Crazy K Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Thanks man. Hey Ken, do you think it would be alright if I flushed my cooling system out with plain water, then put in some of the Prestone Flush fluid to remove the nasty slime to clean out my system, or is there another way you'd recommend? I'd like to try the fluid to de-slime my entire cooling system. the moment i realized that you compression tested the car as having sat.... glad to hear it is all good. good start on a flush. I still recommend inspecting the pump, radiator and hoses as described previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Flush it with the Prestone crap. But honestly if you can get it cheap enough I would just take it to a shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Most shops charge around $80 for a flush. Thats way too expensive when I can do as good of a job myself for less than half the cost. I've watched them being done too, the machine isn't pressurized, it just runs off the cooling system in the car. I'm going to tear into it tomorrow and get it all cleaned up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 So 3.1s are the toughest freakin engines ever. I was planning on doing my first coolant flush today, but first I had to give my dad a ride somewhere. So we're driving down the highway and I notice my temp needle start to rise slowly at first, then it quickly pegged itself out wayyyy past 260*... I couldn't stop, I had to take him somewhere important, so I continued to drive... for 20 minutes! Luckily, we got to our destination. I popped the hood and steam immediately starts rolling out.. I look down to see that my upper radiator hose had popped off AGAIN!! I don't know why this hose keeps coming off. Last time it popped off, I caught it right away, it must have done it as I pulled into the parking lot on a short trip, as I noticed water dripping from the car. As said, it was a short trip, and the temperature was still at normal operating temp, not overheating. At that time, I popped the hose back on and tightened down that clamp tightly... and today it popped off again. Back to my story: I let the car sit and cool down until I went back and turned the key to acc and the temp was down to ~160*. I had a full jug of pure antifreeze in the trunk and filled the radiator, then filled the jug with water and filled the rad the rest of the way, started it with the heat on full blast and topped it off. I idled it for a good 10 minutes and it stayed at a steady indicated 190*, so I drove home. It lasted the half-hour drive home, and so far, the hose has stayed on. I'm going to do a cooling system flush either tonight or tomorrow, when my friend gets back. So yeah, 3.1s are freakin tough! That thing had to have been 300*+ for 20 minutes of driving at 60 MPH... And it runs perfectly fine now! I just gained a lot of respect for this motor, thats for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake91 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 holy shit lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderw31 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Wow thats pretty good! I'd say it was the fact that you were on the highway that kept it going, as you had a good amount of airflow through the engine compartment to keep the engine just a bit cooler. The fact that you still have a valence obviously contributed as well But yeah, the 2.8/3.1 is a seriously tough motor. The one in my old 6000 regularly saw greater than redline since the tranny wouldn't upshift from first at WOT at all, or it would randomly downshift into second at 80MPH. The motor NEVER had any issues related to that, and it ran amazing when I sold the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old442man Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 So yeah, 3.1s are freakin tough! You have no idea the kind of abuse that they can take. Trust me. Low oil, Low water, Redline constantly, speed up slow down, maintained high speeds, poor maintenance. If I would have liked Tauruses instead of my Cutlass, I would have killed six of them by now. The only "treat" my car gets is that it gets warmed up before I take off and I put at least a synthetic blend oil in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 This thing had absolutely no coolant in it for 20 minutes of driving I'd say I did a good 5 minutes of 30 MPH city driving too, luckily I never stopped for more than 10 seconds! 2.8/3.1 FTMFW!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 damn. you may be in a market for a new engine sooner than you like. I'd expect to have a cracked head after that. it the hose swollen? what type of clamp is holding it on? pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 No, the hose is perfectly fine, the previous owner replaced the hose and the clamp, because he had the same thing happen to him. He thought the thermostat froze up and caused it to happen, so that is also why he put in the 180* t-stat. I can assure you that the hose was clamped on there TIGHT, so there must be major pressure coming from somewhere to cause it to blow off like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake91 Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 mabey all that gunk in there is causing pressure and once you get it cleaned it wont blow off anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Clogged radiator????