WHEN LEAKS ATTACK

Drip drip goes the Cadillac

A customer brought to me a 2004 Cadillac  SRX with the 4.6 liter engine.  Evidently it had been leaking fluid for some time in small amounts but now it was a full blown gusher.  Nice orange spot every time she parked.
"Help me!" she cried.  I guess I'm a sucker for dames so what the heck, I decided to see what I could do.

Observing a large puddle of dexcool under the car, I took a flashlight and examined the front of the engine.  Yup.  Leaking from water pump weep hole.  Nice simple job.  Put a new pump in, bled the system and checked it for leaks.  Still leaking, only this time from the other side of the engine!  I verified that the pump was bad (it was) and resolved to find the other leak.  

First thing was to get some coolant dye that was compatible with dexcool. Here is what I used.

What I saw was the coolant leaking from behind the intake air hose from a piece of metal that connects to the intake manifold. It is known as the water outlet.

This caused a significant leak down the passenger side of the engine and cannot be seen because the gaskets are on the rear side of the intake water outlet. So it has to come off.  Like these picture show, there are four bolts that hold it on and a large hose and small hose on the left side.  But first the throtle body bolts have to come off. There is a hidden bolt behind the throttle body.

Throttle body removed and the bolts are clearly seen.

Once the assembly had been removed, the leak area and gaskets could be clearly seen. Notice the scale buildup on the right hand picture.  The gaskets were similarly covered.  A leak was inevitable.

Here's a destroyed gasket that shows the scale buildup and reason for the leak.

New gaskets with part number from GM.  (Dont get them at the dealer, they are 6x as expensive)

Thread in the bolts to hold the gaskets and then put some locktite thread sealer on it to hold them in place.

Torque it down and put the throttle body bolts back on.  assemble the rest of the small stuff you took off (hoses, wires, etc) and refill it with coolant.  It should look like this when you are done.

On an added note, there is a tee fitting for the radiator overflow tank that sits on top of the radiator.  You can see it in the above picture on the lower right hand corner.  Notice the one I have is metal while the original is plastic.  Discard the plastic one and get a metal tee.  The plastic will break and leak all over the place while the metal one will probably outlast the vehicle.  Just one less leak for you to worry about.

If your zen concentration and relaxation techniques are up to par, you will not feel the least bit angry about the horrible leaks the SRX can develop.  Except for that tee fitting.  That's really pushing it Cadillac!!

VOLVO STEERING PROBLEM

2002 VOLVO S60 STEERING YIKES!!

Some time ago I bought my wife a used 2002 Volvo S60.  It had been in a small accident on the right front side but was otherwise in good shape.  The only problem was that when you hit the brakes (even slightly) it would take a hard left turn!  Talk about super dangerous!  Especially if you did it in traffic at high speeds!  Well, my wife had a few choice words with her mechanic (me) and I decided to hunt down the culprit. 

On the S60 Volvo, the control arm has rubber bushings that isolate it from the metal of the arm.  These bushings are prone to cracking or even breaking.  The final result is that when they frag, and believe me they do, you will suddenly find yourself making an unscheduled turn right into someones house.  Being the tight wad money saver that I am (am I right guys?) I resolved to fix these bushings by having new ones pressed in instead of replacing the entire control arm.  

 The bushings are indicated by red arrows.  Notice one is entirely gone (the rear one).

Bad idea.  Unless you use the factory bushings, I didn't, you are asking for trouble. Even then, if for some reason the shop you can find to press in the bushings doesn't do it exactly right you will face another unscheduled turn in traffic.  Let me cut to the chase.  Suffice it to say, that within a month of driving with the"new" bushings, they had once again broken and the car was steering crazy when braking.  

Do yourself a huge favor (and your wife) and replace the entire control arm with bushings.  Better yet spend a little extra money and buy the Volvo control arm.  As it turns out, the control arms only last about 20,000 miles before they frag.  The price of owning a Volvo I guess.  

