Oil Leaks 96 LT1 Engine

Peter Grave said:
You are not correct on this. Antifreeze is usually (pardon the spelling) Ethyline Glycol with rust inhibitors and anti corosives for aluminum added. No water. Coolant is the same with water added. When I had my 87 Grand National other owners found using antifreeze with distilled water eliminated issues with the aluminum cooling system parts. I have used the antifreeze distilled water combination with good results on my keeper vehicles.
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I work in auto parts, have for 6 years, and I am P2 ASE certified. There are many different formulations of the product that goes in your radiator, but all of the cars and trucks I know of use a product that is both an antifreeze and a coolant, available in Full Strength Antifreeze/coolant (without water) or Pre-diluted Antifreeze/coolant. If you buy full strength, you add your own water. If you buy pre-diluted, you get the water mixed in for you already. Both contain rust inhibitors, water pump lubrication, and anti-corrosives. In some other countries there are separate products and there may be specialized products for extreme climates here in the states, but unless you're talking about a specific cooling additive like Water Wetter, antifreeze and coolant commercially available in the United States are the same thing in the same bottle. I handle hundreds of gallons of it every week and have read the labels and done the research. You sir, are incorrect.
 
Wesley...... Peter....... et al......

You are arguing semantics, and to use the words of Peter...

Antifreeze is usually (pardon the spelling) Ethylene Glycol with rust inhibitors and anti corrosives for aluminum added. No water. Coolant is the same with water added.
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(spelling corrected)

To use the words of Wesley....

all of the cars and trucks I know of use a product that is both an antifreeze and a coolant, available in Full Strength Antifreeze/coolant (without water) or Pre-diluted Antifreeze/coolant. If you buy full strength, you add your own water. If you buy pre-diluted, you get the water mixed in for you already. Both contain rust inhibitors, water pump lubrication, and anti-corrosives.
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The terms "coolant" and "antifreeze" are used interchangeably, and they both mean the same thing. Please, lets not beat a dead horse...
Thanks
Paul
Senior Administrator
 
In recent years, I have been told that the antifreeze / coolant when purchased in its diluted state of 50/50, is better than using distilled water, since the manufacturers of the product make sure that there are no impurities in the water that they use, and that the water is PH regulated for optimum performance of the antifreeze / coolant.

I have cheated, and have gone to the Internet for the following information...

What is the Ph. of distilled water? is it neutral or slightly acidic?

Absolutely pure water would be pH 7.0, but even distilled water is not pure. It still contains lots of ions. Totally de-ionized water would be pH 7.0.

Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deionized_w...

Deionized water will quickly acquire a pH when exposed to air. Carbon dioxide, present in the atmosphere, will dissolve in the water, introducing ions and giving an acidic pH of around 5.0. The limited buffering capacity of DI water will not inhibit the formation of carbonic acid H2CO3. Boiling the water will remove the carbon dioxide to restore the absence of a pH value. In practice, the indication from chemical indicators can give a value of usually between pH 5.0 and pH 9.0 depending on the indicator used.
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Then I went looking for the Ph. of the premixed antifreeze / coolant, and the only thing that I was able to find, was a MSDS paper on
PRESTONE ANTIFREEZE PREMIX MSDS397. ​
If you want to read the entire paper, it is located here.​


SECTION 9: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES​
APPEARANCE AND ODOR: Fluorescent yellow liquid with a characteristic
odor.
pH: 10.2 SPECIFIC GRAVITY: 1.06
BOILING POINT (F): 228 F VAPOR PRESSURE: Less than 0.1
FREEZING POINT (F): -34 F VAPOR DENSITY: Not determined
SOLUBILITY IN WATER: Complete EVAPORATION RATE: Not determined
PERCENT VOLATILE: None VISCOSITY: Not determine​
COEFFICIENT OF WATER/OIL DISTRIBUTION: Not determined
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Returning to the Internet for additional information, I found that .........
Extensive testing has shown that a coolant pH below 8.3 pH is not acceptable for use in engines due to its corrosive nature. The correct pH value should be maintained between 9.5 - 10.0 pH. Below 9.0 pH it is advisable to flush the cooling system and refill with a new coolant solution.
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I knew there was a reason I never used the pre mix. -34 is not enough protection. you want "wet" water add a little dish soap. the akila will move the PH to less acid and give the water a more slippery consistency. but the key is and has always been change your coolant a time or two will you.
 