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 I guess I'll find out what kind of shape the radiator is in tomorrow, I'll be doing the flush then. I was thinking maybe the radiator cap had somehow gone bad and isn't releasing pressure, so I picked one up at Checker this afternoon. I'll put the new cap on and replace the T-stat with the proper 195 after I flush the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 i was just going to say get a new cap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Yeah, we'll see how she does after a flush, a new T-stat, and a new cap. I never want to see this car do that again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 I would be looking at getting a new rad, sounds like its got major flow restriction issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontiac6ksteawd Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 .. Or as stated earlier, take your current radiator, and go get it boiled out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Alright, I flushed the entire cooling system completely out today, forward and back, inside, out. There was definitely some debris that came out. I spent almost an hour flushing everything completely (I know, a bit excessive, but I wanted it flushed completely). There are a few things I noticed.. I pulled off the upper radiator hose and checked it out, it looks as if someone took a hacksaw to the flange on the radiator where the upper hose attaches! The edge is all ridged and uneven, and there is no lip on the flange... so that is likely part of the reason the hose popped off. I pushed that hose on there as far as it will go and have the hose clamp on there in place and tight, hopefully I don't have that problem again. I pulled the T-stat and it was gunked up and sticking. I cleaned it up the best I could, and its definitely not sticking now, everything moves as it should. My coolant reservoir was completely full of brown sludge on the bottom, clogging the vent.. likely part of the cause of the excess pressure. I removed the tank and flushed that out, filled it with some solvent and cleaned that sucker out. While I had it out, I scrubbed it, so its MUCH cleaner now. I also replaced my radiator cap, just in case it wasn't functioning properly and venting excess pressure to the overflow tank. As per the bottle of Prestone Cleaner directions, I flushed the system completely with pure water, buttoned everything up, filled the rad with the cleaner (and I put a small amount in the reservoir as well), and filled the system completely with water and bled it. So far, so good. Even at idle, the car never goes above an indicated 160*. While driving, it gets down to ~140 (indicated). The bottle says I have to keep the solvent in the system and drive it around for 3-6 hours of drive time (may be spread out over several days), so I will flush it completely again next weekend. Hopefully this solvent gets rid of the remainder of whatever junk may be in the system. After flushing it next weekend, I will then replace the T-stat with the proper 195* unit. AAAAND more bad news.. on the way home from my buddies place, my alternator decided to die. As I left his place, I glanced at my gauges and my volt gauge was slightly lower than normal and my RPMs wouldn't drop below 1000. As I drove home, the volt gauge kept falling and falling, my RPM and speedo gauges were jumping around erratically and I noticed that my torque converter wasn't locking up. Luckily, I rolled into my parking spot, and my volt gauge was a hair above 8 volts. I made it home! This car makes me feel sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 I know exactly what the alt. failing is like! I had one fail in the Taco Bell parking lot! I thought the burning smell was our food, and then I noticed the smoke under the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 This is the second time I've had an alt die on me.. the first time I was driving the 5-speed 89 GP on my first date with this girl in the Twin Cities at 2 AM and the car completely died on us That sucked, but was awesome at the same time. Having the alt die on you sure is an "Oh shit!" feeling! I just kept talking to the car, come on baby, you can make it home. She made it! Barely, but she made it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Why didn't you put in a new t-stat? I know there are a few different types of Prestone Flush did you get like the super heavy duty one or something? I've never heard of leaving it in your system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 I wanted to flush the system out BEFORE putting in the new t-stat. The one in it works fine now that I cleaned the crap out of it. I need to replace the alternator now before it goes anywhere Yes, this is the super heavy duty Prestone Flush "for neglected cooling systems". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 for $200....I wouldn't scoff too hard at throwing a ~$200 more at it..... I'll trade you the Aurora straight up.....LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 I'll have it up and going again shortly GP>Aurora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 I'll have it up and going again shortly GP>Aurora as much as I'll like the Aurora.....sad to say, your GP is still more sexy...and I'd take it in a heartbeat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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