Radiator Drain Valve Help

smokey · 05-19-2009, 01:13 AM

Hi,

I have a 2002 3.4L alero. I'm trying to flush the radiator because the coolant is bad( it looks like chocolate milk). Anyways so i tried to locate the drain valve and i could not find it, all i could find was some white thing with a hole in the middle of it, i was wondering if i need some kind of a special key or bit from the dealer to insert in the whole or if im looking at something completely different than a drain valve. Any help is appreciated, also posting pictures can help alot. Thank you in advance

99alerogirl · 05-19-2009, 01:25 AM

if you're looking at the radiator, it's on the bottom right... all you have to do is turn the drain plug, and it should release the coolant. here's a picture i took awhile ago, when mine was busted (as you can obviously see)

hope that helps!

Redog · 05-19-2009, 03:10 AM

LIMG leak.

Fix that first, that's the main problem

99alerogirl · 05-19-2009, 03:49 AM

heh, that's what i get for skimming!

zzyzzx · 05-19-2009, 09:49 AM

Exactly how to you check the coolant? From what I can tell, all you seem to have is the equivalent of a radiator overflow tank with a cap that's really hard to remove. Mine might just be difficult to remove beacuse it's 10 years old and only has been removed once. Or is there a real (traditional) radiator cap hidden someplace?

That and won't your car run like crap if you have a LIMG problem?

Nate's Alero · 05-19-2009, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzyzzx

Exactly how to you check the coolant? From what I can tell, all you seem to have is the equivalent of a radiator overflow tank with a cap that's really hard to remove. Mine might just be difficult to remove beacuse it's 10 years old and only has been removed once. Or is there a real (traditional) radiator cap hidden someplace?

That and won't your car run like crap if you have a LIMG problem?

nope, my car ran fine and it leaked the entire cooling system in about 10 minutes into the crankcase.... change your LIMG man, someone get that GAGT writeup! i did it on mine! that writeup looks kick ass, its so accurate too

zzyzzx · 05-19-2009, 11:12 AM

OK, so you are saying that as soon as I get my Escort fixed, I should pre-emptively change out my LIMG because it's going to go bad anyway. I had previously askid if they all go bad, and if so about when. I've only got 23,500 miles on it, and I want to know what to look for.

Nate's Alero · 05-19-2009, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzyzzx

OK, so you are saying that as soon as I get my Escort fixed, I should pre-emptively change out my LIMG because it's going to go bad anyway. I had previously askid if they all go bad, and if so about when. I've only got 23,500 miles on it, and I want to know what to look for.

seen them go bad at 8k miles...change it

smokey · 05-19-2009, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redog

LIMG leak.

Fix that first, that's the main problem

My radiator has never leaked anti freeze ever, its just bad coolant my mechanic said he would charge me $150 for it, i can do it my self for $30

zzyzzx · 05-19-2009, 12:44 PM

If I'm not having LIMG problems should I remove the Dex-Cool and put in green stuff, will that prevent the LIMG problem?

Nate's Alero · 05-19-2009, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzyzzx

If I'm not having LIMG problems should I remove the Dex-Cool and put in green stuff, will that prevent the LIMG problem?

nope, the gaskets get eaten by ALL coolants, thats what i thought also

just take care of it now, i would be willing to travel to do it for you

Nate's Alero · 05-19-2009, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smokey

My radiator has never leaked anti freeze ever, its just bad coolant my mechanic said he would charge me $150 for it, i can do it my self for $30

no, this is much more serious, this is the lower intake manifold water gasket leak,

every 3400 has this problem EVERY SINGLE 3400!!!! don't tell me you are exempt from the gasket leak, this is as bad as a bad head gasket, it leaks coolant into the oil and deteriorates the oil's lubrication properties, i am willing to go into more detail if you wish

zzyzzx · 05-19-2009, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate's Alero

no, this is much more serious, this is the lower intake manifold water gasket leak,

every 3400 has this problem EVERY SINGLE 3400!!!! don't tell me you are exempt from the gasket leak, this is as bad as a bad head gasket, it leaks coolant into the oil and deteriorates the oil's lubrication properties, i am willing to go into more detail if you wish

