Moisture in engine block?

[abysed]

I had my oil changed earlier today and they said that they noticed some moisture in my engine block / some water in oil... Guessing that's probably not good. They didn't notice this last time I went in which means it's progressing quickly? My car (2001 Grand Am SE 3.4L V6) hasn't had the intake gasket replaced yet and I've been having coolant problems for a while - overflow tank runs dry every 2-3 months or so and the hoses are finally showing some bad wear.

[brcidd]

Better "Git er Done" before it takes out the bottom end-- Crankshaft bearings and coolant are arch enemies- there will soon be a seizure underhood if you continue on....I've seen people drive them this way- keep adding coolant- until it does seize-- then they have another seizure when they see the $4000 price tag on engine replacement...

[abysed]

Yeah. Over the last year I've just had more coolant added.. I had the cooling system pressure tested twice and both times they said the pressure was fine and they didn't notice any leaks. But now something is showing up...

[Gir-_-]

well moisture in the engine block could also mean you're doing short trips with your car... coolant in the oil would typically come out to a chocolate milkshake sort of color....

If it's just plain moisture you'd be able to see the difference in the oil itself with the water not mixing

if its not coolant, a good remedy is to do a good car trip or just have a busy day of driving around... usually a good 2-3 times in a month can prevent moisture from occuring

[J-Ri]

If it's the lower intake gasket, they usually drip on the back of the camshaft right on the bearing. The bearing seizes and the camshaft snaps. $100 for junk car+$500 for salvaged engine+rebuild kit=cheap car for us mechanics Seriously though, find out for sure what's leaking and fix it.

[abysed]

I travel about 10 miles to work one-way so I don't know if thats really too short of a short trip or not.. But anyways I have a bunch of other issues with the car as well:

• coolant leaking, dont know where
• coolant hoses now showing weak spots
• water temp gauge sometimes doesnt work, looks like the coolant is leaking right over the sensor. itll work one day then it wont work for a week then become fine again. thermostat housing leaking?
• bad gas mileage. doing around 16mpg on mostly highway driving even when i keep it under 2500 rpms the entire tank. replaced air filter and fuel filter 3 months ago.
• now water in oil
• turn signals havent worked in over a month now. used to work every now and then, helped when i kept the car outside all the time. think it has something to do with that hazard recall back in 2004.
• doesnt want to start up right away when warm. usually have to hold the ignition in start for 4-6 seconds before itll fire up.

I'm just wondering if its time to trade it in..

[Gir-_-]

Originally Posted by abysed

I travel about 10 miles to work one-way so I don't know if thats really too short of a short trip or not.. But anyways I have a bunch of other issues with the car as well:

• coolant leaking, dont know where
• coolant hoses now showing weak spots
• water temp gauge sometimes doesnt work, looks like the coolant is leaking right over the sensor. itll work one day then it wont work for a week then become fine again. thermostat housing leaking?
• bad gas mileage. doing around 16mpg on mostly highway driving even when i keep it under 2500 rpms the entire tank. replaced air filter and fuel filter 3 months ago.
• now water in oil
• turn signals havent worked in over a month now. used to work every now and then, helped when i kept the car outside all the time. think it has something to do with that hazard recall back in 2004.
• doesnt want to start up right away when warm. usually have to hold the ignition in start for 4-6 seconds before itll fire up.

I'm just wondering if its time to trade it in..

hmm I would...

[wafrederick]

Sounds like it needs intake gaskets.If you want to know how the cam breaks and it is not because the cam has a hollow center.It washes the cam bearings too which the block is junk right away after this happens and GM put in really poorly made cam bearings from the factory.The block is casted in China with the Journals casted offset.Jasper fixed this problem by alighn boring the cam journal and puts in updated cam bearings.Jasper is the only one that does this.A Jasper rep told me this that I know.