flooded car possible, need help!

[radley]

ok update.

my bad, head gasket isn't what's leaking... it's the intake gasket.. common problem with these 3100 engines. front of engine, closest corner to driver, but front side. maybe not too bad to fix? way better than head gaskets..

also battery super weak today and yesterday a bit.. not sure why. could be loose connectoin, I'll look into that when it stops raining.. maybe battery going bad. I'll have to run my multimeter across there and see what it's giving. hoping that's an easy thing to troubleshoot.

checked out a car a friend of a friend had for sale, 2004 Grand Am. Not that i'm looking for a GM, but 180K, 2nd owner since 7K miles. takes care of his vehicles. this thing is SUPER clean. LIttle bit of rust, book on it is about 16-17, he wants that, but has it listed for 2K.. lol.. i offered 1200. plus he needs to fix an A/C issue, slight leak of condensation on passenger side, floorboard apparently, not sure. but ran well, slightly larger engine but smaller car than my Malibu. good thing is the engine is nearly identical....service would be pretty easy and I think those 2004+ 3400's are a better engine. no intake leaking prob's etc..

Also checke dout that pathfinder.. was quoted he wanted 1500 for it from my friend who knows him, asked him yesterday he said 2200.. LOL.... sounded good but didnt get that real "comfortable", let's make this happen sorta feeling.. plus jewin me from what he told our mutual friend,, (his landlord and my lady, for now)... so,, lol.. forget it.. thing was beat up a bit too, great for a winter beater car but not showing up to my next gf's parents' place with it...

so I'll check the battery connection. when I turned the key off the car pretty much lost all power when I parked just now... no power locks working, could be connection. maybe battery going bad... lol.. what else is next?

just saw this... is this fixable or not even worth digging into.. or sketchy ad..?
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/5767402017.html

 

[blaxmax]

ok update.

my bad, head gasket isn't what's leaking... it's the intake gasket.. common problem with these 3100 engines. front of engine, closest corner to driver, but front side. maybe not too bad to fix? way better than head gaskets..

also battery super weak today and yesterday a bit.. not sure why. could be loose connectoin, I'll look into that when it stops raining.. maybe battery going bad. I'll have to run my multimeter across there and see what it's giving. hoping that's an easy thing to troubleshoot.

checked out a car a friend of a friend had for sale, 2004 Grand Am. Not that i'm looking for a GM, but 180K, 2nd owner since 7K miles. takes care of his vehicles. this thing is SUPER clean. LIttle bit of rust, book on it is about 16-17, he wants that, but has it listed for 2K.. lol.. i offered 1200. plus he needs to fix an A/C issue, slight leak of condensation on passenger side, floorboard apparently, not sure. but ran well, slightly larger engine but smaller car than my Malibu. good thing is the engine is nearly identical....service would be pretty easy and I think those 2004+ 3400's are a better engine. no intake leaking prob's etc..

Also checke dout that pathfinder.. was quoted he wanted 1500 for it from my friend who knows him, asked him yesterday he said 2200.. LOL.... sounded good but didnt get that real "comfortable", let's make this happen sorta feeling.. plus jewin me from what he told our mutual friend,, (his landlord and my lady, for now)... so,, lol.. forget it.. thing was beat up a bit too, great for a winter beater car but not showing up to my next gf's parents' place with it...

so I'll check the battery connection. when I turned the key off the car pretty much lost all power when I parked just now... no power locks working, could be connection. maybe battery going bad... lol.. what else is next?

just saw this... is this fixable or not even worth digging into.. or sketchy ad..?
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/5767402017.html

Sounds like the torque converter is going out.

 

[caseyjones955]

Surface voltage on the battery should be ~12.5v but it should be load tested, most auto parts houses can do that and if there is a bad cell it can have proper voltage via multimeter and still fall on its face under load, like when engaging the starter. First you can check both terminals and the ground to make sure they are clean, snug and free of corrosion. If that fails pull the battery and bring to the parts house, often they will charge and load check free. Some auto parts stores can do a complete charging system check if you can drive the car in there, also free.

