For Sherry....6 little dimples in the hood....
Well now folks this story is dedicated to Sherry. She's sold her mobile home and I hope to convince her to stick around for support. Anyways....Sherry...headed for work on Tuesday night...10p.m....20deg. outside. I'm driving Ole Reliable..my 1995 Chevy AWD Astro Van. I love this van!! 187,000 miles on her and she runs like a fine Swiss watch! I've literally rebuilt her (actually my mechanic did..) from end to end. This seat fits me like a glove...a bit tattered and worn and the springs ayre showing..but it feels just like my old recliner...which I swear I will keep down in the garage forever if I ever git a new one. I'm cruisin' past my mechanics garage and tip my hat and cackle...."Hey George..ain't seen ye since Nov.!!" (Georges Auto Repair in Greencastle) Then I looked down at the tempreture gauge on the van. HOLY [expletive deleted]!! The needle on the temp. gauge is rising faster than I've EVER seen it move before! Headed right into the "Things are about to explode...hoses will pop off and puddy soon yer gonn'a see 6 little dimples on the hood as yer pistons fly out of the engine Zone!!" Ahhhh... yes.... Sherry...more to come of course! Audie....the bug-eyed Oldfart...
Well now M'am I try and take good care of my vehicles. I take 'em in fer regular service and have a full maintenance done on them every year. I've had $3000.00 wurf of service done on this van in the past 12 months. New EVERYTHINGS! Brakes..front and rear. Exhaust..end to end. Alllllll..the fluids changed....oil, transmission and transfer case (for the AWD...All Wheel Drive)..front and rear "punkin's", and sundry other things. New radiator! ARRRGHH! So here I am..sitting on the edge of this tattered seat and white-nucklin' the steering wheel and watching the tempreture gauge bounce from "normal" to the "This thing is gonn'a explode..and the engine is sitting right beside you..Zone!" M'am...I pray a lot...ever day matter of fack! For the next 6 miles I was in constant contact with God. Most vociferiously so! I sounded like a Pentacostal preacher! And I don't mean that in a wrong way M'am. I think the Pentacostals got it right. One baptised me back in 2003...along with a Nazarene pastor....right down yonder in the crick. Yeah...it took 2 of them to git the job done and they seemed to take great pleasure in my discomfort at the time. And that's another story I'd like to tell some time!! Anyways...I got to work and pulled into the parkin' lot shivverin' like a kitten in the snow. "Made it..Thank ye Lord!"...I bellowed! I walked out of work 8 hrs. later and I seen it in the dawns light. More to come Sherry.....Audie.....
Well Sherry...nuthin' much brings on the blues like walking out into the parkin' lot after a long nights work and seein' yer van sittin' there with a HUGE puddle of anti-freeze AND transmission fluid running all over the blacktop. I wuz' devastated. All her fluids red and green....just dribbling down in puddles. (sob..) I leaned agin' her grill and touched her hood softly and lifted up her wiper blades and lowered them gently back down on her windshield. "I'll git ye home ole gal!"...I blubbered. "You'll be jest fine as soon as George (mechanic) fixes ye."...I whispered. Sherry..menfolks have an odd relationship wi' vehicles. Ya ever notice that?? If we payed half this much attention to our wimminfolks they wouldn't be no divorces. 'Cept a'course when they leave ye for yer best friend down in New Jersey..thanks to the innernet. 
Anyways..I got the van home and called George and on Monday..she's goin' in for repairs. Now I did ask George...."George..do ya think this is the time to call it quits and shut down life-support and...."pull-the-plug?" George was quick to respond!! "HAIL NO!...I got 2 grandkids to send thru college..you just bring that van here on Monday morning!!" Well Sherry....I'll let ya know how it goes. Audie...the Oldfart.....
Anyways..I got the van home and called George and on Monday..she's goin' in for repairs. Now I did ask George...."George..do ya think this is the time to call it quits and shut down life-support and...."pull-the-plug?" George was quick to respond!! "HAIL NO!...I got 2 grandkids to send thru college..you just bring that van here on Monday morning!!" Well Sherry....I'll let ya know how it goes. Audie...the Oldfart.....
Well audie,I'm not Sherry but I gotta chime in.
I'm also not a mechanic but have a few ideas; If You blew a line and a hose outside the radiator You might be ok. If an automatic tranny line blew inside the radiator and the fluids mixed,,,well,,,that just ain't good at all.
Is it possible the radiator fan quit working and started the whole problem? Then when it heated up the pressure was just too much for the lines/hoses?
Also,I have a 96 chevy truck that *requires* the red antifreze,,I don't know what year they started doing that but is it possible Your 95 chevy is supposed to run the red also?
If Yer gonna keep her on the road but aren't sure if the fluids mixed or not then get everything 100% flushed.
