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1998 Chevy Malibu Six Cyl 269,000 miles.
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cdomis1
New User
May 12, 2009, 10:54 AM
Post #1 of 2
(2681 views)
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1998 Chevy Malibu Six Cyl 269,000 miles.
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I'll start with what's been going on with my car recently. For the longest time my coolant would leak out of the car, quickly when the car was running, and more slowly if it just sat there. I had to fill my reservoir up a lot during the winter.
Within the last week or so, when I would slow my car down into traffic and idle, my oil light would come on. I have fresh oil in the engine, though it's been four to five months since I put a new oil filter. Yesterday evening, I was driving down our interstate when my car died as I was going down a hill. I rode the momentum for as long as I could. All my alert lights that come on during start up(oil, battery, check engine, coolant...) came on, and subsequently I was trapped between two lanes of funneled traffic between construction barriers. Long story short, this guy helped me get out through some orange barrels on down the road.
Now, as with the aforementioned coolant problem, my car has overheated into red a time or two, so there have been times when I'd sit next to the side of the road, waiting for my engine to cool before putting water in it. This time was similar; there was a lot of pressure on the reservoir cap, so I waited awhile to attempt to put water into it, however, before my car died, the temp was just about in the middle, not overheating really. I checked my oil just in case, no problems at all, the oil was just at full. When I checked my reservoir finally, it was empty, so I filled it back up.
Eventually I was picked up by friends and had to place the car on a dolly. I could get the car to start for a few moments, but only by pumping the gas pedal as I started. Today I tried to start it, no dice. The engine turns over and attempts to start, and I tried pumping the gas pedal like in last night, and it sounds like it helps, but it just doesn't catch. There also appears to be an oil leak somewhere on the sides, but as I said, there's still plenty of oil in it.
I was in the midst of selling this car in order to get a new one. It's given me a lot of hell over the three or so years I've had it and cost me overall about as much money as a new used car would be: getting the frame welded back together, replacing fuel pumps, buying antifreeze all winter, replacing the power steering... I just want it fixed to the point of getting more than just scrap for it.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
May 12, 2009, 2:19 PM
Post #2 of 2
(2674 views)
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Re: 1998 Chevy Malibu Six Cyl 269,000 miles.
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I assume this car has the 3.1 engine. this engine has a known problem with intake gaskets leaking. This can cause coolant to leak into either the combustion chamber, into the engine oil or outside onto the engine. If the car is severely overheated, it's then prone to head gasket leaks and cracked heads.
The first thing you need to do is pressure test the cooling system with all the spark plugs removed to determine where your coolant is going. If you see any coolant on any of the plugs during removal, you found your problem.
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