On the coolant leak, usually head gaskets or head cracks leak coolant into the oil or into a cyl. An external leak is possible but not common. I have seen freeze plugs leak and intake, get a quote and see but yes, a bit less work than a head gasket.

I know there are some GM guys here and they will have to put the approval stamp on another GM vehicle, I cant do that! unk:

 

[radley]

Surface voltage on the battery should be ~12.5v but it should be load tested, most auto parts houses can do that and if there is a bad cell it can have proper voltage via multimeter and still fall on its face under load, like when engaging the starter. First you can check both terminals and the ground to make sure they are clean, snug and free of corrosion. If that fails pull the battery and bring to the parts house, often they will charge and load check free. Some auto parts stores can do a complete charging system check if you can drive the car in there, also free.

On the coolant leak, usually head gaskets or head cracks leak coolant into the oil or into a cyl. An external leak is possible but not common. I have seen freeze plugs leak and intake, get a quote and see but yes, a bit less work than a head gasket.

I know there are some GM guys here and they will have to put the approval stamp on another GM vehicle, I cant do that! unk:

yeah who knows. I'll tighten up the connection and make sure it's clean. it's a bit loose now. checked it real quick. and who knows about the battery, haven't replaced that since I've had the car... could be due soon... other than that I'll have to wait a week to see what it'll cost me from my neighbor's buddy to get the intake leak fixed... they are gone on vacation.... or I can do it myself, probably, should do some research now.....just filled it up again... lol.. definitely needs to be addressed.

I think I'll do my best to secure that steering rack, see if I can fish that mounting bolt through into the receiving threads... coiuldn't get it before but maybe i can now... maybe get some washers since the mounting tab rusted off, thread it in and tighten the hell out of it. tighten the hell out of the passenger one too... get those 2 things done, should be good to go for a bit, til next time, lol. goodness, effing vehicles..

 

[radley]

Oh No! Yay! More Mr. Bill voice! Oh No!!

so last night I tried to Austin Powers my way out from in front of my buddy's truck to head to my friend's place, and my car wasn't havin it... steering issues, getting hard, barely got out of there,, that thing hasn't been right since the get-go isntallation, and last night, cranking on the wheel left and right, it stiffened up, and something broke loose (or something happened......I think, didnt hear anything obvious) as I lost all power steering fluid by the time I got out of there. shouldn't have pushed it like that, but wasn't asking a whole lot any other car would be able to do and like we all have done before. I live on a frontage road so got the car on the street and found I had lost all steering capabilities, and left the fluid on the driveway...sh*t! I think the column came off the pinion after reaching up there to see and feel around a bit.... turn wheel, no tires turn so maybe it simply slipped off.... lol... simply slipped off....that sounds healthy!!!... Will get a ride home after work today and roll my floor jack over the 3 houses my car is away from my place, take wheel off and here we go again. I'm sure I did it in this time though, the thing's been jacked up and I definitley found the limits.... PS fluid all over the driveway, could be lines, busted seal(s) on my NEW rack, lol,,,, amusing at this point. my goodness... wow.
MR. Bill.. yay! yay! yay!

hope to slip the column back on pinion, tighten, and at least get the thing back to my place instead of in front of the neighbor's house..

Yay! Oh No! Yay! (o)

 

[caseyjones955]

Man that sucks! I cant imagine how frustrating this must be. Keep us posted on what you find, it will be interesting to find out what gave.

 

[radley]

Got the thing rolled back into the driveway. starts and all that but the whole rack moves a ton now. didnt have time to look into where leak coming from. turn wheel but wheel dont turn, rack moves instead. it's pretty effed up. had to jack up car to relieve some weight and turn wheel, push, repeat. lol. battery died too, not sure why that is but it was getting worse in the last couple of days. so back on the pedal bike.