My truck needed antifreeze and I added the green that *claims* it is compatible with the red,,,well,,,before too long it cost big dollars to get the intake gasket replaced cause the antifreeze was leaking---then pouring---out the back of it! Maybe coincidence,maybe not.
Dean
I'm also not a mechanic but have a few ideas; If You blew a line and a hose outside the radiator You might be ok. If an automatic tranny line blew inside the radiator and the fluids mixed,,,well,,,that just ain't good at all.
Is it possible the radiator fan quit working and started the whole problem? Then when it heated up the pressure was just too much for the lines/hoses?
Also,I have a 96 chevy truck that *requires* the red antifreze,,I don't know what year they started doing that but is it possible Your 95 chevy is supposed to run the red also?
If Yer gonna keep her on the road but aren't sure if the fluids mixed or not then get everything 100% flushed.
My truck needed antifreeze and I added the green that *claims* it is compatible with the red,,,well,,,before too long it cost big dollars to get the intake gasket replaced cause the antifreeze was leaking---then pouring---out the back of it! Maybe coincidence,maybe not.
Dean
Dean I have noooo idea what happened. When I filled the rad. back up it only took 3qts. so it wasn't empty. (12qt. system) Mebbe a bad waterpump, stuck thermostat...whooo knows. And none of that would explain the tranny fluid on the ground. I stopped fixin' vehickles when they stopped putting point&condensors in them. I'd cause more trouble than I'd solve on one of these newer vehickles. Dropped it off at Georges this morning..ran fine didn't overheat..tranny shifted fine. I just hand George the key and he brings me back home. Sighhhh....! He's been my mechanic for the last 18+ years and he's done right by me. Well no sense worryin' over spilled.....awwww..BOO...HOOO...HOOOO! Audie.....
Well that's hopefully a plus Audie. And if the tranny fluid leaked from a line outside the radiator that's a good sign the fluids stayed seperate,least I think so anyway. Still bothers Me to hear of both fluids leaking at the same time tho.
Actually a hot radiator can affect an automatic transmission cause the tranny cooling lines run through the radiator. Only a small amount to fill the radiator might be good if the engine was run to circulate the fluid to see if it dropped as the system filled again.
Thermostat = piece o cake,unless there's a ton of other stuff in the way to get at the housing.
Water pump = Kind of a pain in the patootie and if the bearings went bad the pully or fan might wiggle when it should be tight and they often make their signature whiney noise. I had the pleasure of changing one outdoors on a beautiful,sunny,20F below winter day once! 15 minutes outside-15 in to warm fingers! Repeat several times! Took hours!
With a new radiator already in it(just re-read that)I would guess the cap is new and george would probably have changed the thermostat at that time too.
At any rate,when it's fixed,*if* it was built requiring the red coolant for chevy,I suggest to get it flushed and go back to the red coolant,no matter what anybody says to the contrary. Now some folks say You can switch over to green from red,,,but,,,*never* mix the two colors in the same system.
Now with all My useless yammerin aside I'm curious about sumthin..Where was the tranny fluid leak and where was the coolant leak? Seperate puddles far apart?
Dean
Actually a hot radiator can affect an automatic transmission cause the tranny cooling lines run through the radiator. Only a small amount to fill the radiator might be good if the engine was run to circulate the fluid to see if it dropped as the system filled again.
Thermostat = piece o cake,unless there's a ton of other stuff in the way to get at the housing.
Water pump = Kind of a pain in the patootie and if the bearings went bad the pully or fan might wiggle when it should be tight and they often make their signature whiney noise. I had the pleasure of changing one outdoors on a beautiful,sunny,20F below winter day once! 15 minutes outside-15 in to warm fingers! Repeat several times! Took hours!
With a new radiator already in it(just re-read that)I would guess the cap is new and george would probably have changed the thermostat at that time too.
At any rate,when it's fixed,*if* it was built requiring the red coolant for chevy,I suggest to get it flushed and go back to the red coolant,no matter what anybody says to the contrary. Now some folks say You can switch over to green from red,,,but,,,*never* mix the two colors in the same system.
Now with all My useless yammerin aside I'm curious about sumthin..Where was the tranny fluid leak and where was the coolant leak? Seperate puddles far apart?
Dean
Ahh, Insomnia.....
....Audie you work overnights? How do you sleep during the day?
I work 2 pm to 10 pm and usually sleep the same....2 am to 10 am...unless I can't sleep....and when I go to sleep the ringer is turned off on the phone and the answering machine volume turned down so low that even a german shepherd wouldn't hear it come on....you must sleep ten or noon to six or something like that...how do you keep it quiet?
You are lucky to have a George. He is gonna fix that old reliable van....just a question of how much it is going to cost!
