joecar

The PS cooler is inline with the upper radiator hose.

cyberkill

I'm about 99% sure it's the PS Cooler too, based on the info on this thread and other places, and just by seeing where the PS Cooler is, it's very likely...but...I'm a little paranoid. I'm taking the cooler to a shop to see if they can push 1200-1300psi of air through the PS Fluid nozzles to see if maybe they can find a crack in it that would let it seep into the coolant.

The other 1% of me says it still could be engine oil and a bad gasket somewhere. Based on spark plugs though, it's the 1, 5, 7, and 8 plugs that had some oil on the threads and the rest were dry. That plus, it's not as fast as the coolant, but I am consuming a lot of oil. In the course of 2.5 months/2500 mi, I'd pour 7 quarts of oil and when I drain it, I'd end up with only 3-3.5 quarts.

Time is starting to be a factor, so I don't know if I'll have time to go as far as the head gasket...but QUESTION: Can you replace valve seals with the engine still in the bay? ...or are there stories of the valves dropping into the cylinder or losing the clips to keep the spring down?

bballr4567

iTrader: (5)

Forget about the plugs. They were in there for WAY too long for you to get a judge of how the engine is running.

For the oil consumption, look at the PCV valve. A defective one will draw in more air than needed and that is where the oil goes in the majority of our cars.

If the PS Cooler is bad, might as well buy a new radiator too. That goop is almost impossible to get out and will just screw up the new parts.

cyberkill

YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Thank you thank you!! I'm being very honest here...that was the answer I was looking for! (as you can tell, I'm just looking for any excuse to say "ignorance is bliss")


I'll check that tonight! Thanks again!


Also, since I've already gotten this far just do the compression test, I was wondering...how the hell do you actually do this thing? I guess my gauge is your standard one (this isn't mine, but it looks just like it):
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SU...7/?image=large

Unless I'm doing this wrong (high possibility), I put the plug in the hole where the spark plug was, and I need to torque it, right? THEN I have to try to thread the hose in there? I couldn't even do it for the #3 plug hole, I'm sure I won't be able to do it for #8 or 7. If I have the hose already threaded into the plug I'm able to barely hand spin it into the hole (atleast with #3), but I imagine you'd have to tighten it much harder than that, right? What am I missing?

1998Z28LOADED

Hey OP you seem like a pretty smart guy but I dont understand why you would think an 2001 SS is worthless....

cyberkill

Huh? I don't think that at all!

1998Z28LOADED

?????

cyberkill

Oh...lol...sorry...i was looking at just the most recent post.
I meant in terms of selling. It's been in an accident...fixed...and then there's a ton of "city parking dings/dents" too, and the Bluebook on it was only like 5k in "Excellent" condition, so I figured it wasn't worth all that much to sell. It was worth much more sentimentally than it was on the market.... which is what gave me the idea of working on it myself.

bballr4567

iTrader: (5)

KBB is worthless on these cars. Id say you can probably get 9-10k out of your car. Its amazing what people pay for a SS over a Z28.

1998Z28LOADED

Gotcha... I'd still imagine it would bring at least 7 unless it's trashed. Way to go though man, it's really rewarding to get your hands dirty. Sure makes you appreciate your ride. I learned that myself, learned a thing or two about patience in the process. Good luck, you can find almost anything you'd ever need to know on this forum.

1SLwLS1

iTrader: (6)

What I did, was use the fitting that has the same threads as the spark plug, and put a barbed attachment to the end of the that, very short, about 2" long. Then I could force a hose in it and tighten it with a STRONG hose clamp. I have used weaker ones that do not get the hose tight around the barbs and it will leak at 40PSI. SO make sure you can get a hose clamp that wont break with more than 5 ftlbs of torque.

OR just bend the hose, im sure if it is new, it will be stiff, but it will bend. Then you can thread it into the attachment and quick connect the gauge on.

1SLwLS1

iTrader: (6)

Or just put a quick disconnect fitting on the end of the spark plug fittings and put one on the end of the hose. I am sure that would probably be easier than what I mentioned above.

cyberkill

Just ordered some NGK TR55IX plugs and msd superconductors! Do those plugs need to be gapped, and if so, what should they be gapped at? I'm seeing 2 different suggestions around the forum for .050 and .060. My car is mostly
stock, and just may have some boltons in the near future,

Also, For the time being, I wanted to just bypass that PS cooler altogether. So I'm just gonna get a replacement hose that goes from the radiator straight to the engine, which I don't suspect to be a problem, but then, I was thinking of just taking the return line from the power steering gear that was going to the cooler straight to the reservoir. With this being a high pressure system and all, do you foresee any problems with that since I'm cutting the distance by about half?

cyberkill

Given the circumstances along with all the responses, I was pretty convinced that it was the PS Cooler, but I had to test anyway. I went over to my buddy's house and his dad had a 100Psi air compressor. We put balloons on both sides of the PS Cooler, where the coolant would be flowing through, and then blew air into one of the PS fluid nozzles while covering the other one with his thumb, and sure enough, the balloons started to inflate!

Just wanted to confirm the diagnosis for everyone.

vlad1995

iTrader: (1)

I know this is an old thread, but i got a quick question. Was your car blowing white and blue smoke out of the exhaust? Thank you.

cyberkill

No, I had a friend come over and check that once I got the diagnosis from the mechanic that the head gasket was leaking. That's a common symptom of a leaking head gasket though. In the end, all my concerns were due to the Power Steering cooler leaking, which caused the milky stuff in the radiator.

Protius

I know I KNOW...Old Thread...but since you answered the other day I thought I'd take a shot...what ended up being your problem and what did you end up doing to fix it all?

Marc 85Z28

iTrader: (8)

Read his post just above yours...

cyberkill

PS Cooler was the culprit. I took the hose that was going from the PS to the PS cooler and just connected it back to the PS without the cooler, and I bought some extra power steering line from Napa and just looped the outlet to inlet on the PS Cooler itself...just to prevent from any leaking of coolant through the nozzles. I had Pontiac do a high pressure radiator flush (3 times!) for about $100-$150 I think, and haven't had issues with either coolant temp or power steering since.