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Post by COMpulse on Jun 7, 2018 15:51:08 GMT -5
It overflowed hard. I assume there's some huge bubble pushing the entire mass of coolant up. I filled the funnel around 1/3, and it overflowed after running the car for 20+ mins. The funnel extension may have softened, or I didn't have it shoved into the elbow piece all the way. But the weight of the funnel filling completely was too much for it.
The radiator cap is at an angle, so I have to use an elbow piece.
I think I need to shut the car off as soon as the coolant level begins to rise, wait for it to go down, add more coolant, and repeat, and repeat. Gonna buy two bottles of coolant on the way home. And I'm going to try to prop the funnel up with something.
I'm planning to go to the dealership soon anyway. I could just have them do it. But they'd probably charge me $100.
Hopefully I haven't damaged the engine from driving it around with air in the coolant lines.
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Post by philg on Jun 8, 2018 7:20:31 GMT -5
Is there a bleeder valve on the thermostat housing and if so, I assume you've already tried to use it to bleed the system?
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Post by COMpulse on Jun 8, 2018 8:45:43 GMT -5
There is a bleeder valve on the thermostat housing. Every time I've ever opened it, coolant has come out. Never bubbles or hissing. Maybe I'm not understanding how to use it?
This funnel thing was working great. Like I really thought this was the ticket. I'm going to continue trying it with the funnel. I like that the funnel allows the weight and height of the coolant to help push the air out. I fear the engine is developing hot spots, and during my attempts to burp the system the coolant finally reaches one of those spots and expands rapidly, overflowing the funnel.
At this point, I'm not sure if I've reduced the amount of air in the system or not.
Failure is a fantastic teacher.
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Post by SNOtwistR on Jun 8, 2018 9:24:16 GMT -5
Some bubble's are good and should stop after awhile once the air is out of the system, other are bad and could indicate a head gasket leak. Just a thought from past experience. SNO
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Post by philg on Jun 8, 2018 11:01:43 GMT -5
Just for clarification , the bleeder just gets opened enough that a bit of coolant and bubbles start coming out. Maybe that's what you were doing but just in case...
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Post by jhornbr225 on Jun 9, 2018 8:58:15 GMT -5
I've got a tool for that too. It's a hand pump with a radiator cap attached. It allows me to put the cooling system under pressure without running the car and getting it hot. It's great for finding leaks. But according to the instructions, you can monitor the pressure with the engine running to find head gasket leaks.
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Post by COMpulse on Jun 9, 2018 19:20:19 GMT -5
I think I got it successfully burped today. Took a couple more tries to get it right. I think maybe the fluid expands before the thermostat opens. The final try, I only put a small amount in the funnel, and I monitored the temp. I was about to shut down as the fluid was rising, but the temp hand't gotten hot enough to open then thermostat. I was about to shut down and probably give up, but then it opened, and the fluid went back down and the temp went down as the fluid circulated. I drove around in stop and go traffic and through a drive-thru, and temps were normal. Couldn't have done it without the funnel. This time I propped it up with some strong flexible tubing just in case.
Next issue is a belt "chirp" which I guess is different from a squeak. Gonna try cleaning all the pulleys.
And my fix for the evap didn't work. Still can't fill it at the pump. I think I have to remove the gas tank to get to the charcoal canister. More research to come.
The car does feel good though when I give it some gas. Suspension feels very bouncy though. And there's a pretty strong vibration at idle. Just glad I can drive it around now and not worry as much.
Thanks for the tips everyone.
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Post by flylear45 on Jun 10, 2018 4:01:27 GMT -5
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Post by COMpulse on Jun 13, 2018 13:45:38 GMT -5
Today I repaired the Heads Up Display in the GTP. I repaired it once about 9 years ago. I guess that's not bad for a free fix of a $300+ part. The HUD is one of the most well-known parts of a GTP. At the time (1990's and 2000's), only Corvettes and maybe Cadillacs had a HUD option from GM. I think Pontiac carried it over to the G8 before they were shut down.
The HUD has an adjustable angle to control where the image shines onto the windshield. The angle is controlled by a stepper-motor with an off-center wheel on it, if that makes sense. Kinda like rolling an egg end over end, there's a shorter point and a taller point. Anyway, some fool decided it would be good to anchor a metal spring into a thin piece of plastic to hold the mirror to the motor wheel. Over time, the spring slowly saws through the plastic. Then, the spring falls off and the HUD aims into nowhere.
The HUD is held into the dashboard by three bolts. Two of which are under a sharp and brittle piece of trim where the dash meets the windshield. To get that trim off, first both of the A-pillar covers have to come off. Easy peasy. Lemon squeezy. Then Remove trim near windshield to expose the first 2 bolts, careful to unplug the light sensor and alarm light. These two bolts pretty much require a swivel extension on a socket wrench. But what about that third bolt? Oh, you mean the one behind the speedometer. Yup. So, unclip the OBD port and then we can remove the trim below the steering wheel (careful of the dashboard dimmer knob wiring), then remove the trim around the head unit and hvac (careful of more wires). Then remove the trim above the steering wheel, and then you'll find 4 screws holding the instrument cluster in. Remove all 4 and unplug it, and boom, there's that one pesky bolt holding the HUD in. Unplug HUD, remove final bolt. It's actually just a screw, unlike the first two.
