Another automotive question

[Gene03 0]

1996 Chrysler Cirrus

2.5 Liter V-6/automatic transmission

VIN 1C3EJ56H3TN322253

210,000 miles

Situation

Engine and transmission are leaking a small but noticeable amount of fluid.

Fasteners are present and checked for torque settings.

Seals are old (no shit) and allowing fluid to leak.

Does anyone know of a safe transmission and/or oil additive/seal reconditioner so I can get a few more miles out of the old buggy before I put it out to pasture?

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[headoverheels 333]

Leaking how much? Just keep adding fluid, if it isn't a ridiculous amount, and the vehicle will be dying soon anyway.

If it is the engine oil leaking (can you tell?), it might be worth cleaning or replacing the PCV valve, or whatever the Cirrus has along that line. If the PCV gets clogged, it allows crankcase pressure to build up, and will cause seals to leak. Replacing it will not totally fix the seals, but can reduce leakage to a small amount. A less environmental fix along the same line would be a vented oil filler cap.

Some of the oils specific for higher-mileage cars might help a bit with the seal conditioning. I personally wouldn't be adding any of the snake-oil leak fixers, even as a "hail Mary" fix.

[DeNReN 0]

So whats leaking?


Is it what we refer to as "self undercoating" ?

Stop leak products may or may not work depending on whats leaking and how bad it leaks...but roll the dice if you want.

A few litres of epoxy will fix almost any leak

[pontiacgtp00 0]

Throw in some Lucas Transmission Stop Leak if you're just wanting a bandaid fix.

[Gene03 0]

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So whats leaking?


Is it what we refer to as "self undercoating" ?

Stop leak products may or may not work depending on whats leaking and how bad it leaks...but roll the dice if you want.

A few litres of epoxy will fix almost any leak

Thanks to everyone so far for the replies.

Oil and tranny are leaking, the fluid color tells the story.

I don't want to "roll the dice" as it is my only form of transportation.

I'm surprised you mentioned epoxy, I thought of steam cleaning the engine after finding all the leaks and then epoxy coating the "seams".

This old car isn't going have any major servicing done.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[DeNReN 0]

EEK!!!!

I was joking about the epoxy!!!! and meant to add it internally

Any stop leak product you add is rolling the dice.

A engine that old with that many miles will have almost all seals and gaskets died out to the point of leaking...how severe the leaks are is what matters.

My 1st question was...whats leaking? you may have 20 minor leaks that you can live with but one major one that is just dumping out fluid and requires repair. A major leak is not likely to be fixed by a stop leak product.


Edited to add: how much fluid are you going through?? is there a actual drip? etc etc?

[warpedskydiver 0]

You have a warranty on that trans rebuild.

If it is just minor leakage (quart a month) leave it alone.

Leakers never have rusted out floor boards.

[skyjumpenfool 2]

This'll piss off the tree huggers out there, but, oil is still the cheapest thing there is. When it comes to cars, oil costs nothing in the grand scheme of things. So, just keep adding fluids until it becomes rediculous. Whatever you do, don't run it low on fluids. That'll end a cars life no matter how old it is. Good luck.

The Auto Shop Teacher Strikes again!!

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[BillyVance 34]

Our '96 Mazda Protege has 207,000 miles on it. It still runs great, but of course it leaks oil somewhere. All it takes is adding one quart of oil in between oil changes. That's not too bad is it?

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[LongWayToFall 0]

Not bad at all. I had an old ford diesel truck that leaked quite a bit of oil, we had to lay down cardboard and put kitty litter on it in the driveway cuz that sucker would destroy the driveway. It leaked so bad that the underside of the engine developed a massive coating of road grime, and every time I changed the oil/filter I would be head to toe nasty. I'm talking an hour in the shower and an entire bar of soap nasty. Fun truck though. The used oil would go back into the gas tank. How is that for recycle?

[Gene03 0]

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Not bad at all. I had an old ford diesel truck that leaked quite a bit of oil, we had to lay down cardboard and put kitty litter on it in the driveway cuz that sucker would destroy the driveway. It leaked so bad that the underside of the engine developed a massive coating of road grime, and every time I changed the oil/filter I would be head to toe nasty. I'm talking an hour in the shower and an entire bar of soap nasty. Fun truck though. The used oil would go back into the gas tank. How is that for recycle?

