Frank Turley Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Was in Scottsdale AZ a month ago visiting relatives, and they had a tiny, ground floor patio as part of the apartment complex. At over 100 degrees, we would occasionally sit outside in the patio and visit, especially after sundown. About the heat, my niece had a tower fan turned on and she had a spritzer water bottle. Every now and then, she would spray all in attendance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Keeping cool in the desert is surprisingly easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 If you have water....My current pickup is a 1989 Nissan, 6 cyl, 176K miles and it's due to be replaced the next big repair or when it turns thirty. Right now it's time for my wife to get a different vehicle as hers is over 227K miles and I would like for her to get it before we head for Quad-State! (1500 miles each way) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Ok, 89 Nissan should have a printed circuit for wiring, basically a plastic sheet with flat copper "wires" on it, the gauges and dash lights essentially plug into this. Cleaning the terminals that plug in to the plastic sheet and the copper on the sheet that it plugs into with an eraser, a dab of dialectic grease (the stuff they sell in the tiny little package for spark plug boots) then find and clean the dash ground. A wire loop bolted to the under structure of the dash. Once you find it, you can check the same wire in the terminal for resistance/continuity. The hardest part is getting the bezel loose with out breaking the clips. That should cure the problem, unless it's the hot side of the circuit, but you can easily trace the circuit on the plastic sheet and hook test the terminal, voltage will certainly tell you if you have isues in the circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 Wife went to phoenix with this past saturday with both boys. I sent them in the Car because the Van is iffy in the heat and the car, a 2000 Alero has never had a problem. I prepped the car Friday. Oil and Anti Freeze were good, tires correct insurance and registration correct (I don't trust her around speed limits. SOmetimes they are treated as minimums. ) Saturday was drive down then visit different friends' houses that live no where near each other. Car ran like a champ with the AC on high the whole time and temp stayed just below middle as it always does. After Wet and Wild on Sunday they were going back to Flagstaff to spend the night then come up the rest of the way after seeing my Brother's Family. Car Over Heated at the Bloody Basin exit. After an hour in "hell", according to the oldest son, they dumped water in and limped back to New River. The coolant was empty. She put in a gallon and they were off. Just outside of flagstaff oil light came on and car "ground to a halt". Thank goodness a Ziggy Marley concert just finished because there were a lot of folks stopping to help. Everyone comin out was in a good mood. Dip stick was dry. SOmeone went to get some oil for her and they got it started. Over heated again in Flagstaff and another gallon of Antifreeze got them to the hotel. My son, 14, decided they should not take any chances and more oil was needed no matter what the dipstick showed. I so need to get on the how to maintain the car program. I picked them up and towed the Truck back yesterday. Coolant was empty, but oil was still in there. Probably two quarts over full. Engine makes a funny sound but starts and idles. Hopefully all is not lost. Wife and boys are fine which is all that matters to me. All I can figure is the heat opened a leak in the coolant and oil. My youngest, 10, said he was never, ever, ever, going to Phoenix in the summer again. Then asked if teachers made enough money to move to Telluride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Did you fill him in on the fact that teachers are infact indentured servants?! Lol. First thing to note, I grew up down that way and I still carry two gallons of 50/50 and enugh oil for a compleatly change (ATF as well) and never remove the thermostat as its a guaranties overheat at a long light on a 115+ day. The exmech in me wanders if loss of oil led to overheating or if overheating let to oil loss (ring collapse, head crack/warp) anyway, glad to hear the family is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 He was definitely filled in. I was wondering those same things. Antifreeze is empty. There is a leak there. The oil is over full but oldest admitted to over filling it. It is not milky or peanut buttery on the dip stick. I no longer have what I need to get under a car that low so a mechanic is draining the oil sometime today I hope. Being a boat mechanic for a few years I am very familiar with over heated motors, the damage it can do and how much it costs, for both closed and open cooled motors. There were many times the dip stick did not show a problem. Needless to say I am worried. This is vehicle number 2 with major repair needs in the last 3 weeks. Telluride is definitely off the list now. I took the Business truck in Monday before I brought the car home because the side was painted with oil. Someone else's car must have blown something as they passed me. No problems with the business truck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Compression test and chemical test of the cooling system are in orde r (for those that don't know, even if the coolant isn't being forced out by escaping exquisite gasses you can detect the byproducts of combustion if you have a head gasket leak) and dropping the pan and pulling the valve cover to look at the rod, main and cam be rings are in order. As bad as low oil and two overheating events (especially with stalling) sounds I would be betting on a long block. As poor quality as I have seen in the rebuild market I would go with new or guarantied used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 Once the oil is drained and refilled to the correct level I can do the compression test. The rest will need to be done by a mechanic and we are now looking for an honest one. In the last three weeks we have been lied to twice, and paid for an alignment they knew, or at least should have known would not hold. Three different shops. Two of them in town. Thank goodness I have a storage customer who has been a mechanic of one sort or another his whole life and made quite a bit of money so he must be good. He is also the most honest person I have ever met. Hard to get a hold of these days as he is "semi retired" and is always traveling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Luckaly My dad and I are retired techs. Leak down test, compression test, cooling system leek test, then get it on a rack and look for leaks, an oil pressure gage will tell us if the cam bearings are trashed, but it takes inspection on the mains and cam (as a marine mechanic I am preaching to the chuire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 On 6/8/2016 at 4:25 PM, Charles R. Stevens said: as a marine mechanic I am preaching to the chuire Everything except the rack. In truth most boats are open system cooled so