Learn | Make | Fix | Run

My assumption was correct; the coolant system was full of air - it needed to burp. After I returned from my trip, I had time to look at the car more thoroughly. I wasn’t rushed, so I remembered to open the bleed screw and was able to pour in another gallon of coolant. The engine was not overheating, and the heater was blowing hot air. It looks like it is all fixed. Since then, I had the cooling system professionally flushed and filled. Although I could do it myself, I did not want to deal with the waste from flushing the system. The car is making some squeaks when I make turns; I need to look at the bushings for the steering system. I still need to fix my gas gauge too. However, for now, this is a good place to be. Sometimes, we need to take a break or step away to come back and tackle an issue. That’s what happened here. Has something like this happened to you before? If so, please share below in the comments.

The car is back together, but there is a hiccup. The car started right up, which was music to my ears. Then, it had trouble finding idle. Although I originally installed the vacuum line for the brake booster, I took it off to re-route a wire harness and forgot to put it back on. Once I found my error, the car idled great. However, it’s low on coolant; I only put about half a gallon of coolant into the expansion tank and probably drained two gallons from the system. I need to find out how to get the air out of the coolant system. I will need to look at it when I get back to town. I’ve made silly errors, like forgetting to re-connect the vacuum line, failing to plug in the MAF sensor after cleaning it, and failing to plug in the coil packs for half an engine when I have worked on cars. It’s always something different. What about you? What’s your silly error? Please share in the comments below.

This week, I started the head gasket replacement on the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu LT with the 3.5 L V-6. I knew I had the skills to complete the job, but I had two fears with this project. My first fear was that the hardware to the exhaust manifold would be seized from rust. The second fear was cracking a head bolt. Both fears were based on damaging engine parts that I could not repair with the engine in the car. There is no room to extract broken bolts, drill larger holes, and tap for a larger fastener. I respected my fears, moved slowly and carefully, and I prevailed. The exhaust manifold was surprisingly easy to remove from the engine block. I soaked the areas on the top of the exhaust manifold near the head with penetrating oil, but I could not get a good angle to spray the bottom of the manifold. I carefully turned the rachet, and the nuts/studs came free from the top and the bottom. I had difficulty with the other end of the manifold where it meets the catalytic converter. I also soa...

This week’s focus has been gathering the parts to fix the head gasket on the car. The last parts arrived yesterday, and I am ready to start working on the car next week. Approximately five thousand miles ago, I needed to repair the lower intake manifold (LIM) gasket. The head gasket was not leaking externally or showing signs of leaking internally -- the car was not overheating or blowing white exhaust. There was a coolant leak, but the LIM was leaking. I was reluctant to remove the exhaust manifold; therefore, I decided only to repair the LIM. In hindsight, I wish I had tested the coolant for the presence of exhaust gases. The downside is that I must repeat the work I did last August. The upside is that I know what I am doing up to removing the head. We’ll see how next week goes. My biggest worries are removing the exhaust manifold without damaging the fasteners and thoroughly cleaning the old gasket material from the heads. If you have any advice, please share it in the comments belo...

Today I learned I most likely have a blown head gasket. The combustion leak detector indicates combustion gasses are present in the coolant system. I suspected a blown head gasket, but the car did not exhibit some of the telltale signs. The oil did not look contaminated with coolant, the engine was not overheating, and white exhaust did not appear. However, a sloshing noise developed during acceleration after stopping, and the smell of coolant permeated the air in the cabin during stop-and-go traffic. The detector draws air from the coolant expansion tank via an aspirator (bulb) into a test chamber. If combustion gasses are present in the test chamber, the fluid changes from blue to yellow. The tester comes with instructions on how to use it. The procedure involves working with coolant on a running engine. Extreme caution must be taken with the moving parts and hot fluids. The coolant expansion tank cap must be removed when the engine is cold. The engine needs to reach the operating te...