02 Apr 12 16:20, Mark Hofmann wrote to Roy Witt:   
      
    RW>> Probably why a lot of those cars with that engine are in the scrap   
    RW>> yards today. Harry had in the shop a 99 Malibu with a similar   
    RW>> problem too. The customer didn't think the car was worth repairing   
    RW>> and left it there. Harry bought it from the owner for something like   
    RW>> $300 and had one of the mechanics pull the heads. While the heads   
    RW>> were off the engine and out to the machine shop for a valve job and   
    RW>> resurfacing, the shop's helper pulled the interior out, pressure   
    RW>> washed the carpeting and cleaned up the seats and dried it all in   
    RW>> the sun. Hot Texas sun... When it was all put back together, it ran   
    RW>> like a champ and it was Harry's daily driver for a while.   
      
    MH> My brother had a 2000 Malibu that also leaked antifreeze.  I still   
    MH> blame the Dexcool antifreeze.  There are so many reports of these   
    MH> types of problems and they all started when GM released the Dexcool.   
      
   I don't think it was the Dexcool...I had that in my Z28 (alum block &   
   heads) for the first 5 years I've owned it and it was a three years old   
   when I bought it. That's 8 years on Dexcool without any problems. Of   
   course, I never put any water in it when it needed topping off, I used   
   more Dexcool. I flushed the entire system a few years ago with a power   
   flusher and put in some 'pink' coolant that Harry recommended...   
      
    MH> Both mechanics that I have spoken to about it also won't use it.  I   
    MH> have the yellow stuff in my car these days.   
      
   Harry didn't think much of it either and he's a GM ASE trained technician.   
      
    RW>> Did they send a GM rep to talk with you at the dealer? Those guys   
    RW>> are cool.   
      
    MH> They did have a GM rep talk to me, but we never talked in person.   
    MH> Only on the phone.  I was happy that they at least worked with me a   
    MH> bit on this, since it was a major repair and only 6k out of warranty   
    MH> (66k).   
      
   He lived up to my 'cool guys' statement...at one time, I had contact with   
   a factory rep who was the nat'l Camaro GM gooroo...he was very active in   
   the car show and performance part of the Camaro before they stopped making   
   the 4th gen in 2002...dunno what happened to him in the interum period   
   between 4th and 5th gen Camaros, but I did hear from him for a while   
   after that.   
      
    RW>> Oil pan leaks can be attributed to high pressure in the crankcase.   
    RW>> Meaning there was a clogged crankcase breathing system somewhere.   
      
    MH> Not sure how that happened.   
      
   Considering how well pan gaskets seal the crankcase these days, it had to   
   be something major.   
      
    MH> Maybe my car will be more rare if many ended up in the scrap yard   
    MH> from that issue.  :) - Mark   
      
   Could be. A lot of people drove them a quart or two low and that'll take   
   an engine out quickly enough. Do it often enough and it'll burn alive.   
      
      
                   R\%/itt   
      
      
     ... Only those who will risk going too far can possibly   
     ... find out how far one can go ~ TS Eliot   
      
      
   --- Twit(t) Filter v2.1 (C) 2000-10   
    * Origin: Roiz Flying \A/ Service * South Texas * USA * (1:387/22)