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| User: "patience5" |
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| Title: Re: so my car is sick |
05 May 2005 09:18:38 AM |
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A few quarts a month isn't so bad. A few quarts an hour, and you've
got serious problems. Can you tell where the leaks are? Are you
losing coolant (the green stuff that is in your radiator)? Engine oil?
transmission fluid (red colored if it is an automatic transmission),
brown if it is a manual)?
Before trying to figure this out, I would get some cardboard to lay on
and some "orange hand cleaner" ("Gojo" is a popular brand) from the
auto parts store. This hand cleaner works wonderfully, and doesn't
stink like the old mechanic's hand cleaner. No water necessary. Rub
orange stuff on dirty skin, then wipe off with paper towel. Works like
magic. Also, before crawling under car, make sure you are on flat
ground, emergency brake is pulled (and car in "park" if automatic
transmission). If you suspect that emergency brake is not working,
chock the wheels, front and back. This is a good practice, even IF the
emergency brake is operative.
If you can figure out from what component the leaks are coming, and
from where, I might be able to give helpful feedback...
Christopher
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| User: "liah" |
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| Title: Re: so my car is sick |
05 May 2005 02:42:45 PM |
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transmission... it runs out after each usage. oil, about a quart a
month, and power steering fluid... little leak. but hey, my windshield
washer fluid container is holding up GRrrrrrrrreat.
i know how to work on trucks but this car doesn't really have room to
move around inside. well, it'll make a nice flower bed or dog house on
someones lawn someday.
meow
liah
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| User: "patience5" |
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| Title: Re: so my car is sick |
05 May 2005 08:33:50 PM |
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Liah,
Re. transmission (your big issue) the unhappy scenario is if the seal
is blown between the engine and the transmission. I'm not absolutely
certain, but I don't think this can be fixed without removing the
transmission. If the transmission is an automatic, and the oil is all
leaking out of the pan which screws to the bottom, this is a cheap and
easy fix. I have also heard of the filters becoming plugged on
automatic transmissions, causing the transmission to puke fluid- also a
cheap and easy fix if this is the problem. If the fluid is leaking
past the rubber seal where the driveshaft comes out of the back of the
transmission, then this could be a (relatively) cheap fix, for often,
with those seals, dirt and abrasive road dust gets in between the
driveshaft and the seal, and both the shaft and the seal are become
worn. The auto stores sell "sleeves" to fix this problem. To fix,
you disconnect the first U-joint aft of the transmission on the
driveshaft, pull the shaft out of the transmission, replace the worn
seal at the back of the transmission, and slide the thin metal sleeve
over the shaft, gently tapping it down the shaft until it covers the
worn area on the driveshaft. This "press fit" holds the sleeve on the
shaft. The shaft is then reinstalled, with the outer circumference of
the sleeve making a snug fit with the new seal on the transmission.
My GMC Safari van developed the "unhappy scenario". It has an
automatic transmission. Under heavy load, the transmission would puke
fluid from the seal between the engine and transmission. They had to
pull the transmission. It turned out that a brass seal, aft of the
rubber seal at the front end of the transmission, had seized onto the
shaft due to overheating. So: new front plate for front of
transmission, new brass seal, new rubber seal, rebuilt torque-converter
and $1000 bill. :(
Any chance you're luckier than I was?
Christopher
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| User: "gravity" |
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| Title: Re: so my car is sick |
05 May 2005 08:53:25 PM |
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sorry to hear about the car. i had trouble out of 2 cars i owned. the rest
worked much better. i have owned 8 total??
i should move into the city and sell my car. i could use the metro rail.
m.
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| User: "patience5" |
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| Title: Re: so my car is sick |
05 May 2005 11:45:03 PM |
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Dear Liah,
It just occurred to me that you may be driving a front-wheel-drive car
with a transaxle (my mind is kind of stuck in rear-wheel-drive truck
and van mode, since that's what I've owned for the past decade). If
you own a front wheel drive car, then there is still a possibility that
tapered & splined drive-shafts are used to drive the front wheels (in
which case, the sleeve-fix may still apply). Best bet would be to check
with the Chilton or Hanes manuals, which at 20 bucks a pop, are
worthwhile investments, if you still have any hope for the car. The
only difference (if a leaking drive shaft is your problem) would most
likely be that the driveshaft to the wheel is bolted to the splined
shaft sticking out of the transmission, instead of connected with a
U-Joint. Anyway, I'm hoping you are going to take a good peak, and get
real filthy, and that the news is 'gonna be good. I've got my fingers
crossed for you!
And when you bang your elbow; and are smeared with an amalgamation of
leaked oil and road dust, and accidentally burn your arm on the hot
exhaust, you are free to Curse To The High Heavens with the most vulgar
and foulest curses come to mind. Such is the Exclusive, God-Given
RIGHT, of Those Who Toil On Searing-Hot, Filthy Mechanical Things...
Express yourself! :)
Christopher
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