From there, remove the HUD. Take it inside. Open it up. Drill a new hole in that same unreliable plastic, and re-attach the spring. Make sure everything is clean, and put it back together.
Reinstall HUD, test it, put dash back together. Start car. Realize you forgot to plug the instrument cluster back in, etc, etc. You get it. 2-3 hours start to finish.
Amazing how much crud and cigarette ash was behind the instrument cluster.
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Post by jhornbr225 on Jun 13, 2018 19:44:13 GMT -5
And next time you have to do it, there won't be any ash.....right?
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Post by revheadkev on Jun 13, 2018 23:15:04 GMT -5
And there is now the option to 3D print another wheel instead of trying to re-use the same old brittle plastic one.
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Post by COMpulse on Sept 4, 2018 8:22:42 GMT -5
Found some aftermarket headlights (on craigslist) with HIDs, LEDs, and Halos. Here's the current fogged up headlights vs clear aftermarket headlights. $130 well spent I think. They mostly work, but one light appears to be burned out, and the wiring is a bit of a mess. I will probably re-wire them. I think these headlights look great. And the white halos / white LEDs add to the white-on-black theme of the car. Then I noticed my alarm wiring seems a bit mangled: Being the alarm wire, it may have a few delicious electrons flowing through it when the car is off. Not sure why else this was the only wire that looks like something chewed on it.
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Post by COMpulse on Oct 5, 2018 9:24:50 GMT -5
So, I've been driving the Grand Prix exclusively since I totaled my Taurus. And I've been using my tablet in my Grand Prix since Tuesday. I used the old mount from my original CarPC touchscreen to mount the tablet, running my USB cables behind the dash. For the most part, it's running great. I used a relay to power a car USB adapter to supply power to the tablet and to a USB hub, as well as the dash cam. Works great. It's working better than it did in the Taurus, probably due to a better power source.
I had to order a new USB Bluetooth adapter. And to my surprise, Blue Soleil just accepted it like nothing had changed. I re-paired my devices and bluetooth was up and running.
I also had to order a new OBD Link MX (bluetooth). Here's where things start to get weird. My Grand Prix always worked fine with my old Chinese knock-off ELM327 OBD reader. But whenever I tried using a newer OBD Link device, my Grand Prix would occasionally freak out. Basically, I'll be driving down the road, and suddenly all the gauges on the dash (RPM, temp, fuel level) go to zero except the speedometer. The info-center near the head unit informs me that I have low fuel and traction control needs servicing. I keep driving. A few minutes later, all the gauges are back on and working. I was hoping the new OBD Link MX BT would somehow not result in the same problem. But it does.
I notice that the yellow 'HOST' light on my OBD Link is blinking constantly when I am connected. I don't recall that light flashing when I used it in my Taurus.
My EVAP / gas-tank problem is still a problem. P0446. And I now have a misfire code to look into. And I need to do lower motor mounts and trans mounts. Then I think I'm good for a while.
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Post by jhornbr225 on Oct 5, 2018 11:01:28 GMT -5
You know, I have that problem too. I have this ScanTool OBDLink SX USB www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IAGNNG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1i use it in my Honda's with no problem. But one time my father in law wanted me to hook up to his S10 pickup, I forget the year, to check something. The gauges went crazy like you describe. I was hoping that I didn't damage something. I found that unplugging the tool and shutting off the key, and then turning the key back on would cause everything to be OK again. Anyway, it didn't instill a lot of confidence in using my OBD reader on a GM product.
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Post by COMpulse on Oct 15, 2018 9:08:46 GMT -5
Yesterday I fixed a serious vacuum leak. I noticed my Long Term Fuel Trims were pegged at +16% at idle, but much closer to normal when RPMs went up. The car was idling really rough. And I had also noticed I was no longer achieving full boost (9 psi for my car). So I decided to use some starting fluid to track down the leak. My diagnosis lead me to the back/top of the engine, near the EGR and EVAP solenoid. At first I assumed the issue would be the EVAP since I'm having other EVAP issues. Then I noticed the EGR solenoid was not secure, and the EGR tube was rusted through. So, I removed the rusted tube, salvaged the EGR tube from the old engine and managed to get it in place. I even remembered to use some red RTV on the connection. I started the car this morning, and the idle sounded good. The LTFT is close to zero. One problem solved. By the way, the EGR system seems like a stupid idea. Recirculating exhaust gas back into the intake manifold for whatever reason sounds about as smart as sticking a tube in your ass and recirculating your own farts back to your nostrils.
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