If it is a lot of money? Just tell yourself that some gal you know of from the internet is going to the dentist later today and getting one tooth "crowned" to the tune of almost a thousand dollars....no wonder I can't sleep. I almost fell out of the dental chair two weeks ago when I got the temporary crown and the dental assistant gave me the estimate.....of course porcelin (spelled wrong?) cost about 20 dollars less than gold....I asked what would you do? She said since it is a molar and you can't see it, I'd go with gold, better durability, less chance of cracking or chipping....
Hope my insurance pays more than half of it! Remember that old saying girls used to do? Who you are going to marry? I don't remember what all it was, but has "Doctor, Lawyer, Merchant, Chief..." Ought to add dentist to that lineup.....
Sherry
....Audie you work overnights? How do you sleep during the day?
I work 2 pm to 10 pm and usually sleep the same....2 am to 10 am...unless I can't sleep....and when I go to sleep the ringer is turned off on the phone and the answering machine volume turned down so low that even a german shepherd wouldn't hear it come on....you must sleep ten or noon to six or something like that...how do you keep it quiet?
You are lucky to have a George. He is gonna fix that old reliable van....just a question of how much it is going to cost!
If it is a lot of money? Just tell yourself that some gal you know of from the internet is going to the dentist later today and getting one tooth "crowned" to the tune of almost a thousand dollars....no wonder I can't sleep. I almost fell out of the dental chair two weeks ago when I got the temporary crown and the dental assistant gave me the estimate.....of course porcelin (spelled wrong?) cost about 20 dollars less than gold....I asked what would you do? She said since it is a molar and you can't see it, I'd go with gold, better durability, less chance of cracking or chipping....
Hope my insurance pays more than half of it! Remember that old saying girls used to do? Who you are going to marry? I don't remember what all it was, but has "Doctor, Lawyer, Merchant, Chief..." Ought to add dentist to that lineup.....
SherryObviously I have nothing better to do at 6 am ish....first part of that saying girls used to do? "Rich man, Poor man, Beggar man, thief..." Think we counted it on our buttons... I happen to be "Merchant" at the moment.... 
And Dean.... curious....difference does it make if that van made one puddle or two? Is that a guy thing or a diagnostic observation? 'Cause it sounds like a guy thing to me..... Sherry
And Dean.... curious....difference does it make if that van made one puddle or two? Is that a guy thing or a diagnostic observation? 'Cause it sounds like a guy thing to me.....
SherryWell....Old Reliable is back in the driveway. Yuppers....George had the van fixed in no time! Now lemme explain the problem. First off...antifreeze comes in 2 colors. Red..which looks just like transmission fluid when it's laying in a puddle in the parking lot. And Green...which was left in the overflow tank after the new radiator was installed (and filled with the red anti-freeze) some time back. Soooooooo...the radiator cap malfunctioned...overheated the cooling system and that's why the red and green fluids all o'er the parking lot. There never was any tranny fluid leaking. Total cost of being so stoopid. $60 and a dozen fresh donuts for the mechanic. Havin' my baby back? Priceless! And now Mz. Sherry...on to the sleep question. I work 11p.m. to 7a.m. and I sleep from 2p.m. til 9p.m. every day. I sleep right thru most any noises, live in the country and my neighbors are puddy considerate. YMHS...Audie..the Oldfart..
LOL,,wellllll,on occasion I've been proud of a few puddles! But that might be to risque' even for the off topic so I'll shush about it."Diagnostic" is too professional for me,"shadetree guess" might be more suited for My ability! LOL.. Now the location of Audie's van's puddles might have given clues as to what was leaking. Green running off the motor(head/intake gasket)is much worse than green from a radiator hose. Red from of the tranny it's self could be front/rear seals wich is bad enough,from the tranny pan or an exposed line might not be so bad. There are alot of possibilities and I just wanted to guess at a few and see if I turned out right.
The best thing tho is that He caught it early and didn't just keep driving till it made some nasty grindy noise then stopped altogether!
I am no mechanic but I do have a 96 4x4 Silverado truck with 180,000 miles and a 91 Olds Nignty Eight Regency with 230,000 miles,so ummm,GM puddles and problems do hold some interest for Me as I do whatever wrenching I can Myself,shop time usually exceeds what I make per hour.
I woke with the world's stuffiest head ever but have no choice but to go work,I virtually promised the customer I'd have two rooms ready by the weekend so He could move stuff and open two more areas for Me over the weekend. All that time off this winter and now I go to work sick,,,bad timing! LOL.
Dean
Hmm,just saw Yer post now Audie,Yer lucky You caught it. I didn't and mixing the two colors might have contributed to My intake gasket going bad on the truck. That and some front end work beyond My abilities cost Me over $900 before winter.
Dean
Dean
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