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3500 V6 Questions... Update 7/23


88red4cyl
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Yeah I remember my moms warming up real quick.... that is when it was operating correctly.

 

What happened to hers Buck?

 

I don't know, I thought it had a blockage until one day I looked in the radiator and saw NO water...

 

I really don't understand her cooling system and its problems... I don't drive it enough.

 

I do know it makes gurgling noises, takes a while to warm up, and will NOT warm up in mornings until its driven or given throttle. Last winter she wedged a ice scraper to keep the gas down while letting it warm up.... YEAH........

 

I'm sure it doesn't help that it has only been floored three times in 120,000 miles... all by me... LOL

 

Oh hell!! Did you/she ever figure out where all the coolant went?

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Yeah I remember my moms warming up real quick.... that is when it was operating correctly.

 

What happened to hers Buck?

 

I don't know, I thought it had a blockage until one day I looked in the radiator and saw NO water...

 

I really don't understand her cooling system and its problems... I don't drive it enough.

 

I do know it makes gurgling noises, takes a while to warm up, and will NOT warm up in mornings until its driven or given throttle. Last winter she wedged a ice scraper to keep the gas down while letting it warm up.... YEAH........

 

I'm sure it doesn't help that it has only been floored three times in 120,000 miles... all by me... LOL

 

Oh hell!! Did you/she ever figure out where all the coolant went?

being that it is DEX-COOL... it needed flushing about 70,000 miles ago.

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Yeah I remember my moms warming up real quick.... that is when it was operating correctly.

 

What happened to hers Buck?

 

I don't know, I thought it had a blockage until one day I looked in the radiator and saw NO water...

 

I really don't understand her cooling system and its problems... I don't drive it enough.

 

I do know it makes gurgling noises, takes a while to warm up, and will NOT warm up in mornings until its driven or given throttle. Last winter she wedged a ice scraper to keep the gas down while letting it warm up.... YEAH........

 

I'm sure it doesn't help that it has only been floored three times in 120,000 miles... all by me... LOL

 

Oh hell!! Did you/she ever figure out where all the coolant went?

 

No, for all I know its like that again. She drives 100% in the highway so it stays cool... apparently... LOL

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Yeah I remember my moms warming up real quick.... that is when it was operating correctly.

 

What happened to hers Buck?

 

I don't know, I thought it had a blockage until one day I looked in the radiator and saw NO water...

 

I really don't understand her cooling system and its problems... I don't drive it enough.

 

I do know it makes gurgling noises, takes a while to warm up, and will NOT warm up in mornings until its driven or given throttle. Last winter she wedged a ice scraper to keep the gas down while letting it warm up.... YEAH........

 

I'm sure it doesn't help that it has only been floored three times in 120,000 miles... all by me... LOL

 

Oh hell!! Did you/she ever figure out where all the coolant went?

being that it is DEX-COOL... it needed flushing about 70,000 miles ago.

 

Yeah... Would not flushing it make it just 'disappear' though?

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It hasn't ever been flushed. In fact, she tried to get it flushed and they advised against it because the system is 'weak'

 

How is it weak?

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It hasn't ever been flushed. In fact, she tried to get it flushed and they advised against it because the system is 'weak'

 

How is it weak?

 

IDK, I guess they thought the gaskets were going to break or something

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It hasn't ever been flushed. In fact, she tried to get it flushed and they advised against it because the system is 'weak'

 

How is it weak?

 

IDK, I guess they thought the gaskets were going to break or something

 

That's not a good sign... :lol: I figured I would take it to the dealer to get it flushed... Surely they will flush it for me...

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more likely than not doing a flush will cause ALL weak points to fail. you will have to replace the waterpump and the radiator most likely, but the newer engines had better gaskets than the old style everyone knows fails.

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more likely than not doing a flush will cause ALL weak points to fail. you will have to replace the waterpump and the radiator most likely, but the newer engines had better gaskets than the old style everyone knows fails.

 

Were you talking to Buck, or just as a general statement?

 

So you're saying not to get the coolant changed then?

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It will warm up very quickly!! Great thing in cold weather..