THE CASE OF THE GRUMPY STALLING CHEVY CAVALIER

CHANGE YOUR DIRTY SOCKS

I am struck by the way diagnosing vehicles is a test of my amazing Zen calmness.  Take my 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier LS 2.2 OHV, for instance.  It was in all respects a well running machine......until it got to the lower quarter of the gas tank.  Then, for no apparent reason it would stall but only when  taking a left turn. ??????????????????   My first thought was that a wire to the fuel pump circuit was at fault.  I mean, only on left turns?  Yup.  Only left.  

I checked all the circuits and they were undamaged.  This is right about where my Zen  gets tested.  Back to basics, I thought.  If it wasn't an electrical problem, then it must be fuel. But why only when the tank was quarter full?  A faulty gas gauge?  Sounds reasonable, I thought.  I had a Mini Cooper with one of those.  Customer wondered why it was dying all the time and turns out the gas gauge was faulty so they kept running out of gas.  Kind of unlikely though.  

Unfortunately, the only thing that seemed reasonable was the fuel system.  Something in the tank was moving when I took a left turn and either shut off the fuel pump or clogged it.  Either way the fuel tank had to come out.  Ouch.  I hate doing that.  Its not the black widow spiders that make a home in the suspension, or the tree frogs that hide in the suspension that makes it so fun.  Its all the dirt that rains down in a shower right in my eyes that really makes that extra fun.  But I digress.....

Out comes the fuel tank and then the fuel pump, only to find everything sound and in good condition except........the outer fuel sock had a rip in it.  Being nylon, I was surprised that it was ripped.  It's pretty tough.  If that one was ripped, what about the other one inside the fuel pump.  I had a gander.  Yup! Bingo.  Not only was the inner fuel strainer ripped, it was falling to pieces like a piece of toilet paper!  Pieces of it were littered in the fuel pump canister and obviously clogging the pump when the tank was low on gas.  As I took a corner, the fuel would move all the pieces into the path of the fuel pump pickup and starve it.  When the tank was more than half full, it would float out of the pickup reach.  Problem solved. Although in this case, I went ahead and replaced the entire fuel pump assembly since there was no telling if some of the sock had gotten in the pump mechanism.  Note to everyone:   change your socks like your mamma told you.

A Smelly Car Is An Angry Car

Menthol delights

Ammonia in the Morning

While it can be said that fixing a vehicle is more important than the cosmetics of said vehicle, there is nothing more irritating than a smelly interior.  Let's take the Toyota Corolla I currently own.  I bought it from someone who had a penchant for smoking menthol cigarettes.  I'm not being judgmental, but nothing smells quite as crappy as a menthol tobacco smell all over the car ( almost like being in an anti-tobacco ad right?) I am currently trying to fix up this smell-mobile so I gave some thought to getting rid of the smell.

First up was baking soda.  Nice mess.  Looks like it snowed inside my toyota. It didn't work either.

Next, I tried boric acid powder.  See above.

Finally, on the advice of a car detailer I knew some years back, I set an open bowl of ammonia on a seat and closed all the doors and windows and went to bed (bed is optional, but it was late and I was done).

Morning time and I hit a cup of coffee (essential for zen car repair) and checked the corolla. Upon opening the door, I was hit with a gust of ammonia.  If I wasn't awake before then, I was now.  After leaving the car doors open for a few minutes, I poked my head in and took a big whiff.  Smell gone.  I don't know how it works, but it does.  I was just glad I didn't have to smoke menthol cigs while driving or fixing the car.

Gremlins in my F-150

When Ants Attack

I realize now that there are some things beyond even my awesome ability to predict. Normally, on a good day, that doesn't mean much but let's face facts:  my sanity is hanging by a thread. Practicing the Zen method of car repair helps me keep what little sanity is left to me.  

Ok, sermon over.  What has this to do with Ford F150's and ant?  Everything. As I was minding my own business, driving down the road in my 150, it shut off.  No engine lights, no sputtering, no misfires just a complete shutdown.  Coasting to the side of the road, I sat there baffled.  I realized that a multitude of problems could be the result of my truck's abrupt death but where to start.  Sitting there for a minute, I decided to try restarting it.  It started right up and off I went.  Got it back home and it dies in the parking lot. Great.

