sure you understand where my dexcool questions came from now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 This is a slightly edited post (to remove non applicable items) by our resident expert, bbobynski: DexCool is running satisfactorily in millions and millions and millions of cars and trucks....it is proving to be a very robust product in terms of very long life, excellent corrosion protection and is very "friendly" to water pump seals. The silicates in the conventional green silicated coolants are naturally very abrasive. The more silicates added to the coolant the better the corrosion protection....BUT....the more aggressive the silicates are in tearing up water pump seals. That is what limits the silicate levels in conventional coolant and why DexCool is much easier on water pump seals....it has no silicates. Both DexCool and the conventional green coolant are ethyleneglycol based. There is no advantage nor disadvantage in DexCool with regard to cooling, thermal conductivity, specific heat, viscosity or anything. The issues with DexCool over the years are way overblown and typically due to mis-mixing the product, mixing with other products (non-DexCool compliant), running systems low on coolant, etc. I have NEVER seen any information concerning DexCool being harmful to a cooling system or not performing correctly when used correctly. There is NOTHING that performs better than DexCool that I have seen in terms of corrosion protection. I would put it against anything. Having run aluminum head Northstar engines at well over 300 Hp for 400 hours and longer with no hot deposition corrosion nor any thermal cracking seen due to corrosion related stress risers I would defy any product to perform better for corrosion protection. That is one of the most stringent tests around for coolant corrosion protection levels and DexCool performs admirably. DexCool "cools" the same as other ethyleneglycol coolants....because...it is an ethyleneglycol coolant and has the same viscosity, specific heat, etc..... Propylene glycol , on the other hand, does NOT cool as well as ethyleneglycol due to the fact that it is more viscous and does not flow as well. If the car/engine came with DexCool continue to use it. It it came with conventional green coolant, I would recommend continuing with the conventional green coolant. About the only advantage to changing to DexCool would be the elimination of the silicate contamination of the water pump seal....and if the system was already run with silicated coolant the water pump seal is already contaminated....so changing the pump also would be necessary for a fresh baseline on extending the water pump seal. As good as DexCool is for corrosion protection....the silicated coolant does just as good a job...as long as it is changed and refreshed occasionally....something the DexCool does not need. DexCool causes perceived problems in some iron engines when they were run low on coolant. If the cooling systems are low, parts of the iron internal engine coolant passages dry out and rust. Then, as the coolant sloshes thru the engine, the rust washed off...and then the surface rusts again due to the heat rapidly drying it. The DexCool does NOT provide corrosion protection when it is not present...i.e..the passage is dry. All that rust getting washed into the coolant gradually clogs the system, unseats and clogs the radiator cap seals, etc...and the engine overheats.... Then the owner is horrified to find the system full of "rust". If they had kept the system full of coolant it would have been fine. Not the DexCool....low cooling sytsems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillac_caddy_sts Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Is the engine not supposed to move when you put the car in Drive??? Myn does! Defending Northstar perf a qtr mile at a time!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Is the engine not supposed to move when you put the car in Drive??? Myn does! You should see the engine torque just a bit when you put it in gear but not a lot of movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobalt Posted January 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Thanx for that post Scotty, that would explain a lot of things. Too late for me though In any case, were the water pumps/water pump seals defective on northstars? I am asking as according to the records mine had the pump changed when it came into the shop with a water pump seal leak. What would mandate changing the pump itself at this point? In addition, where are thes dog bone mounts folks are referring to? Are these mounts underneath the rediator cover? Mine are not readily visible from the engine bay if my memory serves me right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 In addition, where are thes dog bone mounts folks are referring to? Are these mounts underneath the rediator cover? Mine are not readily visible from the engine bay if my memory serves me right. The "dog bones" (torque struts) are readily visible when looking at the engine. One on each side connected to the radiator top brace. Maybe the '98 was redesigned and doesn't have them, I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 No dog bones on '98 to '04 Sevilles. And no strut tower braces either. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 And no strut tower braces either. Oh, that'll be nice when it comes time to do some work on my daughters "99. Haven't had a chance to explore it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Thanx for that post Scotty, that would explain a lot of things. Too late for me though In any case, were the water pumps/water pump seals defective on northstars? I am asking as according to the records mine had the pump changed when it came into the shop with a water pump seal leak. What would mandate changing the pump itself at this point? In addition, where are thes dog bone mounts folks are referring to? Are these mounts underneath the rediator cover? Mine are not readily visible from the engine bay if my memory serves me right. I am not sure what you mean by "What would mandate changing the pump itself at this point?", your water pump was changed at 6 years, I dont know how many miles you have on it. The green coolant as you read will kill your water pump seal whereas dexcool will not. If you are not leaking at the water pump shaft there is no need to change it. By the way, be sure you are at 50/50, if you have a higher concentration of coolant, its not good for the seal.. Use distilled water from the grocery store Someone mentioned that you dont have dog bones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobalt Posted January 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Scotty let me reiterate: Why would the dealer change the pump if the seal was leaking. Would it not make sense to change the seal itself, not the pump? My SLS has 52k miles on the odometer, and the pump was changed 2 years ago. Is there something I need to know about these water pumps? Thanx again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 I think the seal in question is the integral seal in the pump assembly, not the cover seal. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 As Kevin said the seal is integral. Guru explained that what happens is that the seal goes bad, and coolant washes out the lubricant in the water pump bearing and the bearing goes bad.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobalt Posted January 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2005 Thanx gents it makes sense now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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