 

BTW, I found a few TSBs released about very minor coolant leaks.. I will post more about them maybe tomorrow as im about to hit the bed for the night..

 

Just wondering if you had gotten a chance to pull up those tsb's or not... I checked the level yesterday, and it is barely lower than it was after I filled it to the hot line Thursday... Oil is still golden brown as well, and the level doesn't appear to be raising either (although it seems to be turning dark a little faster than I would think 100 mile should).. What would one look for on a dipstick to indicate coolant and oil mix (since looking into the crankcase is not an option on this motor)?

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more likely than not doing a flush will cause ALL weak points to fail. you will have to replace the waterpump and the radiator most likely, but the newer engines had better gaskets than the old style everyone knows fails.

 

Were you talking to Buck, or just as a general statement?

 

So you're saying not to get the coolant changed then?

sorry! I meant doing a coolant flush on a system with very bad coolant will most likely cause failures on those areas. that is the reason they have probably said not to do a coolant flush on buck's mom's car...

 

in a case of such a car i would do a coolant flush and watch for imminent failure of the WP and radiator, even the heater core. basically the coolant has become corrosive and once you flush it the damage areas give out under the pressure of the new coolant.

 

 

it never fails... actually... I haven't had this happen on a W-body, but every A-body i have worked on has had this happen. :willynilly: :willynilly: :willynilly: :willynilly: :willynilly: actually I have never HAD to change a waterpump on one of my own W-bodies.

 

 

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more likely than not doing a flush will cause ALL weak points to fail. you will have to replace the waterpump and the radiator most likely, but the newer engines had better gaskets than the old style everyone knows fails.

 

Were you talking to Buck, or just as a general statement?

 

So you're saying not to get the coolant changed then?

sorry! I meant doing a coolant flush on a system with very bad coolant will most likely cause failures on those areas. that is the reason they have probably said not to do a coolant flush on buck's mom's car...

 

in a case of such a car i would do a coolant flush and watch for imminent failure of the WP and radiator, even the heater core. basically the coolant has become corrosive and once you flush it the damage areas give out under the pressure of the new coolant.

 

 

it never fails... actually... I haven't had this happen on a W-body, but every A-body i have worked on has had this happen. :willynilly: :willynilly: :willynilly: :willynilly: :willynilly: actually I have never HAD to change a waterpump on one of my own W-bodies.

 

 

 

That makes sense.. How are you able to tell if the coolant has become corrosive? Does it just 'look' bad?

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You do an alkaline test using test strips on it..

 

And the TSBs only pertained to minor coolant leaks coming from the coolant bypass off of the front left side of the engine around the waterpump area...

 

Just flush the coolant system.. If something fails it was going to weather you flushed it or not. The materials making our coolant systems these days are 10 times stronger and longer lasting than 10-20 years ago...

 

The coolant doesnt really become corrosive, its just the corrosion inhibitors get worn out. Water will naturally corrode stuff :wink:

 

Pressure test the system

Find leak and repair if there is one

Flush coolant system

Add coolant system sealer (preventive maint on higher mileage cars)

Install new radiator cap

Drive

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I went through the EXACT same questioning process when I settled on my new 2008 LaCrosse. It was largely based on the fact that I could get the 3800 V6 that has served me so well.

 

Backing up to the 3500 V6, if it's in a MC, it implies that it has VVT (variable valve timing). This is what I was concerned about. However, checking the "dot system" on Consumer Reports, there seem to be NO engine problems reported for the Impala V6 from this year forward and it gets the full "red dot" for "all thumbs up." I've also talked to taxi drivers in Las Vegas that I saw in Impalas with 3500 V6s and they were approaching 100,000 miles without problems. I guess VVT with the "self-adjusting" cam isn't as innovative as I thought it was, though this was a first for GM in that it was a "cam-in-block" application, as opposed to being on an OHC application.

 

I think it should be ok. I like the Monte Carlo and my new LaCrosse is the first sedan I've ever owned. Had I bought the MC, it would have made me a GM mid-size coupe driver from the time I was 16!

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