My friends car has a problem

"YSI-what can brown do for you" (ysi-what-can-brown-do-for-you) 03/05/2014 at 21:20 • Filed to: None

0

37

He was driving back to the apartment in his 2001 Buick Le Sabre, when all of a sudden his battery light comes on. Then all of his warning lights start going on one by one. Even the airbag light. So he calls me out of the apartment to look at the car. Everything looked fine to me. And then I looked at his engine oil cap(as we know, that would definitely cause the problem. . .) and it looked like the above picture. So if I am not mistaken, that probably means he might have a head gasket issue and his coolant might be getting in his oil. This still doesn't explain all his lights coming on. I was thinking ECU or wiring problem, but I am still not sure. Now his car won't start. So anyone got any ideas? I say he takes it to a mechanic.

puddler > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:22

0

head gaskets seem to be extra faulty this winter. or maybe it's just being here, where i've encountered more...

Matt Urban > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:24

0

was the engine still running when all the lights were on?

YSI-what can brown do for you > Matt Urban 03/05/2014 at 21:24

0

Yup. He drove for like 20 minutes with them on.

YSI-what can brown do for you > puddler 03/05/2014 at 21:25

0

Do you work with Subarus?

EL_ULY > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:25

0

Lol yup. I say he heads to one asap. He has more issues that just coolant and oil mixing.

AthomSfere > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:27

2

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Unfortunately, you could have stopped with that. IMO the Big Three were still peddling pure crap in 01...

Pessimism aside, I think your synopsis is right. Get it to the mechanic unless you want to flush / rebuild it...

Old-Busted-Hotness > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:28

0

Peanut butter, yummy!

Water in the oil for sure. As for the lights, could be the ignition switch. I had that happen on a '99 Grand Prix. Gauges all went apeshit, too.

YSI-what can brown do for you > AthomSfere 03/05/2014 at 21:29

0

Yeah, it isn't a great car. But he isn't really a car guy and doesn't really care. Not to mention that he doesn't know when he changed the oil or the oil filter. . .

puddler > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:29

0

i've set coilovers on a wrx, but thats about it. also had to plug an oil leak on a subby powered dunebuggy, but thats just apple flavored oranges. methinks you're right about the headgasket and ecu on the buick.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:30

0

Could have blown a head gasket, let coolant into the oil which degraded the bearings, and led to a spun bearing or overheated/seized engine?

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:30

0

Is that Chickfila sauce.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna 03/05/2014 at 21:31

0

He does like Chickflia. Maybe he stuff some sauce in the engine.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:32

0

This + green food dye = mechanics shamrock shake

Gamecat235 > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:35

0

It's funny, the oil in the Beetle looked like that last time my wife took it to get the oil changed. It wasn't quite as creamy but looked pretty similar. They freaked the hell out, freaked her out, she called me, and I said "check the stick". Came out looking fine. I drive a mile and a half, 4 times a day in the beetle. The engine rarely gets warm. There was so much froth on the cap that the guys assumed it had to be coolant in the oil.

They wouldn't service it. My wife was still paranoid that she called AAA an had them tow it to our regular shop. They checked. Nothing, no coolant, just caked froth from irregular driving habits.

It's not always a sign of impending doom. Just usually.

YSI-what can brown do for you > MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig 03/05/2014 at 21:35

0

This is not far fetched idea probably. He went to try and start it, and it won't turn over, which is really really strange cause his batter was working just fine(his lights were on and everything).

AthomSfere > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:36

0

Does he at least know where each of them goes?

Regardless, I would be more concerned with head gasket issues... And a full rebuild (best bet I would say) is more costly then unloading the car and getting something else...

YSI-what can brown do for you > Old-Busted-Hotness 03/05/2014 at 21:36

0

Thanks for the suggestion, I will look it up and see what's up.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Gamecat235 03/05/2014 at 21:40

0

Just like this? That is pretty strange. My friend drives two to three times a day in 10 to 15 minute intervals, so maybe it is just a bit of froth.

No Prius Needed > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:43

0

He probably did. You can cure diseases with that sauce its amazing.

