Many things, one post

"winterlegacy, here 'till the end" (winterlegacy) 01/21/2020 at 23:18 • Filed to: None

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So, after finally getting the hood open on this (borderline hoopty of a) van, I gave the coolant system a look-see. It’s kind of a problem when your coolant system is more air than coolant.

Of course, I resolved that problem with the correct amount of coolant, which was an entire jug. Now to keep my eye on it to see if it leaks. At least it blows hot air, enough to incinerate you should you keep it on full blast, unlike the Legacy where it just blew lukewarm and you were lucky if the defrosters did their job.

This problem came to a head last nig ht when I went out to dinner for my birthday where I had to make a very fast stop to prevent it from going into the red zone (but thankfully there’s no damage ). Speaking of which, yes, it was my birthday yesterday! Nothing really fantastic happened and I spent the better part of two hours earlier in the day snowblowing and the better part of an hour late at night remounting an ATV winch.

At least I caught the van cranking 280,000 miles.

Longtime Lurker > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 01/21/2020 at 23:58

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That’s one the of things  I liked about my old Caravan, the heater could put out enough heat to melt the plastic in the dash.

For Sweden > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 01/22/2020 at 01:04

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This is the Mopar Magic I’ve heard so much about

Long_Voyager94 > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 01/22/2020 at 07:37

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3.3L, likely dumping the antifreeze out the lower intake gasket.

Or the water pump is going to hell.

Or the HGs are shot.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Long_Voyager94 01/22/2020 at 08:06

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Didn’t seem like head gaskets, I didn’t see any signs of it being head gaskets with the exhaust smoke.

I'll check to see if there's a leak when I leave today, if there's a stain on the ground I know it's happening when the vehicle isn't on.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > For Sweden 01/22/2020 at 08:07

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The Mopar Magic is the fact that despite certain outstanding circumstances it somehow still runs.

Long_Voyager94 > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 01/22/2020 at 08:10

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HGs don’t always show in exhaust smoke. Come to think of it, I’ve never had a Chrysler show sign of HG in the exhaust, they’ve always either leaked out or leaked into the oil . Sometimes they leak in an mix with oil. Other times they simply leak out, soaking the engine block but burning off before it can drip to the ground.

Same goes for the intake gaskets. They usually leak out, then it gets burnt off before you notice any leakage.

Look for damp areas around the lower intake manifold and around the bottom side of the heads.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Long_Voyager94 01/22/2020 at 19:00

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Upon further investigation, the middle of the V is completely soaked.

Good thing is, it doesn’t look like the head gaskets, and it’s a very slow leak. I filled it up yesterday and I’ve barely lost any liquid.

The bad thing is that it’s leaking and it’s another expensive thing to replace.

Long_Voyager94 > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 01/23/2020 at 07:10

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It’s $12.64 for the Felpro Intake set on Rockauto. Not sure I’d call that expensive.

They’re not hard to replace either. Should take you less than 2 hrs.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Long_Voyager94 01/23/2020 at 09:30

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There is the expense of time, and the expense of money.

My college workload is such that I don’t have a lot of time to spare, and I’ve still got the Subaru to get out of the garage...