Thread: I Need Help! Major Car Problems :( I Feel Like Crying...

Please take the time to help me figure this out, I need help with enigne / tranny problem thanks.


Something happened to my car about an hour ago I need help. I will try to describe the symptoms as much as I can to help diagnose the problem...

Ok, first I was stopping at a light, and the car was (don't know how to describe ) chuggin a little, vibration, felt kind of like a bent rotor or something.

I didn't thin much of the first occurence, got on the express way, then got off and noticed it again and again, only at low speeds... So I put down the windows and could hear a terrible sound ... it sounded like a freaking semi truck but quieter, I got near home and pulled over.

The RPMs were going up and down a bit, it would go higher then lower then higher, range of like 300 or so I think. Sounded terrible, I'm really scared. I opened the hood to take a look and the engine was pretty hot and smelled like burning oil a bit. Sounded like the noise was coming from the serpentine belt area, which we removed that belt yesterday when changing alternators.

I had no choice but to get it home, so I turned it off to check again under the hood (nothing different cept no noise of course....), then started it up again... very slowly .

Had to turn it around to park in street, and it stalled when swtiching to reverse... turned it back on... very slowly again it started... Got parked and turned it off.

Had to take my friend home so used my dads car and came back bout 15 mins later and checked under the hood with the engine off again, still smelled looked closer right above the front valve cover and saw boiling oil sitting there, which must be from the lower intake manifold leak I think there is (pretty sure the mechanic said that when checking the car out b4 buying, he said it didn't need fixing right away) I believe thats what he called it (can verify later).

I checked the oil level and it was full, serpentine belt looked fine (wish it was the problem...), please help me!

I'm really scared right now, feel like crying, and am praying the tranny isn't the cause. Thank you for reading this and please give me your thoughts, even if you think I don't want to hear them. Please help me out

And no warning lights came on.

And the temperature of the engine went above 210 by a couple notches then dropped to 205 or so for some reason.

A MONTH AGO the mechanic said: RT Valve cover leak and lower intake leak. and oil pan leak

Stop crying!!!

If you see coolant leaking you need to get it fixed. While you replace your intake gaskets you need to fix your vacuum leak by replacing all your vacuum lines and while your at it replace your wires and plugs.

First off, I seriously doubt you saw boiling oil...............................

So let me get this straight, a month ago your mechanic looked at the car and said you needed to replace the valve cover, lower intake, and oil pan gaskets, and now you're amazed that the car is leaking fluids and making noise!?!!?

Sounds to me like the lower intake gasket that you were supposed to replace finally gave way. is their white smoke coming out of the tail pipe? Drain the oil, is it a different color than what it normally is?

If a mechanic tells u something is wrong, my suggestion is to fix it ASAP. Before you possibly blow your engine like you may have done.....

Originally Posted by bps02gtp

Ur car shouldn't be overheating from the intake leaking unless ur low on coolant. Check that. How many miles are on it? Has it had a tune up?

I would absolutely overheat if his LIM gasket gave way, allowing all his coolant to dump into the cylinders..........

^listen to that guy. there was a recall for the 3800's on valve cover gaskets, they would leak onto the exhaust manifolds, catch fire, and the oil would travel up the spark plugs wires... poof. GM also couldn't find a good intake gasket set to put on any of their V6's. if it went, you have oil and coolant going everywhere it doesn't need to, and nowhere that it does. drain your oil and coolant, examine color. i'm sure your on factory coolant, it'll be a light pinkish orange color if it's good. drain your oil. it should be anywhere from gold to black. if it looks like coffee with milk in it and smells like sh!t, you have coolant in it. also, look for metal flakes or silver streaks in it. while it's drained, replace your intake gaskets (or have an experienced mechanic do it). not a tough job, but not for rookies. say a prayer while you refill with fluids and start it up. let it idle for awhile and watch yor temp gauge, and listen. if it still sounds like a semi truck, well... i have a crankshaft, piston/rod assemblies, and bearings i can sell to you, but you'll still needs heads. don't touch your transmission, it's fine. and, like previously stated, you might have a vacuum leak somewhere, possibly at the LIM gasket. and for your sake, stop crying lol

ouch.

Originally Posted by copgtp

First off, I seriously doubt you saw boiling oil...............................

So let me get this straight, a month ago your mechanic looked at the car and said you needed to replace the valve cover, lower intake, and oil pan gaskets, and now you're amazed that the car is leaking fluids and making noise!?!!?

Sounds to me like the lower intake gasket that you were supposed to replace finally gave way. is their white smoke coming out of the tail pipe? Drain the oil, is it a different color than what it normally is?

If a mechanic tells u something is wrong, my suggestion is to fix it ASAP. Before you possibly blow your engine like you may have done.....

Ok, when I went to the mechanic, he just said the oil pan was the main problem. He said it was leaking, but we only saw a drip or so of oil every two days, so we didn't have it fixed yet. On the other hand he said we didn't need to get the other leaks fixed right away. SO it doesn't really sound like my fault, so quit making me feel like it is.

This is the video:


1998 Grand Prix GT :: 013.mp4 video by joebom123 - Photobucket


My parents have talked to a couple people and they don't think I will need to replace the engine, just repairs, idk

honestly your best bet is to get a used motor from a yard, they go for 400 to 600, if you cant swap it your self, labor would run you like 600.

thats a nice looking car, id swap the engine before i quit on it.

Originally Posted by QUICKSILVER462

Kinda sounds like a cracked/broken flex plate.

I wish

x2 on the straight swap. bottom end repairs are costly and time consuming. complete disassembly to replace parts that are supposed to really wear together over time, not to mention if anything gets messed up during re-assembly or the block is damaged. plus there's no telling what else got damaged due to the coolant being everywhere. although you should really still examine your coolant and oil before proceeding, that sound makes any car owner's stomach turn

Originally Posted by Hippo Machine

Ok, when I went to the mechanic, he just said the oil pan was the main problem. He said it was leaking, but we only saw a drip or so of oil every two days, so we didn't have it fixed yet. On the other hand he said we didn't need to get the other leaks fixed right away. SO it doesn't really sound like my fault, so quit making me feel like it is.

If you knew of the issue that is causing your problems it is your fault for not fixing it.