YSI-what can brown do for you > AthomSfere 03/05/2014 at 21:44

0

Hopefully he doesn't have to do that, but he shouldn't have a problem getting a car. He is fairly well off.

thereisnospork > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:45

0

Headgasket or other coolant to oil leak + what is classically a dead alternator, but may just be wiring to that effect. Once the alternator dies as voltage goes down all the other systems will throw errors and pop warning lights one by one. Charge the battery then give her a jump (with other car or battery booster). I bet once the battery boost/other car disconnects the battery/other warning lights will come back on in the same manner.

Of course changing the oil and doing a compression test is advisable before driving much further.

Gamecat235 > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:45

0

Very similar. I'd still have it checked. As more often than not, it is coolant. But I wanted to point out that it's not always the worst case scenario.

YSI-what can brown do for you > puddler 03/05/2014 at 21:46

0

Ah, I see. I thought you worked with Subarus because they tend to have head gasket failures more often than other cars.

Decay buys too many beaters > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:47

1

How often does he drive the car for more than 10 minutes? My jetta's oil cap looks like that quite often due to condensation in the crankcase from a short commute. As for the electrical gremlins, got a code reader?

YSI-what can brown do for you > Decay buys too many beaters 03/05/2014 at 21:48

0

He doesn't have a code reader, but he could get one. And he usually only drives for 10 to 15 minutes.

puddler > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:49

0

no, in the last few days i've heard of several people having issues.

dat buggy:

first pic i've posted here where i can be seen, kinda. i'm behind the tx flag.

Decay buys too many beaters > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 21:50

1

That's what I would guess the froth is, but check the coolant level just to be sure. If it is full, maybe not a headgasket.

YSI-what can brown do for you > thereisnospork 03/05/2014 at 21:52

0

He was driving for nearly an hour at that point, so a dead alternator might actually be a good explination. I will recommend he changes the oil and do a compression test but he is a cheap bastard who doesn't care about his car so we will see how that goes. Plus, don't you need to starve the car of fuel before you can do a compression test. Plus we can only get to one side of the cylinders.

YSI-what can brown do for you > puddler 03/05/2014 at 22:00

0

Did you get to ride in one of those?

puddler > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 22:07

0

that me after scaring the shit out of my grandma & exgf.

Mathias Rios > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 22:17

0

Sounds like his belts have disappeared. Which caused the water pump + alternator to not work, the car to overheat, and coolant to enter the oil by way of the head gasket. Are the belts there and actually going around the pulleys? Or belt if it has a serpentine belt.

190e30-Now with COSWORTH > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 22:18

0

At least he isn't this guy that just posted in a Facebook group I'm in...

Yum. Pudding.

midnightautoparts > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 22:27

0

No question, the alternator is bad. It stopped charging and, as the battery died, systems began shutting down due to lack of voltage. Don't worry about the peanut butter just yet, most likely just condensation.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/05/2014 at 22:40

0

I'm no expert, but it seems that what you've got here is a head gasket issue that's allowing GM's infamous Dex-Cool antifreeze to mix with your oil. A quick google shows that it makes a similar milky sludge to what's pictured when mixed with oil.

thereisnospork > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/06/2014 at 01:34

0

I always thought you just needed to unplug the spark plug leads and/or coil for a compression test, haven't done one personally. Even if you do though, just pull the fuel pump fuse and spark plugs/wires and crank it over a few times first to clear the cylinders, nothing too tricky about it. Its also the only conclusive head gasket test I'm aware of and is generally pretty quick and cheap.

jgreen11 > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/06/2014 at 09:00

0

Ahh, the 3.1L or the 3.8L?? I had to change the gaskets on a 3.1L in a 2001 Buick Century due to leaking coolant. Almost all the 3.XL engines from GM had some sort of coolant/oil problem due to the plastic that was used. It's not a fun job, but it was a fun experience. Also, this looks like its pretty far gone. The engine may have seized up if it started getting too much coolant in the motor.

GRawesome > YSI-what can brown do for you 03/06/2014 at 10:58

0

Can you compression check the cylinders? Should let you know how bad the problem is. Guess you will need to charge the battery to do that though.