oldscsc Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I love the newer Montes... A little info on the coolant.. GM apparently liked to skimp on it.. Most of the newer GMs always have barely any coolant in the resovoir.. Every single one that I have seen is like that.. And im even talking people who bring theirs in for the 1st oil change at 4000 miles. The brown crap, just coolant goo.. at that mileage, the coolant should be flushed... Ignore the 150K recommendation.. All in all though, it runs like a champ (from what I can tell)... The motor makes a tiny bit of noise (almost like piston slap, but like 1/10th as loud), but it runs really smoothly... The only thing I couldn't get to work was remote start... But then I saw in the manual that it disables itself if the SES light is on... Yes, and when the light is off, remember you have to press the lock button, then remote start. It won't work unless you press lock before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I love the newer Montes... A little info on the coolant.. GM apparently liked to skimp on it.. Most of the newer GMs always have barely any coolant in the resovoir.. Every single one that I have seen is like that.. And im even talking people who bring theirs in for the 1st oil change at 4000 miles. The brown crap, just coolant goo.. at that mileage, the coolant should be flushed... Ignore the 150K recommendation.. All in all though, it runs like a champ (from what I can tell)... The motor makes a tiny bit of noise (almost like piston slap, but like 1/10th as loud), but it runs really smoothly... The only thing I couldn't get to work was remote start... But then I saw in the manual that it disables itself if the SES light is on... Yes, and when the light is off, remember you have to press the lock button, then remote start. It won't work unless you press lock before. Yep!! Hold it for four seconds and then it blinks the turn signals.. I am getting so excited for this car... I've been trying to not get to excited, but I am... Taking it to Auto Zone tonight to pull the codes, and then see where we are at that point.. And I am incredibly relieved that the brown crap is normal(?)... I thought maybe the coolant had boiled in there or mixed with oil or something and made that crap... I wouldn't call it "normal" as it isn't intended, but it is common and nothing to fret about. I'd take the jug off and clean it out before having the cooling system flushed. How does it get so high up in the tank? I understand if it is where the coolant has been setting, but this is all the way up to the top almost... If there was coolant up that high, then it has lost a crapload... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Granted there's no pancake batter in the oil, I would hurry up and buy it already, thats a steal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Granted there's no pancake batter in the oil, I would hurry up and buy it already, thats a steal. Is that the same as milkshake? The oil has just been changed so it looks great.. How much driving would it take to make the oil into milkshake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Granted there's no pancake batter in the oil, I would hurry up and buy it already, thats a steal. Is that the same as milkshake? The oil has just been changed so it looks great.. How much driving would it take to make the oil into milkshake? On long.. but I think your getting worked up over something that isnt a known issues... 3500s use different metal LIM gaskets from the factory.. Even our Impala at 55K has soem brown goo in the overflow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Granted there's no pancake batter in the oil, I would hurry up and buy it already, thats a steal. Is that the same as milkshake? The oil has just been changed so it looks great.. How much driving would it take to make the oil into milkshake? On long.. but I think your getting worked up over something that isnt a known issues... 3500s use different metal LIM gaskets from the factory.. Even our Impala at 55K has soem brown goo in the overflow... What did you mean by "On long"? Since you said the brown goo is normal, I'm not too worried about it... The thing I am worried about, is how the brown goo got so high into the overflow (way above where the hot line is)... Does it just appear, or is that where there was coolant and it disappeared? I apologize for my ignorance... I have pretty much no experience with Dex-Cool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I meant not long... sorry dexcool actually seems to have a bit higher expansion that I have noticed.. Still at that price, buy it, hit up lkqonline on ebay and buy a spare 3500 (vvt) if your worried.. They go for under $500-300 depending on mileage.. Hell, im about to buy a LX9 (3500 non-vvt) from them for $200.. The 3500s are dirt cheap because they are yet to see the failure rates of 3100/3400s -and 100K miles, coolant will have some evaporation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Well, if you don't think I should worry about it, then I won't... My main concern had been that the overflow was run empty, and the engine overheated, but when I ran the car more coolant goes into the overflow like it should, so I doubt its been run dry.. It must have evaporated over the last 100k miles too... I tried wiping some of the brown crap off with my finger, and its dried on, so its been there a while... I plan to go drive it 20 or 30 miles tonight, so I hope that will be sufficient time to get coolant in the oil if its an issue.. I think the main problem is lack of maintenance really... The coolant looks really dark colored, so I'm sure its probably the original coolant in there... But like I said before, the gauge never went above the halfway point yesterday when we drove it (and I drove it kind of hard), and the coolant in the tank never completely disappeared... There also isn't any white smoke coming out either, nor does the exhaust smell sweet... It smells kind of funny when you rev it, but not sweet.. Like you said though, if the 3500 doesn't have any LIM/head gasket issues, I guess I won't worry about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Yeah, the 3500 is definately much improved over the 3100/3400 I never worry about our Impala... