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Signs of the dreaded LIM leak
I'm considering purchasing a 2000 Malibu (3100) from a friend. It's got around 163k miles. I went and gave it a once-over today, giving the coolant and oil a very critical eye. Neither showed signs of the other in it, though the oil was quite dark and clearly in need of being changed. I did see what I can only describe as jellied Dexcool pooled on top of the transmission case. She told me that the water pump had "blown up" at some point and she had it replaced, and that the water temperature was quite high when that happened, but that the mechanic hadn't mentioned any problems with either the head or intake gaskets.
As I said, the telltale signs of LIM gasket failure—milky oil, oily coolant—weren't there, but it's obviously been leaking coolant a bit for some time. It's got some other cosmetic issues (rear bumper is missing, RR window is off the track) and badly needs tires, so I felt that $1000 was a fair offer, and she accepted. I'm waiting for a couple W2 forms to show up so I can get my taxes done and get the beefy refund, but in the meantime, I've been trying to research the 3100's known issues. I haven't had any problems with the MFI engine in the Celebrity, so I'm something of an SFI noob.
Is the pool of orange jelly a sign of something serious, or should I just keep an eye on the coolant and oil once I get it? Also, I drove it a bit, and it behaved well, and I was able to take first gear to at least 40 mph before it shifted. Is that a 3.06 or 2.93 final drive, or somewhere in that range?
As I said, the telltale signs of LIM gasket failure—milky oil, oily coolant—weren't there, but it's obviously been leaking coolant a bit for some time. It's got some other cosmetic issues (rear bumper is missing, RR window is off the track) and badly needs tires, so I felt that $1000 was a fair offer, and she accepted. I'm waiting for a couple W2 forms to show up so I can get my taxes done and get the beefy refund, but in the meantime, I've been trying to research the 3100's known issues. I haven't had any problems with the MFI engine in the Celebrity, so I'm something of an SFI noob.
Is the pool of orange jelly a sign of something serious, or should I just keep an eye on the coolant and oil once I get it? Also, I drove it a bit, and it behaved well, and I was able to take first gear to at least 40 mph before it shifted. Is that a 3.06 or 2.93 final drive, or somewhere in that range?
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