brmurph Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 I couldn't believe how fast it went into limphome mode. I always thought there would be plenty of time to shut the motor off before it got that hot but I guess not. I was comming home from Home Depot and just finished a couple of WOT to clear the carbon. I pulled into the gargage when I see the message "Engine Coolant Hot, Idle Engine" , according to the manual this message comes up at 259 degrees (no chimes at all). Before I had time to react the next message comes on "Engine overheated, stop engine" (this message did have chimes). I quickly turned the motor off and turned the key back on (without starting the motor) so I could check the temperature on the DIC it showed 273 degrees and says "change engine oil" oil was just changed less then a 1000 miles ago so I assume this is from going into camel mode. Anyway needless to say I am now freaking out cause you know what I am thinking (head bolts/gaskets). I replaced the coolant, upper/lower hoses, thermostat, WP belt and tensioner at 93000 miles about 4 months ago. I do have a third party warranty good til 100000 miles (have 99300 on it now hope they will cover this). Because I have the warranty I am thinking I will have it towed to the dealer, can anybody think of anything I should check before I do this (short of doing a pressure test on the cylinders). Only codes showing up are p1258 and b1350. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 A pressure check of each cylinder will show where a head gasket breach is. Is the coolant empty? I'd let the car fully cool overnight, fill the coolant (keep track of how much it takes), and start it and watch the temperature. Let it idle a while and see if it idles okay. If the coolant is way low, it sounds there's a large leak, either external or internal. If the coolant is good, there may be another problem (such as a stuck thermostat or frozen tensioner). Since those items were recently replaced, it sounds like it could be something worse. Great timing for your warranty! Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill K Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 If you have a warantee, tow it to the dealers and let them sort it out. Then get out your boxing gloves to deal with the warantee Co. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAUL T Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I would not panic yet. Check the coolant level. What was the concentration, anything other than a 50/50 mix can cause overheating. I assume you used Dexcool? Did you use the sealant pellets for added protection? There is also a hose that runs from the waterpump area back to the pressurized tank, if it is pinched it will cause overheating. Check to see if your cooling fans are working, could be a blown fuse. See what the dealer says before you freak. Besides it could be the best time for the head bolts to go, especially while it is under warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brmurph Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 Thanks for all the input. Since I do have the warranty I think I will just have it towed into the dealer and let them figure it out. I have been reading this board for the last 3 years (just about every day :-) so you know I did all the right things like 50/50 mix of Dexcool and distilled water, put the pills in the lower hose, checked for flow in small hose back to surge tank, etc. Now this was done at 93000 miles and I haven't verified since. Will let you know what the dealer says. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 Hopefully this is just a defective thermostat, good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobnsue2 Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 Thanks for all the input. Since I do have the warranty I think I will just have it towed into the dealer and let them figure it out. I have been reading this board for the last 3 years (just about every day :-) so you know I did all the right things like 50/50 mix of Dexcool and distilled water, put the pills in the lower hose, checked for flow in small hose back to surge tank, etc. Now this was done at 93000 miles and I haven't verified since. Will let you know what the dealer says. Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hi, My extended warrantee company went belly up and I had to foot the bill for a fuel pump on my 97 GMC while on the road. And they included a number of insurance companies under one large group headquartered on an offshore island. So, I would call the company first to see if yours is still operating before haveing the dealer make a large bill. Bob B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjtjwdad Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 bobnsue, Good point! Lifetime Warranty means lifetime of the company as opposed to how long one owns the item! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldgamer Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Are you sure that actual temperature was really as high as shown on a display? If for some reason something wrong with the temperature sensor wire (short) or computer, it can throw this message. The message "Change Oil Soon" should not be set if engine was in a limp mode. That's why I suspect that something wrong with computer or wiring. And like I assume, the coolant level is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Oldgamer, I am pretty sure that the Change Oil Soon message is correct. Anytime the engine overheats the oil is degraded and the message will come on. Likewise for trans fluid life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Are you sure that actual temperature was really as high as shown on a display? If for some reason something wrong with the temperature sensor wire (short) or computer, it can throw this message. The message "Change Oil Soon" should not be set if engine was in a limp mode. That's why I suspect that something wrong with computer or wiring. And like I assume, the coolant level is fine. The change engine oil soon message will display if the engine goes into limp home mode as the oil will get VERY hot and degrade rapidly. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brmurph Posted November 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Dealer just called, they said that the head gaskets are blown. Seems that the warranty company will cover it (I hope) but they wanted the engine torn down first to verify (that seemed a little odd). I have already told my service adviser to replace all head bolt holes with timeserts and I will pay for the extra timeserts if the warranty company won't. He agreed that they normally only timesert the striped holes but said this would not be a problem, they will timesert them all. I plan on having them replace heater hoses, thermostat (again) check half case seals maybe motor mounts. Anything else you guys can think can think of that is a "must" to replace why they are in there (meanwhile I will search the archives)? I will find out what type of test they did to verify the head gaskets, I know what your thinking, how do we know for sure that is the problem. If I had to pay for it I would probably tow it home and check myself per the cylinder pressure test, since the warranty should cover it I guess I don't care quite as much :-). Thanks and will keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brmurph Posted November 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Just got back from the dealer, turns out that the way they did the test for the head gasket leak was from the hydrocarbon test in the radiator. I know testing this way is somewhat controversial but I really think the gaskets were leaking as the motor overheated just after I was doing a few carbon cleaning WOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Dealer just called, they said that the head gaskets are blown. Seems that the warranty company will cover it (I hope) but they wanted the engine torn down first to verify (that seemed a little odd). The reason the warranty company wants the engine torn down is most likely that they don't cover gaskets (check your policy) unless it was caused by something mechanical. Be sure the dealer finds a headbolt with pulled threads Preferably one on each side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brmurph Posted November 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Picked up the car from the dealer on Friday night. Total labor was $2992.00 total parts was $392.80 for a grand total of $3384.00. I thought that was a pretty fair price, especially since the warranty company has approved payment :-) and the fact that they installed all 20 timeserts. There are a couple of issues I need to resolve though. When I first picked the car up I just left the parking lot and gave it some gas when I could hear and feel a shudder (sounded like an exist leak) this only happened under power. The dealer was real helpful and said sometimes the motor doesn't align correctly so they realigned it while I waited. This alignment really helped but I can still feel the shudder under certain loads (of course it is not consistent). Anyone have any comments on what this really is? Second problem appears to be a large vacuum leak?? All I know is that anytime you give the car some gas the AC quits blowing out the top vents and starts blowing out the defroster (which I believe is the default location). Any thoughts where the leak could be? Neither of these problems existed before the head gasket job. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Your second problem is indeed a vacuum leak and defrost is the default mode. Some vacuum line somewhere was not reconnected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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