I checked the computer which showed no codes, and no real problems.  Even better. I went back to the basics and decided to check for fuel, spark and compression. Fuel being the easiest, Zen practice here, I checked the fuel pressure. Zero upon turning the key on. Bingo.  Turned the key and listened to the fuel pump and it didn't make a sound. There was my problem:  fuel pump dead.  I started making preparations to pull the tank and replace the fuel pump.  

Then it hit me.  There are other things besides a faulty fuel pump that can shut it off.  Just to be sure, I decided to check the fuel pump relay.  This is what I found:

Apparently, ants had gotten into my fuel pump relay and their bodies were making the contacts....um...not contact.  A simple matter of replacing the relay and my truck was as good as new.  The relay would make contact intermittently which is why it started up again but the ants were definitely ruining it. If I hadn't seen an ant going into the relay I might have missed out on a unique opportunity for Mother Nature to screw with my mind.  The real lesson for me here wasn't pest control (I'm sure you are all thinking that but forget it).  No, the real lesson here is that past knowledge is no guarantee that you wont be thrown a confusing situation by the uncontrollable universe of randomness we live in.   Keep your Zen mindset and try to stay calm if at all possible.  I mean if one of natures smallest creatures can stop a 2 ton truck, who am I to say that everything is under my control???

Rings around Saturns

Smokin and Misfires

The 1.9 liter Saturn engines from the early 90's to the late 90's was a success and failure in many ways.  However, its successes were marred by a couple of things.  One of these things is the constant usage of oil.  Every 1000 miles (1600 km) the engine will burn a quart (.9 liters) of oil.  The first thing you will go looking for is an oil leak.  There isn't one. You will also notice that the oil you just changed is dirty as heck.  If that doesn't push your meditation to achieve calmness nothing will.  

It turns out that the pistons on these cars was included without a proper oil scraper relief hole.  That being said, when the oil scraping rings wipe the cylinder, the oil has no where to go and gets burned.  Eventually, these rings get carbon build on them and they stop scraping oil all together causing a nice white smoke to come out of your tail pipe.  Here's a look at the piston:

As you can see, there is no hole through the piston for the oil rings to scrape oil through, only the holes on the side.   This is not enough to keep the rings from sticking and eventually burning oil like crazy.  Aside from replacing the rings and putting the engine back together, there is no real fix to this.  There are aftermarket pistons with the holes drilled for the oil available that will probably solve the problem though.  In the meantime, try not to worry about the oil burning.  Just keep topping it off and drive it normally.  

The other problem I have had with older Saturns involves the ignition system.  If you try to put in platinum spark plugs or change out the coils for better aftermarket ones, you will get a camshaft sensor code and your engine light will come on. Why???  Well, it turns out that these cars have a sensitive ignition system that only works with the original system.  Putting in advanced spark plugs will cause a misfire and an camshaft sensor code to pop up, even though there is no cam sensor!  Put in copper old school spark plugs, and original coil packs or you will be ripping out the last hair on your head trying to figure it out.  (And that aint good for your Zen) 

Rockin The Nissan Pathfinder

Pathfinder Death Sway

You are driving down the highway minding your own business in your 2002 Nissan Pathfinder when suddenly it starts to rock back and forth.......violently!  I don't know about you, but that is enough to make me need a clean pair of shorts.  The truth of the matter is that the Pathfinder has a fatal flaw in the rear suspension.  Bushings.

As the bushings wear out, they start to wiggle the rear axle back and forth. At highway speeds, this translates to a rocking motion that will scare the bull spit right out of you (unless you are a zen master in which case you will just need an underwear change).  If you have kids, they will love this new ride.   In any case, you have to address this problem so without further ado, I introduce the 2002 Nissan Pathfinder bushings of death:

As you can see from the above diagram, the bushings indicated by the red arrows are the culprits.  A good online company can sell you the bushings or the whole arms to put in for a relatively cheap price.  This will help get back most of the calm zen like attitude you lost when your Pathfinder gave you a Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  Don't forget to check the other bushings down under there while you are at it. The panhard rod, stabilizer links, and shocks could all be worn as well.  As soon as you are done, congratulate yourself on a job well done........then off to the store for new underwear that you now so sorely need.