I won't be looking at it anytime soon til next week anyways. maybe throw the trickle charger on it, but, for now, can't do much.

not sure what's messed up with the column, could just be that the rack is so loose now, not secure enough to push tie rod out and turn wheel.... will have to get under there and look. column was still securely on pinion, so... wasn't what I thought. I think the rack is just so loose... i'll know more next week. in the meantime, 21 speed Klein is a smooth ride, other than the fact that my cheap China seat hurts!, and it's not shifting smoothly, or sometimes at all.

 

[DRWard]

This is not a corbin or maxgasser but it might help your butt on the Klein 21 speed.

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/s...c-plaid^250394772798-sku^011279536-adType^PLA

 

[radley]

This is not a corbin or maxgasser but it might help your butt on the Klein 21 speed.

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/s...c-plaid^250394772798-sku^011279536-adType^PLA

Haha, thanks! Not a Maxgasser for sure, but there would be plenty of gas comin in n out of there anyways!

I gotta keep it a little stylish so maybe something like this..
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/bell-adults-gel-max-bicycle-seat-pad

 

[radley]

LOOKING at getting a 4runner.... I got your thumbs up on that Casey?

what's the max mileage I should be looking into? most of these are all 200+, is that too much? circa 2000-2002 is probably what I can afford pseudo-comfortably, avoiding a car payment and mandatory full coverage ins.

this one is 280 but looks like in good shape.... jsut on market... 280, dang, that seems steep... if things do need to get done, timing belt etc keep in mind I'd do my best to tackle things like that. but might be thining twice about replacing antoher power steering rack. lol.

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/cto/5772517222.html

 

[caseyjones955]

I can definately thumbs up a 4runner. Keep your expectations realistic about MPG and bring someone with you to help check it out, its best to have a second set of eye because years of abuse/neglect can turn even a Toyota into a headache. Again watch service history and get proof of timing belt service or budget for it. I would not let high mileage scare you as long as everything checks out and you can see it has been taken care of. The 4 runner is akin to the Toyota truck which might be one of the most indestructible vehicles on this side of a 116 chassis diesel Mercedes.

Deduct from price for lack of service history and high mileage but unlike a Chevy/Buick/Pontiac/olds/gmc a Toyota can be expected to last 300k -500k+ with maintainance. I cant tell you how many Toyota trucks I have seen go over the scrap scales with over 500k on the clock.

Get it checked out, check trans fluid if auto and make sure it shifts as it should. Make sure heat and ac work, take it up to highway speeds amd make sure it stays true, a panic stop or two, check tire wear for feathering or shoulder wear. Is it 4x4? a few were not. Make sure hubs and transfer case work. I would own a 4runner any day but I would still examine it closely first.

Another thing I like to look at on aluminum headed engines is for any cross contamination of oil and coolant, Let it run and idle and get good and warm, make sure it doesnt try to overheat and no hint of steam through exhaust.
What year, mileage, engine and trans does it have? Rust? Price?

 

[caseyjones955]

I just looked at that ad, it shows 28k miles, its definately a scam. You will never find one that clean and low mileage for anywhere near that price. My guess w/o looking at book value is thats a $10k vehicle. That one does not exist. If it was that clean with even 280k i would jump on it as it has obviously been cared for. Im glad you posted the link.

 

[radley]

I figured the mileage was off a decimal... and it was 280K... but the price seemed a bit low, even for that....

Anyways I'll keep an eye out. In the meantime I'll deal with the Malibu when I get back from up north on Monday.

I looked up Kelley blue book value in Very good condition with 280K 2002 4runner and it was about $4K.... so half that... yeah too good to be true...

 

[caseyjones955]

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/5752911796.html

Something like this is closer to reality and appears to be a decent deal, if it is what it appears to be, which is a clean, high mileage, well cared for 4runner for not much money. If this one checks out and has service history I would say its a really decent deal. Still with the mileage its prudent to budget for some maintainance.

