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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:45 am 
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I just drove over 400 miles this weekend, and the only sign was that there was a slight loss of coolant (about one quart). This morning, I pulled into work after traveling about 20 miles, check gauges light came on....coolant temp was at 254 degrees. I killed the engine, popped the hood, coolant spray was everywhere, and I noticed the forward coolant elbow under the alternator was split wide open. No prior issues other than the slight coolant loss. It's being towed to the shop as I speak. What could I possibly be looking at? **No white smoke or anything like that - really hoping it's not a head gasket.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:48 am 
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Find a set of the aluminum coolant elbows and expect to pay around 1-1.5hrs labor.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:50 am 
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I only have that one car, so if they're not locally available, I don't know that I can. Question: Is 254 degrees high enough to have caused permanent other damage to the engine?

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:59 am 
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If you can't get the aluminum ones, you'll still be able to find the plastic ones. Better than nothing.

254° is hot, but not even in the red. It wasn't long term and you shut it off. You should be fine.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:05 pm 
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:stupid:

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:15 pm 
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What would be some of the things that would cause the elbow to break? My mechanic's first guess was too much pressure....but what would cause that much pressure to build up? Or.....do those elbows just sometimes do that??!

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:18 pm 
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The simple answer is that they just do that, because they're the scum of the earth, and the GM designer who thought them up should be stoned with broken coolant elbows...

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:24 pm 
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00Beast wrote:
The simple answer is that they just do that, because they're the scum of the earth, and the GM designer who thought them up should be stoned with broken coolant elbows...


Ah, I see. Would that also possibly account for a slow coolant loss before the elbow went completely? I drove 200 miles to Illinois and noticed that I had to add about a quart to the overflow reservoir. I didn't check it when I got back driving another 200 miles because it was late at night.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:27 pm 
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Yes it could, if it had cracked before it finally burst.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 4:37 pm 
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Well, the good news is that the local Napa started carrying the aluminum elbows, so that's what we got. Bad news is - and this is where I would like some opinions - he refilled the coolant and said that it was bubbling once every couple minutes or so, and based solely on that, it was determined to be the beginnings of a failing head gasket. Any other opinions? Is 20 minutes necessarily enough to bleed all the air out? Or.....am I looking at a head gasket?

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 4:44 pm 
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Have your LIM gaskets been replaced with the aluminum redesign ones?

Have you replaced the UIM?

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 5:23 pm 
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I would give it some time. Do you know if the thermostat has a hole in it to vent the air. 20min of idling would not even be enough time for the thermostat to open. I would drive it a little and watch the temp and monitor the coolant level. You may have to add a little to top it off.


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 5:30 pm 
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Bubbling is normal after refilling coolant. The car is "burping" itself of the extra air that got in. Head gaskets are pretty solid on 3800's.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:06 pm 
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01bonneSC wrote:
Have your LIM gaskets been replaced with the aluminum redesign ones?

Have you replaced the UIM?


No, they haven't. I did the upper because the classic EGR hole showed up, so I had to do that one, I didn't have the $$ to do the lowers at the same time. The oil, however, looks fantastic. I use Mobile One, there's about 4000 miles or so on it, and it looks nice and almost clear still, no signs of any foreign contaminants in it at all.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:17 pm 
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myfirstbonnie wrote:
I would give it some time. Do you know if the thermostat has a hole in it to vent the air. 20min of idling would not even be enough time for the thermostat to open. I would drive it a little and watch the temp and monitor the coolant level. You may have to add a little to top it off.


I actually don't know if he drove it first to get it up to temp and THEN let it idle. I would certainly assume so. I don't know about the hole in the thermo. If that's something that you usually have to do yourself, I would say 'no'.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:20 pm 
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nos4blood70 wrote:
Bubbling is normal after refilling coolant. The car is "burping" itself of the extra air that got in. Head gaskets are pretty solid on 3800's.


I've heard that it's very rare for a head gasket to go on these engines, which is why I'm getting second (and third and fourth) opinions on it. This particular mechanic, from what I have seen, tends to err on the side of "worst case scenario", but he seemed pretty adamant that the head gasket was starting to go. I wish I could have been there to see how many bubbles and how big they were, but I was not.

I am getting a fumes test done probably Wednesday evening. I bet there's a more proper term for it, but that test they do for exhaust fumes in the coolant.

The good news is that the car 'felt' the same and drove the same on the way back from the mechanic. I was happy about that.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:23 pm 
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LIM gaskets would have been not much more labor AND the coolant elbows would have been at the same time. Now it will be twice the cost. Live and learn.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:34 pm 
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myfirstbonnie wrote:
You may have to add a little to top it off.


I checked both my overflow reservoir and the radiator itself while the engine was cool after work. Radiator was topped off and full. The coolant reservoir though, wasn't to the "full cold" line. So I drove it around, got it up to temp, bought some Prestone mixes with any, and I had to add probably 1/3 gallon to "top it off". The distance traveled since the elbows got replaced this afternoon was only about 14 miles or so. Engine oil looks great. Is 1/3 gallon a typical amount to top off the reservoir after that sort of job, or is it excessive?

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:16 pm 
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After I did my LIM gaskets, it took me several short trips (topping off after each trip) to finally get the coolant full again. I would say over the course of the "top-offs," I probably added a gallon or so. This has been the case for each of the 4 LIM gasket repairs I have done.

A good way to know if your topped off is to keep checking your heat. The last component to fill up with coolant is the heater core. During my first couple trips, I had no heat. Once is started to fill up, the heat came back.

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 4:39 pm 
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yonkerse wrote:
After I did my LIM gaskets, it took me several short trips (topping off after each trip) to finally get the coolant full again. I would say over the course of the "top-offs," I probably added a gallon or so. This has been the case for each of the 4 LIM gasket repairs I have done.

A good way to know if your topped off is to keep checking your heat. The last component to fill up with coolant is the heater core. During my first couple trips, I had no heat. Once is started to fill up, the heat came back.


That makes sense about the heater core, and that would have been a good test. Problem is, it had heat as soon as I picked it up from the shop. I checked it before I left for work this morning, and also at lunch, and the coolant level is holding steady. Granted, I only drive 7 miles to work.....but yesterday I only drove it about 14. So, we'll see what happens. I'm getting that vapor test done tomorrow night, so I'll know more of the real story then.

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