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I'm sure its fine. Dex-cool goo has a way of vaporizing and coating the whole overflow tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Thanks guys!!! I'm going to add some coolant and keep an eye on it this evening when I take it up to Auto Zone... Never knew Dex-Cool 'vaporized' and coated the whole tank... Definitely makes me less worried... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Welp.. Drove it about 40 miles this evening... Filled the Dex-Cool up to the cold fill line, and away we went... Drove like 30 miles highway speed, and 10 miles in town... Coolant is like an inch or so above the cold fill line... Not sure how far up in the resevoir it is supposed to go when hot though... Temp gauge never went above halfway hash either during the whole trip, idling and all... I checked the oil and it is golden brown, and no bubbles on the dipstick either... I took off the cap, and I couldn't see squat... There is some angled piece of metal blocking the view into the crankcase, so I have no idea how the oil in there looks... But, 40 miles should show signs of coolant in the oil if it is leaking, correct? Ran the car up to Auto Zone, and the code was major evap leak or something of that nature... Slapped on a new gas cap, reset the code, and the SES light never came back on... So a $12.99 fix to that problem... Now it just needs the coolant flush, tie rod, wheel bearing, brakes/rotors, alignment, and front tires... It could also probably use the struts replaced, but I'm going to get the other stuff fixed first... Quick question, how does the 3500 sound underhood? Is a faint ticking/sewing machine noise normal operation noise of this motor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Yes, Its the injectors firing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Yes, Its the injectors firing... Ah.. Those damn things are loud!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 All right, one more update/question... Last night I topped off the recovery tank with some of the Prestone "dex-Cool" since I am going to get it flushed anyway... I had it above the cool line by about an inch or so when warm... We drive it 40 miles and everything was fine, and the coolant was at the same level.. So we took it out today and drove it a bit, and the coolant was about a half inch under the cool line when warm... What happened to all my coolant? The oil hasn't risen that I can tell, and the oil still looks golden brown on the dipstick (although it is dark brown at the end of the dipstick, but I think that could be because all the oil is running to the end when I pull it out to read it.. I just included this in case it could be important)... Is there a way to see into the crankcase of this motor to see how the oil looks in there? I am also not getting smoke out of the exhaust pipe (idle or revving), and the exhaust doesn't smell like maple syrup (which is what I've heard burning coolant smells like)... I filled the resevoir back up and let it idle in the driveway for about 30 minutes, and then we drove it about 15 miles, and there was no change in the coolant level... Where did all that coolant go that I put in yesterday? I put probably about a quarter of a gallon in yesterday, and it all vanished between parking the car last night, and driving it 10 miles to wash it this morning... Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Have a pressure test done.. Depending on coolant temp (the actual temp) the level can fluctuate a bit.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Have a pressure test done.. Depending on coolant temp (the actual temp) the level can fluctuate a bit.. That's what I've been afraid of... I was wondering if maybe the radiator was low, and when it cooled off it 'sucked' in some more coolant or something... But that doesn't explain why the level was down when the car got hot...It definitely should have been hotter temp yesterday than it was today.. We drove it about an hour yesterday, and maybe 10 minutes today before I saw the coolant level was down... I would think that if it was burning the coolant, the oil would be bubbly on the dipstick, or the car would at least be smoking... Hmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 I think your paranoid about nothing really, just drive the car and enjoy it.. Worry about it if the low coolant light comes on. Serious, your low coolant light will come on when the overflow is empty, there will still be a full radiator.. Your just seeing an anomily (sp) as the coolant level will naturally fluctuate, sometimes with no rhyme or reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 I think your paranoid about nothing really, just drive the car and enjoy it.. Worry about it if the low coolant light comes on. Serious, your low coolant light will come on when the overflow is empty, there will still be a full radiator.. Your just seeing an anomily (sp) as the coolant level will naturally fluctuate, sometimes with no rhyme or reason The reason I have been worrying is that this car doesn't have a low coolant light... According to the owners manual, there is only a light and accompanying DIC message if an overheat condition exists... And I'm just used to the coolant in my 95 and 99.. The level is always the same in the overflow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 I'm going to make an appointment with the GM dealer here for the next week or two to get the system flushed and pressure tested as well.. It's probably nothing to worry about like you said Bob, but something just doesn't seem right... I suppose the radiator could just have had air in it and driving it/letting it set overnight somehow worked it out... Buck/Bob, how quickly do your motors warm up via the gauge? This car is to the first hash in less than 30 seconds of driving.. Never goes over half though... I suppose I'm just used to my old cars... This new stuff is foreign to me.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 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.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 That'd be great Bob, thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 Yeah I remember my moms warming up real quick.... that is when it was operating correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88red4cyl Posted July 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Yeah I remember my moms warming up real quick.... that is when it was operating correctly. What happened to hers Buck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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