Will that be Vaseline or Astroglide?

What really hurts. I just dropped $750 on plates for the three cars. I could have held back the $250 for the pickup's plates to help cover this, but the cheque's already in the mail.
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
$250? License plates?

Criminy.
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Included in that is a $30 per vehicle fee to subsidise the busses and metro (which Obviously I don't use), and $100 per vehicle fee for No-fault insurance.
 
Professur said:
What really hurts. I just dropped $750 on plates for the three cars. I could have held back the $250 for the pickup's plates to help cover this, but the cheque's already in the mail.
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My 96 F150 & the wifes 96 Taurus are gonna cost us $49.75 each & that seems outrageous.

I'm dreading pulling the dash to replace the heater core (what morons modern engineers are. Engines out the bottom & heater cores behind the dashboard. sheesh
 
Professur said:
Included in that is a $30 per vehicle fee to subsidise the busses and metro (which Obviously I don't use), and $100 per vehicle fee for No-fault insurance.
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Mine runs about $600/yr with just liability ins. + tags, for both. Mine are both '86
models though.
 
Professur said:
You'd laugh to know that more cars overheat here during winter than summer, Luis. We have to use a fairly high concentration of Glycol than most. Glycol and Aluminium don't get along well. Today's cars use aluminium heads.
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That really makes no sense :confuse3:. Any ideas as to why it happens?
 
More strain on the systems. The fluid goes from -20C to 100C in minutes. Chemical breakdown happens. Sludge happens. Someone added a little too much water and gets ice blocking up a port (expands and causes problems) or too much glycol and the mixture gels up at cold temps, and plugs up passages.
 
Professur said:
Y'all americans need to design an engine that doesn't have coolant problems. Of the 7 cars I've owned, the american mades have been ten times the trouble.

Les, it's gonna take a fully equipped, trained mechanic 8 hours to get this done. It's just not a DIY job.

How much to mechanics charge you guys an hour? Here it's ballpark $55 an hour.
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our shop is $100\hour labor rate.
and if you did not overheat the engine it should not need head work.
 
Kruz said:
our shop is $100\hour labor rate.
and if you did not overheat the engine it should not need head work.
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Dealerships are always more expensive though :D
 
Kruz, you don't think there's a risk of corrosion? I'll know for sure soon, as I told him to keep all the parts.
 
When I sent my old Dodge truck in for a major teardown and inspection, my water pump was all but corroded away. My coolant went acidic at some point. God knows what the rest of the inside of my block looked like. I was probably not all that far from a major catastrophe.
 
Just(15) rung off with the mech. Heads and intake have gone out for a pressure test. 50/50 chance that a light machining and they'll be fine. Head gaskets were near done, tho. Intake was definitely the source of the leak. Apparently it was yellow with guck. He invited me over (if I was close) to see it before they cleaned it up.
 
What do you answer when the mechanic calls you and asks how you're doing? The results are in. One of the heads has a small crack in it. It is fixable, but fixing it, reseating the valves, new seals etc, is more than the cost of a new head. The other is ok, but still has 200k on it. I'm replacing both, but I'll be inspecting the old ones before I pay a cent. The intake gasket .... is a better version of the same GM gasket that leaked in the first place. Evidently, it's a combination of plastic and leather???? I'm getting an after market (fedder, federal, summat like that) that's better made ... but. Engine flush (to worry out the mess the coolant made in the oil pathways) Repair a broken exhaust manifold bolt. New seals, etc, and 11.5h of manual labour. Grand total (including taxes) $2286.01, on a 9 year old minivan. Added to the $1000 in new brake parts and wheel bearings prior to leaving for GA last summer.

The good news. The cylinders and in great shape. Compression is fine. Bottom end sounds normal. With the exception of some bushings and a ball joint (that I already knew about) I shouldn't have to pay out anything on her for at least another year.
 
On the brighter side, you probably couldn't find a vehicle in better shape and running condition for that price. its worth it in the long run.
 
Crap. Sorry man! I can't really add anything about the mechanics except to say I'm feeling ya on the GM issues. After a blown head gasket on my old pontiac (traded it in) and a new transmission on my old chevy, I bought a car built in Germany instead. I've had my fill.
 
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