On Sep 6, 3:50*pm, PeterD > wrote:
> On 9/6/2011 9:14 AM, Gizzard wrote:
>
> > I have some good news, she's not dead yet :-)
>
> > The mechanic quickly established there was no major head blow. Revved
> > the engine whilst checking the exhaust, and considering there is no
> > sludge in oil, no misfiring, or other serious symptom, he reckons the
> > engine should be ok and to drive normally and keep an eye on levels.
> > There was no smoke of any significance.
>
> Excellent.
OK, here's the crazy thing.. (I'm probably tempting fate by writing
this).. the car is running better than ever. It's like.. There was
definitely white smoke out the exhaust, some not-nice-stuff came out
from there, but I'm thinking that.. scorching the engine block without
any coolant in cleaned out some junk and sediment... or maybe this is
stuff out of the cat. Whatever, I cannot feel/see or hear any obvious
problems... and the slight pinking I had before at 2.5k-3k has totally
gone!
> > No longer convinced I have a leak either. The coolant seems to have
> > stabilized. I haven't been far, but there is no obvious loss. She does
> > seem to be a bit thirsty, and getting hot quick and staying hot, so
> > I'm not wholly confident yet, but the gauge stays dead on 90 and I'm
> > loosing no coolant.. may have been a lucky escape! I presume the water
> > pump changes speed to regulate the temp, and if the car was
> > overheating I would see that on the gauge?
>
> Perhaps just a bubble of air (or a few of them) which I've seen in many
> cars. I always tell people who have cooling system work to check coolant
> levels every day for two weeks. (And give them a gallon of pre-mix to
> top off with!)
I've lost no more coolant since my last post! Yeehaw :-)
> > I guess the ECU is still relearning, perhaps that would explain
> > greater fuel consumption... maybe disconnect the battery again?
>
> I would just wait and see... It may well go down over a period of a few
> weeks.
Sort of back to normal last couple of days... if not better than
before..
> > I may upload a picture of the engine bay. I think in a few weeks I
> > will need to flush the coolant completely (I've seen youtube clips on
> > how to flush the radiator and block with a garden house), it would be
> > an apt time to replace some water pipes, plus I've mixed coolants..
> > all MEG stuff, but different brands.
>
> Be very, very careful flushing with garden hoses! It is very easy to
> blow a heater core, or other cooling system part because of over pressure..
OK, I'll admit it.. I've been watching a few Scotty Kilmer videos. I
take them with a pinch of salt, he's obviously a bit flippant.. but
entertaining to watch (or perhaps annoying depending on your pov). :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxm3E5SkHrI