mostly easy to diagnose. Steam cleaned spark plugs or steam evidence around the head is the most common tells. The closed systems are more time consuming. Show the plug ends and crush their vacation plans. If we could not find the issue the motor had to come out. Most folks would opt for pulling the heads first. Just pulling the motor was, with nothing else, 4 hours of labor charge depending on the boat. Boat engine compartments and boats in general are designed by failed bitter engineers who hate mechanics. One boat we had to separate the top from the hull just to get the motor out. That was a xxxxxxxx nightmare. We tried to explain the process to the owner over the phone and it would be cheaper to replace the motor. He said no and gave us all the reasons why we were wrong and sent an e-mail telling us to diagnose and repair. He obviously did not understand because he xxxx a brick when he came in and the boat was in two pieces all the seats were removed (so the top did not buckle) and the motor was on an engine stand with pieces covering a bench. I will be dusting off the scope and other items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Try pulling the cab on a ford truck. Lol. Head and head gasket leaks can go either way, exaust into the cooling jacket or coolant into the cylinder. Low oil could cause overheating as could a failed stat, plugged radiator etc. first you need to see if the engine is hurt and how bad, then we need to figure out why it got hot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 Apparently I don't have the tools for a coolant pressure test so I have someone doing all the tests for me. Talked to that mechanic friend of mine who is, of course out of town. He said Alero engines do not survive trauma well. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I have cheated and used a new cap and a rubber tiped blow gun, remove the overflow hose and goose it with air this will give you 15-16 psi. You'll have to judge leak down by feeling the upper radiator hose. Mom with your tech, I'm betting against minor repaired, and expect atleast milling the head and barings. Cheaper to get a good used unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 We just found out the transmission on the Van is going out so two cars down. Time to start looking for a car. Sometimes it doesn't pay to get up in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 At least the van gave you warning instead of total failure in the afternoon heat and in heavy traffic. The trunk of the wife's car has at least one gallon of 50/50 antifreeze for the engine, and one gallon of distilled water for the driver, or the engine if needed, several quarts of motor oil and a couple quarts of ATF which can save you many dollars when compared to the garage prices. Next is a 8x10 or so sheet of plastic, a magnesium fire starter, a couple of bic lighters, and some MIR or quick food. There is a roll of survey flagging for distress signals. Most of this has been covered in another thread. It will not prevent a break down but can make the experience survivable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 On 6/8/2016 at 7:18 PM, Charles R. Stevens said: Try pulling the cab on a ford truck. Lol. Cab's been off the 08 at least 6 times now for repair work... In Dec visiting family when the truck broke down I couldn't find anyone who would even look at it because the cab might have to come off. That included 2 different Ford dealers! My mechanic just bought a new shop and the 1st question I asked is if the new bays will be high enough to pull and lift the cab. yesterday I saw the tell tale signs of another radiator leak. It goes in Monday for the mechanic to double check my diagnosis. If so it will be Radiator #5 in the truck... 6 months on #4, and we still haven't hit 95K on the clock. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have to pull about 7 other radiators off to get to the main one that always leaks. Stupid engineers from Ford. Parts place will warranty the old radiator ( again) but I'll still be out $500-600 for the labor. All because somebody though plastic and alum would work well together as a radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Contact the manifacturer if this is more than the second of their radiators, often if you and your mechanic pitch a fit they will pay his labor. Any shop with a twin post should be able to lift it, they are just lazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 My pickup made it the 5+ hours up to the summer camp and back down. At random intervals the gauges work for a short while and the engine temps were OK even if my temps were warm without running the AC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 The advantage of running "old iron" TP. I bet an afternoon with a Philips screw driver and a pencil eraser and we can fix your gage issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natenaaron Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 News on the car finally came back. Definitely a blown head gasket but evidence also points to a cracked head, but no antifreeze in the oil. It is funny when people momentarily forget that I was boat mechanic. I went in and he told me what was wrong, then said "the good news is the heads are only 300 dollars apiece." That is low but then I explained the best part about head gasket or head replacement jobs, in the eyes of the shop, is the large amount of labor involved. I was right the labor cost is 2 .5 times the cost of the heads if nothing else is wrong. The car only has 50,000 miles on it so it is worth saving in that respect. It is 16 years old so other parts are deteriorating due to age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 At 1150 what is a garantied used long block? Or for that mater can you up grade with 2300? (Probably not but...) I would seriously look at a long block, hot and low oil, hot enugh to stall the engine... The bottom end is really suspect... Rings, mains, rod and cam barrings (if it isn't overhead cam) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I remember my Father teaching me to clean off oxidation from TV tuners back in the 60's with a pencil eraser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Same principle... Mild abrasive to clean off copper and brass terminals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Since the accident I've only tried working on a vehicle a couple times. I've turned into THAT old guy, you know the one who THINKS he can repair a problem and by tie he gets done it's cheaper to buy a new vehicle? This thread is doing two things in my mind: first it's reminding me of the day when I worked on vehicles. Second it's pointing out how far out of current I am, even if I could maintain a train of thought long enough to trouble shoot a problem. I only checked in to see what terminals you were cleaning with mild abrasives. Oh there is a third thing this thread reminds me of, how much I didn't like working on vehicles. I wasn't bad at it I'd just rather be doing something else. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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