OK, so you are saying that it's more a matter of when then if, correct? And presumably the right thing to do is to just replace the gasket and refill with regular anti-freeze, then I won't have to worry about it again, ever. Supposedly there are some torque specs that are wrong as well on the reinstall.

cherrington17 · 05-19-2009, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate's Alero

no, this is much more serious, this is the lower intake manifold water gasket leak,

every 3400 has this problem EVERY SINGLE 3400!!!! don't tell me you are exempt from the gasket leak, this is as bad as a bad head gasket, it leaks coolant into the oil and deteriorates the oil's lubrication properties, i am willing to go into more detail if you wish

i heard they switched to the better/metal gaskets for the late 2003/2004 aleros??

smokey · 05-19-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate's Alero

no, this is much more serious, this is the lower intake manifold water gasket leak,

every 3400 has this problem EVERY SINGLE 3400!!!! don't tell me you are exempt from the gasket leak, this is as bad as a bad head gasket, it leaks coolant into the oil and deteriorates the oil's lubrication properties, i am willing to go into more detail if you wish

Ok i may not be exempt from this, but it may not have happened yet because when i change my oil it looks normal. If you can please go into more detail.

zzyzzx · 05-20-2009, 08:15 AM

After reading more about this, I think an appropriate course of action would be to visually inspect your oil and antifreeze on a regular, frequent basis (2X monthly or something) and if you happen to need a cooling system component, flush out the Dex-Cool and put in regular antifreeze.

Nate's Alero · 05-20-2009, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherrington17

i heard they switched to the better/metal gaskets for the late 2003/2004 aleros??

you are correct, only 2004 year

cherrington17 · 05-20-2009, 08:27 AM

smokey, the symptoms are three possible results:

1)antifreeze leaking into oil - Result: Chocolate milk looking oil
2)Oil leaking into antifreeze - Result: Chocolate milk looking antifreeze
3) Coolant leaking from LIM seal, and pooling under the TB (between TB and tranny) - Result: Nothing serious, but you HAVE a LIM leak.

any of the three, left unchecked can become the others. Any combination of them (or simply one) can destroy the engine.

If your good with mechanic work, it can be done in a weekend, at a moderate pace.

Link in my sig has the link to the gagt writeup.

zzyzzx · 05-20-2009, 08:29 AM

One more question, this engine doesn't have any plastic manifolds, does it?

smokey · 05-20-2009, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzyzzx

After reading more about this, I think an appropriate course of action would be to visually inspect your oil and antifreeze on a regular, frequent basis (2X monthly or something) and if you happen to need a cooling system component, flush out the Dex-Cool and put in regular antifreeze.

Yes i inspect the oil on regular basis and it seems fine, so it looks that i did not get this leak yet. I also don't have dexcool, i use the regular green stuff, 50/50 with water. I'm flushing it this weekend I already talked to the dealer and he said I might need a hex key to open the drain valve because mine looks different than the one that alero girl posted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherrington17

smokey, the symptoms are three possible results:

1)antifreeze leaking into oil - Result: Chocolate milk looking oil
2)Oil leaking into antifreeze - Result: Chocolate milk looking antifreeze
3) Coolant leaking from LIM seal, and pooling under the TB (between TB and tranny) - Result: Nothing serious, but you HAVE a LIM leak.

any of the three, left unchecked can become the others. Any combination of them (or simply one) can destroy the engine.

If your good with mechanic work, it can be done in a weekend, at a moderate pace.

Link in my sig has the link to the gagt writeup.

I know some stuff about mechanical work so I'm pretty sure I can do it in one day with the help of my dad ( he rebuilt engines long ago). If I flush it and it comes back looking like chocolate milk i will change the gasket.