TLMichelle

Hey guys, I'm back with an update on my '98 3.2 TL. After spending $2300 passing inspection back in May as well as having the timing belt and water pump replaced, the car is back to losing coolant. Good thing I checked on it last week because it was down by, err, I'm estimating possibly half a liter? Put it this way: I poured in about 1/3 of a jug to top it off. I can't think of what the name of the stuff is, but I think it starts with "P" and it's in a yellow jug. :P Anyway, it's losing coolant, not dripping, but rather burning up in the engine. The oil looks fine and the coolant looks fine, but there is a little white smoke in the exhaust. I love the car to pieces and it's quite enjoyable to drive, but for someone like me, it probably isn't worth it and I should have given it up before spending the $2300. My dad says it was making blue smoke in the exhaust, which means it is burning oil, and I actually sniffed it today and can verify that it does smell like it's burning oil because it smells similar to an antique outboard motor's exhaust. He says the rings are bad. So head gasket, rings, dollar signs... I decided as a last ditch effort, I'd try one of those awful head gasket goo products and see how many more miles I could squeeze out of my favorite car. I chose K-seal because it is designed to only clog where the leak is because the particles are very small and flow through the system with ease. It is a liquid that looks like it has copper glitter in it and it comes in a small jug. You just shake it up, pour it in, and go while it works its magic. I poured about 1/3 of the jug into the radiator and the rest into the overflow tank, then drove for almost and hour. The next day I checked the radiator and it did not look like it had lost quite as much as it had before, but I haven't added any more coolant, so I can't say for sure. I started the car and watched to see if the white smoke came back. It was not there for a while, then it came back for about ten seconds, then disappeared. I drove the car for maybe 15 minutes, and checked after that and it was doing the white smoke, but very little. I think the K-seal might be working, but is not 100% yet. Fortunately, the heat still works, too. I was planning on checking the level in the radiator again after the car cools, and maybe when I do, I will start it up with the cap off and see if it is still blowing bubbles like it had been before.

TLMichelle

Okay, so the coolant was Prestone and it's a one gallon jug.

I just went out there and checked the level in the radiator and I thought it was the same as before, but the system was still warm. Not warm enough to spray out when I opened the cap (I used a rag anyway), but it was warm to the touch. I started the engine and watched for bubbles, but I couldn't see any. It turned out that the coolant level was too low to have them pop under the opening, so I had to add more coolant and THEN I could see bubbles. I checked under the car for dripping because the level started falling again and I noticed smoke was coming from the tail pipe again. This time it was significantly worse than before.

Ugh, K-seal, you're letting me down.... I'm still holding out some hope that it will eventually work, but I don't know why the smoke got worse. In fact, it was actually intermittent, going from somewhat bad smoke to no smoke to smoke again. I don't know what is going on. If the leak gets too big, the sealant won't be able to stop it up.

01acls

If you're going to try using snake oils or potions to fix your car, then you should try GM's sealant tablets. It's one of the best potions around...

TLMichelle

Ya know what? I used to use the GM pellets when my water pump was leaking and I remember that they worked wonderfully, at least in the winter. I don't think the mechanic put them back in when they replaced the water pump. I might try those again, IF they don't react badly to the K-seal. I don't think the K-seal is working.

Last time I ran the car with the cap off the radiator, it was bubbling smaller bubbles much more frequently. After driving for 45 minutes to an hour, it lost a lot of coolant again.

Darksyne