Have fun on your weekend away!

 

[radley]

Picked it up Sunday. 207K $3350. Timing belt done 10K ago. Tires in good shape. Everything stock. Engine, exterior and interior clean as can be for that age. Need to update 2DIN radio, works well with automatic antenae that goes up when I turn it on..lol... Much different ride than I'm used to with my 03 Malibu. Feels small, skinny. Sit upright quite a bit, hit my head on door jamb once already, keep moonroof cover open for more headroom once inside. Couldn't be any taller and own this. Tough little truck, feels SOLID SOLID. Feel every bump too btw. Not a smooth ride, not as smooth and roomy inside as my friend's 08 Pilot. Easier to work on engine though, more room under hood. Should work well this season for deer hunting, band gear hauling and maybe get a trailer from Harbor Freight soon.... Everything works 100%.

Now gotta get rid of the Malibu sittin' in the driveway.

 

[caseyjones955]

Damn nice!!! congrats on the search being over and admirable upgrade indeed.

It will ride rougher than a car because it's built on a truck platform, unlike the Pilot which is more of a tall station wagon built on a carlike platform. It's also a great vehicle, just different. If your taking it hunting and making it do some work than I believe you made a great choice.

Check tire pressures and shocks, it might be possible to smooth it out some but a truck is a truck is a truck. You get used to it quick, the fit/finish and build quality will make it hard to own a GM again. Awesome truck man!!

 

[poppop]

GREAT!!!So glad for you,Hope everything in great shape,That lil malibu was gonna eat you out of house and home.Good looking ride should last a while.

 

[radley]

Thanks guys, yeah.

Going good so far. NIce to have 4wd with all this snow we got, plus hauling gear for hunting, etc.

Getting ready to replace timing belt, water pump, pulleys, serp belt, the whole kit on 2008 honda pilot. good resources out there for youtube vids, etc.
any tips?

also wanting to repalce rear diff. fluid, transmission fluid also on that rig.
what else has to get done... transfer fluid? i'll have to research that one...

anyways wish me luck on the timing belt job. doin it on saturday. should I loc-tite some bolts?

 

[poppop]

Look for some color on the threads orange blue whatever those will be the ones with loctite.Ive never done a honda pilot.Just make sure you get the marks lined up with the tensonier tight.Some of those tensoners have to be compressed then you stick a small allen through the hole to hold it and remove the allen once the tensorior is bolted down.Most everything else you mentioned is drain and refill.Working off vague memories here.and i cant spell tensonier.Just take out the right plugs and refill with the right stuff.best of luck.May outta get a haynes manual or something like that.

 

[caseyjones955]

I'm super happy that your on the road again with a suitable vehicle, glad its working out and glad you like it! unk:

On the timing belt job, I would buy or download the service manual and do exactly what it says, read through the timing belt section a couple times before you even unlock your toolbox. Make sure you have all the tools and parts needed before you start. It's absolutely critical to get the timing marks lined up correctly and the belt tension correct if adjustable! Get OEM parts, never use the discounted Chinese parts flooding Ebay. If you need loctite the manual should call for it, if so make sure you use the right color. If you cant get a manual then have a look at this, I would do both. IMHO a manual would be a sound investment considering all the work you have planned.

http://www.piloteers.org/forums/18-maintenance/25712-diy-j35a4-timing-belt-replacement.html This link might be a different engine (older Pilot) but I think you can search one out for your year and engine. I think 2wd and 4wd had slightly different engines also but the underhood tag should tell you exactly which engine you have.

I think flat rate (the time it takes a tech with the tools, facilities, air, lift and know-how to complete the job) for an Acura/Honda V6 TB is something like 6 hours so you may run well over that if you are not fluent in timing belt replacements. I think you'll need to jack it up and slide under for part of this, PLEASE use jack stands if you need to go under. Good luck and enjoy!