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffpe8aVvb2c[/ame]
 
Pat Post said:
Just got a call on my hearse. The Optispark is $748. With a few other things that need to be done, I'm in it $1375 so far.
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Summit Racing has the rebuilt A/C Delco Optispark for $378.97 with a core charge. There are many cheaper ones on the market but they have less than favorable reviews overall.
 
no me a never take seriously or as gospel anything the man whose wages hinge on sell something. a lot of snake oil out there
 
I'm picking the car up Saturday. While I would have loved to do it myself, the time wasn't there. I was on the side of NH10 at 5:30 pm and needed to be in Maine that night. Talking with the service manager has raised some red flags that make me wonder about their mechanics ability. We'll see.
 
94

Talking with the service manager has raised some red flags that make me wonder about their mechanics ability. We'll see.
__________________
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Not really a hard job in some respects a lot easier than old stuff to work on. Nothing attached to the pump, belt easy on and off everthing pretty easy to get at.Hope it all works out for that kind of cash you should have O problems
 
Daniel Scully said:
Not really a hard job in some respects a lot easier than old stuff to work on. Nothing attached to the pump, belt easy on and off everthing pretty easy to get at.Hope it all works out for that kind of cash you should have O problems
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Not having the trailer towing package makes it more simple as there are only electric fans and nothing in the way. In the middle of a tune-up right now on a 96 Roadmaster wagon. It has the towing package so it has a mechanical fan. I took it apart to fix a oil leak and figured with 112,000 miles this would be a good time to do a tune-up and waterpump as well.
 
These things are pretty notorious for oil cooler line leaks and the seal at the oil filter adapter. The first time I replaced the gasket at the oil filter adapter, the part they gave me at the parts store made it worse. The gasket was way too thick and acted like a shim. If you change that, you're gonna want to make your own gasket out of a thinner material. I've had to do this to every LT1 car of mine except for the car with 384k on it. I don't know what it was about that car but it was very rare if I had to do anything to it with the engine. I put on at least 40-50k miles of my own on it and all I did to the engine was replace a water pump and a fuel pressure regulator.

I still find it funny all the people that have problems with the opti spark and water pumps. I've put on thousands of miles and have had no issues. Just one water pump. A friend of mine has several LT1s as well and his keep going like the energizer bunny as well. I do have to agree that the distributor is in the worst place possible.

I wouldn't advise getting A1 Cardone parts. I haven't had very good luck them. One time I got a rebuilt steering gear and it was worse than the bad one I had in the car. The shaft flopped all over the place. A friend of mine who is an ASE certified mechanic told me that Cardone had problems with disgruntled employees at one time and a lot of bad parts got put out on the shelfs.

I agree that regular antifreeze will help keep corrosion away. Most antifreeze have corrosion inhibiting compounds. If you have up to date antifreeze, it should serve the engine well. I think most of the problem is that people never change it and like anything, it wears out.
 
I'm driving down tomorrow to check on it. It's 180 miles away right now. They called me today and said the #2 cylinder has 55 lbs of compression. Says it could be a burnt valve or a cracked piston. Might be scrapping it.
 
I've had to replace waterpumps on just about every LT1 car I've owned. I've only had one optispark go out on a 1996 Roadmaster Wagon at 178k. With the pump off it's a good time to do a tune-up as it's in the way otherwise and it will have to come off again. I remember when these cars were new and everybody was making a big deal about they only needed to be tuned up every 100,000 miles. Nothing was said about the waterpumps! I've replaced many with 50,000 miles. Although, I guess age might of taken it's toll by now. They are good engines and will run for a longtime. There are many tips on the net about maintaining them, Impala ss forum, longroof forum etc............tune up parts might still seem expensive to some but they are a lot less than they used to be. I remember my dad taking his Roadmaster Wagon in for a tune-up at the Buick dealer and spending near $1300.00 years ago.
 
Time to get it out of there I have never had an LT-1 with a burnt valve or bad piston. Plenty of blown rods and water pump optispark issues. If it will drive OK with a miss get it home. Then do the detective work. Remote bent push rod or rocker issue possible. Don't hit the scrap button yet. I have LT-1 engines in stock.
 
Peter Grave said:
Time to get it out of there I have never had an LT-1 with a burnt valve or bad piston. Plenty of blown rods and water pump optispark issues. If it will drive OK with a miss get it home. Then do the detective work. Remote bent push rod or rocker issue possible. Don't hit the scrap button yet. I have LT-1 engines in stock.
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That's why I'm heading down to see it for myself. The service manager says it idles rough and falls on its face when under power.
 
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