"mazda616" (mazda616)
08/28/2016 at 20:35 • Filed to: Truck Yeah, s10
0
9|
"mazda616" (mazda616)
08/28/2016 at 20:35 • Filed to: Truck Yeah, s10 | 0
| 9 |
I went to drive the truck today for the first time in a week or more. Something told me to check the oil, so I did. The dipstick was bone dry. Yikes.
It smokes at startup, just for a second. It has ever since I got it. I have heard people say the Chevy 4.3 can do that for years and it’s not a huge deal. It is the valve seals. A little bit of oil seeps past them when you shut it off and then that oil is burned up when you turn it back on. Well, it’s been 2,000 miles since I bought it and changed the oil in April 2015 (yeah, I’ve put 2,000 miles on it in a year-and-a-half). And, it doesn’t leak enough to stain the driveway nor the street where it stays parked, so stupid me hasn’t checked it. Oh, the idiot light never came on, either.
I added two quarts of oil and that got it back up to where it’s supposed to be. So it is burning 1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles. Ugh. There’s a valve cover gasket leak, too, but nothing extreme.
Sigh. I hope the valve seals job fixes this, because I can’t go pouring a ton of money into this thing with the baby on the way. Luckily, my mechanic friend doesn’t charge me labor and I usually help him out a little. So, we’re hoping to do the valve seals and the a/c compressor replacement at the same time.
The a/c compressor leaks a bit (we have to charge the air once a year), but the more concerning issue is that it basically sounds like a Cessna trying to take off under the hood. It’s not long for this world, and I’m not in the mood to have it lock up on me.
Oh, and it’s going to need tires too, damn it. They’re practically new tread-wise, but they’re so old that the edges are all cracked and dry rotted. This means they need to go bye-bye, right? Oh, and both back tires have slow leaks.
Good thing this isn’t my daily driver. I only drive it when I have to take my mower to my friend’s yard (I mow it weekly for $30.00) or when there is severe weather in the forecast and I don’t want the 6 to get hailed on.
I don’t want to sell my truck. I’ve grown to like it. Hopefully, the valve seals job fixes the oil burning, I can find some new-ish tires for cheap, the a/c compressor replacement will keep that system good for a while, and then Rizzo the S10 will be happy.
Side note: The 4.3 is like one of the toughest engines. Ever. 2 quarts low on oil for God knows how long and it’s no worse for the wear. Even when it was low, there was no noise or loss of performance.
Side side note: The a/c compressor itself has already been replaced once and here it is dying again. Although, there’s a giant sticker on it saying it is a remanufactured unit. Therein lies the issue, I think.
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> mazda616
08/28/2016 at 20:43 |
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It’s pretty much like any GM has truck engine up until active fuel management came out, not really special, but dead reliable.
SVTyler
> mazda616
08/28/2016 at 21:08 |
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I did something similar with my car, had an odd urge to check the coolant for no real reason, found the tank completely empty thanks to a cracked thermostat housing the PO never told me about. No idea how long it was like that since the temp was fine the whole time and it ran great, just makes you nervous long term...
Logansteno: Bought a VW?
> mazda616
08/28/2016 at 21:26 |
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4.3 ain’t care.
On top of me unknowingly running the Safari low on oil, I was recently told by my dad his friend purposely ran his 1st gen S10 4.3 WITHOUT OIL to try and kill it and it seriously wouldn’t die or even act abnormal. I think he said it went something like 1,500 miles before he said screw it and put oil back in it.
Like I said, 4.3 ain’t care. At all.
shop-teacher
> mazda616
08/28/2016 at 21:52 |
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Eh, it’s fine.
Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> mazda616
08/29/2016 at 02:22 |
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This truck sounds flawless to me. 1 quart missing every 1k miles? For you, that’s an extra $4-8 a year. Tires bad? Buy some $500 set and never think about it for ten years. Valve cover gasket leak? What older truck doesn’t have that, am I right? Broken A/C? Ehh yeah better fix that I guess.
Frank Grimes
> mazda616
08/29/2016 at 03:56 |
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time for an upgrade the poor girl deserves it. might need new tires as well.
Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
> mazda616
08/29/2016 at 08:15 |
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You were told right, the blue on startup is nothing to worry about.
The 305 in our ‘88 Chevy van did it too, when my dad took it in the mechanic told him that he COULD “fix” it, but that it would actually hurt the motor in the long run because the small amount of oil that got in means it has lubrication on startup.
WiscoProud
> mazda616
08/29/2016 at 12:03 |
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The 4.3L is a great engine. Willing to take all kinds of abuse with little complaint. Although lesser known, the 2.8L was also a (less powerful) workhorse.
Fun story, I had a 85 S-10 Blazer two door as my first car with the 2.8L. It would burn oil terribly. I actually seized the engine once when I ran out, but I let it cool off, filled it back up with oil, and it started right back up. The funny part was I learned it would actually run better right before it ran out of oil. Basically the oil would stop fouling the combustion and it would run better for a little while. Ironically this was a sign everything was about to go to shit and I needed to get oil immediately.
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mazda616
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/29/2016 at 14:09 |
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I just don't want it to run out of oil and die. But it seems like the 4.3 refuses to die, anyway...