I'm not sure if I would recycle oil like that, yet.

How impressive was it when you started it up?

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[Gene03 0]

Quote

You have a warranty on that trans rebuild.

If it is just minor leakage (quart a month) leave it alone.

Leakers never have rusted out floor boards.

The warranty was only for one year and has expired.

The old girl is running good though.

I'm calling Randy tomorrow and getting his opinion.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[LongWayToFall 0]

The truck had 2 tanks, so it was perfect. Get it warmed up on the straight diesel, and then switch to the mixed. To tell you the truth, I could never tell a difference, smoke, power, or otherwise from the straight diesel. I have run it over 25% used oil too.

[Gene03 0]

Wow,

Honestly, I missed the DIESEL reference in your post.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[LongWayToFall 0]

Hahahaha, yeah I forgot to mention that at first, certainly worth noting!!!!! (Don't try this with gas, only old school mechanical pump diesels, and even then it is not the best thing you could do haha)

[piisfish 140]

1996 is old ??
I never had a car THAT young

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[Squeak 17]

Quote

1996 is old ??
I never had a car THAT young

Me either or motorbike.
My current bike is the newest one i have ever owned and it's 22 years old and my car is a '94 model, bloody modern i thought

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Gene03 0]

Quote

1996 is old ??
I never had a car THAT young

And she's only a few years old to me.

Runs rather well considering.

It's the smell of burning oil/tranny fluid that stinks her up.

Hang a couple dozen PineTree air fresheners in her????
NOT.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[marks2065 0]

Quote

Quote

1996 is old ??
I never had a car THAT young

And she's only a few years old to me.

Runs rather well considering.

It's the smell of burning oil/tranny fluid that stinks her up.

Hang a couple dozen PineTree air fresheners in her????
NOT.

FIND OUT WHAT IS LEAKING probably needs valve cover gaskets still. the trans may be the solenoid pack

[Gene03 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

1996 is old ??
I never had a car THAT young

And she's only a few years old to me.

Runs rather well considering.

It's the smell of burning oil/tranny fluid that stinks her up.

Hang a couple dozen PineTree air fresheners in her????
NOT.

FIND OUT WHAT IS LEAKING probably needs valve cover gaskets still. the trans may be the solenoid pack

Yes, I understand and stop yelling at me before I start crying.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[Gene03 0]

Quote

You have a warranty on that trans rebuild.

If it is just minor leakage (quart a month) leave it alone.

Leakers never have rusted out floor boards.

Called Randy and he said bring it in next Saturday, woo hoo.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[warpedskydiver 0]

You need to determine if it is from the pan, the drain plug or the lines.

I am doubtful it is the seals.

[marks2065 0]

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Quote

Quote

Quote

1996 is old ??
I never had a car THAT young

And she's only a few years old to me.

Runs rather well considering.

It's the smell of burning oil/tranny fluid that stinks her up.

Hang a couple dozen PineTree air fresheners in her????
NOT.

FIND OUT WHAT IS LEAKING probably needs valve cover gaskets still. the trans may be the solenoid pack

Yes, I understand and stop yelling at me before I start crying.

I wasn't yelling, my caps button got pushed by accident, but I left it that way to stress the point. hope things are well in the warmth that you left us for. I need a repack when you coming home?

[BillyVance 34]

Just found out the Mazda Protege is leaking more oil than before. Its the one I mentioned previously that has over 207K miles on it.

The head gasket is leaking all along the front edge. Anybody know where I can get a new one and how much it should cost? I was quoted $85-90. Can't be too hard to unbolt the head and swap the gaskets can it?

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[1969912 0]

Quote

Just found out the Mazda Protege is leaking more oil than before. Its the one I mentioned previously that has over 207K miles on it.

The head gasket is leaking all along the front edge. Anybody know where I can get a new one and how much it should cost? I was quoted $85-90. Can't be too hard to unbolt the head and swap the gaskets can it?

If you really mean head gasket, it's a bit more complicated than just unbolting it. You need to make sure that the cam chain doesn't fall into the chain cover and that the chain is indexed to the cam gears properly on reassembly. Cleaning of block/head surfaces and proper bolt torque are also important. If you really mean cam/valve cover gasket, it should be simple. Are you sure it's the head gasket?

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG