So, here's the story:
First, the water pump on the engine goes bad, so I replace it. A good day's work, but no big deal, right?
After putting everything back together, it runs for a little while, then dies.
Then, for about a week of trying to troubleshoot my dead truck (I was so sure it would never work again I bought a new one) it produced ominous symptoms such as:
Dying, of course
White smoke out the tail pipe
Dead battery
Massive coolant leaks (fixed)
Severe lack of power (when it would run at all, which was rare)
Extremely low idle, no matter what adjustments were made
Bad overheating
Now, all of the sudden, without me making any repairs, it is working again, and running quite close to as good as it ever has...
What's up with that!?
(Well, now you know why I call it the zombie truck now; it came back from the dead.)
Maybe you have a ghost that was a mechanic who decided to help you. 
Spooky. Something sort of similar happened with one of our car radios once. My father couldn't fix it no matter what he tried (and he's an electrician, so he's usually pretty good with this stuff), and eventually he got so frustrated that he started beating it up and drop-kicked the thing off our deck and was done with it.
However, there was a gaping hole in the dashboard since we hadn't bought a new radio yet, so he just put the thing back in there to keep away the ugly. Then, when he turned the car on, the radio worked fine. Weird.
lol, sounds like my firebird.. Now the battery is dead hahaNice story, glad it's working.
| hlavco wrote: |
Spooky. Something sort of similar happened with one of our car radios once. My father couldn't fix it no matter what he tried (and he's an electrician, so he's usually pretty good with this stuff), and eventually he got so frustrated that he started beating it up and drop-kicked the thing off our deck and was done with it.
However, there was a gaping hole in the dashboard since we hadn't bought a new radio yet, so he just put the thing back in there to keep away the ugly. Then, when he turned the car on, the radio worked fine. Weird. |
As an electician he should know that beating up not working things should've worked on the first place 
| rheanna wrote: |
| lol, sounds like my firebird.. Now the battery is dead haha |
I have 2 brand new car batteries and 2 truck batteries connected in parallel in the back of my van, to make up for my lack of alternator 
Sounds like your engine computers shot. | Andrew426 wrote: |
I have 2 brand new car batteries and 2 truck batteries connected in parallel in the back of my van, to make up for my lack of alternator
|
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to get a new alternator?
Anyway, it has stopped running again. (Just after I got it cleaned up perfectly for selling, of course)
Its symptoms have finally stabilized now, so I'll ask you what you make of them:
When you try to start it, it will turn over, but will not start.
If you try starting it while giving it gas, it will run, and continue to run as long as you keep giving it gas. Once you let it drop to an idle, it dies.Glad you got a new vehicle.
Your haed gasket leak has gotten much worse.
Does it have fuel injection or a carb?
Give your idle adjustment screw about half a turn.
Try to find a spot where it will barely stay running at a fast idle.
You mentioned white smoke, some of your cylinders may be flooding out with coolant and quenching the spark plug spark. Then after it sits long enough for the cylinders to dry out it starts again. But then the head gasket leaks more coolant and the problem returns.
I thought white smoke could be caused from water in the cylinders, maybe somehow water was trapped in the engine when you had the water pump and other problems and the time you left it alone allowed the water to drain or evaporate. dunno, but guess you come out of it with a misc. vehicle to do hard work in and keep you current truck clean for a bit.
| ocalhoun wrote: |
| Andrew426 wrote: |
I have 2 brand new car batteries and 2 truck batteries connected in parallel in the back of my van, to make up for my lack of alternator
|
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to get a new alternator?
|
Na I have a mechanic friend who buys them through his work then writes them off and sells them to me on the sly for cheap. Dont tell anyone that though | jwellsy wrote: |
Glad you got a new vehicle.
Your haed gasket leak has gotten much worse.
|
Possibly, but now that I replaced the battery, it runs fine. (Despite the fact that the auto parts store told me the battery was fine when I had them test it.) Since it runs now, and the white smoke is not present at the moment, I'm not worried.
I'm asking $4125 for it if anybody's interested Nope brand new engine so I know that still works
Some weird occurrence came up while I was driving my mom's Trailblazer home the other night. Halfway home, the speedometer stopped working. It dropped to zero, and the needle would only slowly go up while I held down the gas pedal. If I released it, even while coasting or going down a hill, the needle would drop again. The highest I got it to read was around 20mph. Then, as soon as I pulled into my hometown's main intersection, it started working again. Weird. I think coming to a complete stop for the traffic light fixed it somehow.
^Reminds me of my gas gauge; at around 3/4 of a tank, it would crazily go between empty and 3/4. (Repeatedly setting off the low fuel alarm in the process) At any other time it would work perfectly.
| ocalhoun wrote: |
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to get a new alternator?
Anyway, it has stopped running again. (Just after I got it cleaned up perfectly for selling, of course)
Its symptoms have finally stabilized now, so I'll ask you what you make of them:
When you try to start it, it will turn over, but will not start.
If you try starting it while giving it gas, it will run, and continue to run as long as you keep giving it gas. Once you let it drop to an idle, it dies. |
Check your mass air flow sensor if it has one. Located on the breather tube but im sure you knew that already;)^The problem is fixed already. I replaced the battery, it worked fine from then on, and I sold it for $3,900.
