coolant loss=head gasket?? and more q's

[Rayzor32]

Yeah this is a park ave ultra '03 with the 3800 superchared motor. Its losing antifreeze somehow, it isnt leaking out, and it doesnt looking like its burning any. I think there is some in the oil, im not 100% that it is, but i think its in the oil, it looks orangey to me. My dad doesnt think its in the oil. Is there any sure way to tell? also sometimes when u gun the car the SES light will flash, i think its just a misfire? I scanned it and no codes came up. Also sometimes when u start it itll start ticking, usually when its colder. I dont know why that is. I heard that the coolant could lock the engine up? Is it a head gasket? Also can i run 87, or does it absolutely need 91. And i think the supercharger needs oil, can i use gear oil or do i have to get the special stuff?

[HotZ28]

How many miles on this car? It would be very rare to have a leaking head gasket, or coolant leaking into the crankcase on the Series II S/C engine. The manifold is all aluminum, and the 03 used a much improved LIM gasket set. Has the engine been subjected to extreme overheating? If not, you can usually forget the head gasket as being a source of the leak. A good ole compression test & coolant system pressure test, would reveal any problems here.

If you are still concerned about coolant/water in the oil, you can use the simple; Water by Crackle Test. The result can be measured by placing a few drops of oil on a hot plate that is heated to 150° C. Positive water will bubble and crackle. This test will detect levels of coolant/water down to 0.1%. Its' only drawback is that any detected water may be from condensation as well as coolant contamination. The test is very subjective below 0.5%, however, this test is a good place to start. If positive results are found here, a more definitive test for identifying glycol is a chemical test. The test involves shaking the oil sample with a solution of chemicals and observing a color change. A positive reading in this test will be identified if there is in excess of 300 parts per million glycol present. If this test is reported as positive ethylene glycol, it should be taken seriously!

You should never use 87 octane in this engine! 91 is the lowest recommended octane and 89 should only be used in case of an emergency. I use 93 octane only! If you have been using a lower grade fuel than recommended, that could account for why; “sometimes when u gun the car the SES light will flash”!

In addition, NEVER use “gear oil” in the S/C. Use only GM S/C oil, part # 12345982 available at most GM dealers. It takes two 4 oz bottles for the M90 S/C @ less than 10 bucks ea..
Ingredients listed on the bottle:
Fatty acids, C5-10, esters with dipentaerythritol-phosphoric acid, (1,1-dimenthylethy)phenyl CAS-70983-72-1
diphenyl ester CAS-56803-37-3

[Rayzor32]

theres about 110k on the car. I guess its not the head gasket, its never overheated. I heard lower intake manifold gasket??

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by Rayzor32

I heard lower intake manifold gasket??

Again, this would be very rare! Pressure test the cooling system first!

[Rayzor32]

Any idea where the coolant could be going then?? What would cause ticking on startup?? (colder days usually)

[HotZ28]

How much coolant loss are we talking about? Ticking could be a lifter, or any number of things! Where is the "ticking" coming from? BTW, the “ticking noise” could be a result of this:

sometimes when u gun the car

[Rayzor32]

hey gotta test out that supercharger It lost like 2/3 of resivoir tank in about 2 weeks. Not a lifter tap, its like a loud steady ticking, kinda sounds like if you were tapping on a piece of plastic almost. Too loud to be injectors or ne thing like that. What does piston slap sound like?? I havent been able to determine where its coming from cos itll only happen sometimes, and only on start up, it seems to happen when it gets colder.