yay gm

[wts873]

Ford uses a composite intake on the 4.6 also IIRC.

[markt311]

yeah, after ALOT of reading on dexcool issues, it seems like my slime isnt at all what the 'typical' dexcool issues have been with most other people.

this is how bad dexcool can screw you if you neglect your coolant level...
http://www.sancarlosradiator.com/images/dexmud31.jpg

That's exactly what the radiator I pulled out of my S10 looked like.

[Halgar]

this is how bad dexcool can screw you if you neglect your coolant level...
http://www.sancarlosradiator.com/images/dexmud31.jpg

That should be criminal!

I used to have a lot of sympathy for auto manufacturers and was willing to endure a few pains with a new vehicle, considering the numbers shoved out the door each year. Someone said to me when I bought my '95 that with the cost of the vehicle, it should be absolutely perfect when it rolls off the line. At the time I kind of dismissed him, but now that I'm older and MUCH wiser (does being a smartass count? ) I've come to the same opinion. While I'm willing to forgive some things, I'm less and less inclined to be willing to deal with much crap from anyone or anything. As much as I hate to say it, it might be time to stop buying American autos.

[vwjuice]

As much as I hate to say it, it might be time to stop buying American autos.

I wouldn't say that. I use to fix hondas and they aren't as great as everyone thinks. If you look at what is required maintenance on a Honda vs the USA autos, the Honda requires a lot more of it and it costs more. All autos nowadawys have problems. The biggest problem is the belief that spark plugs, anti- freeze, etc will last 100,000 miles or more. Everything is designed the same as it was 40 years ago.

[slotcarrod]

Toyota all the way baby! I have a Corolla with just under 400,000 k. It still works and runs like Swiss watch! The only problem with older Toyota's? Where they use salt on the roads during winter, is the rust!

GM should just die! I don't mind Dodge products! Ford? Well.... they are Ford and there are many jokes about them!

Did you know 80% of all Ford trucks built since 1970 are still on the road? The other 20% made it home!

[Halgar]

Did you know 80% of all Ford trucks built since 1970 are still on the road? The other 20% made it home!

LMAO!!!!!

I have to agree that all autos have their problems, it's a matter of choosing the lesser of the evils that suits your needs the best. I've always loved my GM trucks, and to be honest, the tranny problem I just had wasn't that big a deal to me. My 95 popped, my 80 Toyota popped, as long as the vehicle has been serving it's purpose with little to no troubles, I say it's been a success.

We bought my 02 new, the engine was replaced at 15K because GM decided that they wanted to build engines that knock. That was under warranty and we had a free rental for the two weeks it was in the shop. Other than that, it's been gas and oil changes. We serviced the diff and tranny once. Other than that, there's been nothing done to the truck in 7 years. Now that the tranny has been overhauled, I believe that this truck will go another 100K pretty trouble free. After reading Hoopty's trials and tribulations, I guess we should purge the cooling system and power steering and replace with some fresh liquids.

[bearrickster]

you should mail it back to them with a colorful note and no return address.

[badhoopty]

well... i've drained, filled, and cycled cooling system 3 times, and today i drove down to indiana to my friends farm to flush it. (it was 98.9% water by that point...)

its pretty darn clean now... and i put green stuff in it. screw that dexcool junk. i have the bad pwr steering cooler bypassed at the moment, and since its an opition on the ws6 and z28 anyway i feel like it wont cause an issue until i plumb up a air cooled, zip-tie to the radiator style cooler. the toyota-style power steering cooler on my zuk would actually fit perfect up underneath the air dam.

i'll probably drain and refill it again after the nats. i havent opened it up since flushing to see how much oil is floating on top, hopefully not much.

[jwscab]

don't worry about it. if you flushed and refilled it, the minor bit in the system won't affect anything.

you don't NEED a power steering cooler. millions of cars and trucks on the road without them. typical good idea gone wrong. jumping the hose around is completely fine.

like said above, all manufacturers have good and bad. certainly no reason, especially now, to discount US manufacturers.

i'm so tired of hearing how superior japanese cars are. not a completely accurate statement today.

i find it disturbing that people just can't understand that mechanical and electrical devices need MAINTENENCE. I think that some weird mindset happened in the late 70's and 80's that magically, everything suddenly needed noting other than putting gas in it, then complaining when something went wrong.

sorry for the rant. I work on cars as a hobby/side work, and I bothers me when someone comes in whining about something like brakes when the whole disc surface is wiped off, and all you can see is the cooling vents. check them much?

[natedog]

Hey, ISUZU is japanese and they are complete crap ! There must be at least 50 isuzu rodeos at my uncle's junk yard

[badhoopty]

went out this morning and checked the coolant and overflow tank, surprisingly theres even less junk in there than i assumed!! that sure makes me feel good...

...i find it disturbing that people just can't understand that mechanical and electrical devices need MAINTENENCE. I think that some weird mindset happened in the late 70's and 80's that magically, everything suddenly needed noting other than putting gas in it, then complaining when something went wrong.

i agree 100%, but also consider that the late 70's and through the 80's, and certainly now cars became increasing harder to maintain. it seriously took me about 4-5 HOURS to change the spark plugs in my 98 firebird (most that time on the #8 plug...).

e.g. why the HELL design a fuel system that uses a fuel pump in the gas tank that will eventually go out, and instead of incorporating some sort of access hatch in the floorpan of the car to get to the fuel pump, you have to drop the exhaust and the tank to service?

i saw that problem coming when i installed the stereo, so i cut out an access hatch for the fuel pump:

[vwjuice]

e.g. why the HELL design a fuel system that uses a fuel pump in the gas tank that will eventually go out, and instead of incorporating some sort of access hatch in the floorpan of the car to get to the fuel pump, you have to drop the exhaust and the tank to service?

i saw that problem coming when i installed the stereo, so i cut out an access hatch for the fuel pump:

fuelpumpmod.jpg

Honda had an access hatch on their cars in the late 80's then decided not to do it anymore. Sure made it easier when there was one.

[Halgar]

Hey, ISUZU is japanese and they are complete crap ! There must be at least 50 isuzu rodeos at my uncle's junk yard

Isuzu is, or at least was, owned by GM.

I've never owned one. A friend has a Rodeo, I think. I know it's an Isuzu. It's blue if that helps.

[Halgar]

I had to change out the rack and pinion in an 80 Pontiac. The beotch of it was, they assemble the entire front end before stuffing it into the body, which means the only way to get the R&P out is to unbolt most of the retainers holding the engine and front end into the car. Even then you have to beat the hell out of the fire wall to make space to get the R&P in and out. I swear that a precursor to becoming an engineer, those stupid bastids need to work on a few of their own creations! That will teach them not to do the stupid crap they do.

[jwscab]

yeah, once you understand the fact that these 'engineers' design the cars to be assembled, and not disassembled, it helps alleviate some of the cursing. I do think these guys should have to disassemble them once they put them together, but that's not going to happen.

as for fuel pumps, and spark plugs on new cars, everything is better on a lift