Ran diagnostics

Tiny
JRIVERA776
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 CHEVROLET BLAZER
  • 126,000 MILES
Ran diagnostics. OBDII codes P0101 and P0300 returned. Codes continuous. Service Engine light comes on during operation; will go off on its own. Reappears at random, for short intervals.

Truck has had coolant leak for about a year; codes present during time of leak. Takes about 1 gallon of antifreeze every three months. Drove truck to town (13 minute drive) yesterday, everything fine. Drove home, temp gauge begins going up. Continued to ~240 degrees, still rising when I arrived home and turned the engine off. Same time interval, ~13 minutes. Checked coolant overflow-full; checked radiator; bone dry from vantage point. Added almost a full gallon of coolant.

Drove further today - engine temp spiked when stopped at first light, continued to rise. Pulled off, bought three more gallons, added one more to get back home. Added a third after arriving. No signs of any new, or bigger, leaks that would warrant this kind of coolant loss. Water pump looks fine, hoses look fine (both upper and lower), no leaks at clamps or connections. Trouble codes persistent, leaks persistent, coolant loss persistent and MUCH worse now without ANY new signs of leaking. WHAT DO THESE THINGS INDICATE? I'm an average shade tree mechanic and I understand general automotive theory; I've also seen my share of bad coolant leaks. Nothing I've seen the past two days makes sense. Could I have a cracked/blown gasket, or worse, the block? Also, the heater functions erratically. Maybe that might help shed some light.
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013 AT 10:22 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
A year is a long time to let a problem persist. It has now become more major than it should be.

The overheating most likely damaged a head gasket. The leak, original leak is most likely the lower intake and the coolant gets in the oil and the combustion chamber.

You might want to have this verifed and I would not drive it at all. You may be looking at another engine as coolant in the oil for this period damages the mains, rod and cam bearings

Roy
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Thursday, March 14th, 2013 AT 12:30 AM

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