Thread: Multiple Issues, Considering Trading In

Greetings.

Ive been around for a while, but had to create a new account since I had been signing in with my facebook account, which i recently closed. Anyhow..


My 2004 GT2 is up to 217,800 miles. I bought the car in January with 199,000 miles. The first thing i had done was the coolant elbows a week after I bought the car. Now Ive got a few things going on that I was wondering how common they are and whether im better off repairing them or trading in.

-I think my fuel pump is going. When the car sits for more than 20 minutes, i have to turn the key to RUN twice before starting it. I see no fuel leaks anywhere but the pump appears to be losing its prime.

-My power steering gets really hard once the car warms up. Its only hard if im moving slowly and the engine is at idle. Parking is a real pain.

-For a few days (gone now) i was hearing what i can only describe as a grinding bearing, assuming it was the PS pump because i could feel it in the wheel as i turned wile at idle.

-When i start it up cold the belt squeals for a couple seconds, this is only when the outside temperature is below 50F I also hear the belt intermittently at idle, and constantly when the engine revs above 2500 RPM

-Using the Torque app I have determined that normal operating temperature at highway speed is between 185 and 192. When idle, the highest it went was 221, this was on a day when it was almost 100 outside. Today i noticed while sitting in the drive thru that it was up to 228F and holding (only 55F outside), even though the fans were on high speed. When i got to work i popped the hood, with the engine holding at 224 i felt both radiator hoses, the top one was too hot to touch for more than half a second, the bottom one was not "cool", but i had no problem holding that one for over a minute.

-I have a faint coolant smell in the engine compartment, no visible leaks and no steam.

-When i go over bumps even at low speed, it feels like something is thunking in the back. Im sorry i cant be more specific.

-This happened exactly once: I was in Boston area traffic on surface streets. After about two hours I noticed that my transmission was banging into gear. According to the DIC the fluid temp was 228 degrees. I checked the level and it was fine, the color was also as red as the day it came out of the bottle. I ended up at the rest area in Kennebunk ME for a couple hours. When i got going again, the fluid was at 165 and ive had no banging since.

Any advice is appreciated

UPDATE:

Ive got an appointment at the shop tomorrow morning. I checked and topped off the PS fluid, the chatter in the PS pump is still intermittent and steering is still hard. I also seem to have devloped a coolant leak somewhere there is a puddle in my driveway and i get a rushing water noise when i start up and occasionally when accelerating. Also, with both cooling fans on high speed and the heat on full blast, the engine idles at two notches above the center line on the temperature gauge, 230 degrees. At speed its between 205 and 210. I know there is a problem because even during the summer when it was 95-100 outside, at speed it would stay at 195 with the AC running and 220 TOPS at idle.

....and my water pump just went. i was pulling into wendys as my temp gauge hit the third line past center, shut it down and popped the hood, coolant everywhere, looks like hit the belt and sprayed everything down real good.

oddly enough, i had an appointment at the shop tomorrow anyway for the PS pump, maybe its the water pump that was making the bad bearing noise and it finally gave up the ghost.

had the elbows done in January

The verdict is in:

Water Pump and Power Steering Pump.

My only concern now is the alternator, i imagine its not too happy about getting hosed down with coolant. I picked up the car after the shop closed and they open again monday. I hear a squealing from the alternator area when the engine is revving (hard to tell when its dark and im in the car accelerating). I guess we'll see.

I guess both parts were on their way out for a while. I knew the steering was harder than it should be and i didnt know why it was running hotter, but now i notice a sharp drop in the gauge around 195 instead of it going up to 200+ and slowly falling when i get on the highway.

The whole thing set me back $465, $260 of it being labor. Good thing it was payday... my bank account took a massive dump.