ok i have a 2001 oldsmobile alero..i have to put water in it any time i go anywhere even for a short distance. i havent had heat in quite a while and all my lights are lit up on the dash board....i have no clue as to how to fix it and everytime i take it to a shop and pay hundreds ..the lights are still on and it seems something else is wrong with it..can someone please help me out ???
2007-01-11 01:25:09 · 9 answers · asked by babydol702002 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
yeah i do mean water not coolent and i know the danger in that but like i said everywhere i go i have to put water in there and its like $10.00 a jug and thats obvioulsy a lot of money added up..everyday and also yeah im not getting an american car again.
2007-01-11 01:45:00 · update #1
ok..neglect? does that mean me putting hundreds of dollars into it to keep it up or does that mean when i am constantly cleaning it or wait am i neglecting it by only driving it to work or classes?
2007-01-11 01:54:24 · update #2
Unfortunately, it's not the car, it's the engine that is junk. 3.1L or 3.4L engines have been nothing but nightmares from birth. The amount of money you will have to throw at it will give you a heart attack but necessary to prevent the thing from blowing up.
2007-01-11 04:09:22 · answer #1 · answered by Lab 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
first of all, hopefully by "water" you mean "coolant".
it can be your water pump, your loosing coolant and there isnt enough coolant to run through the entire system which is why your heat doesn't work. it could be there too(have an alero, and thats where mine was leaking), leave the car somewhere overnight and move it in the morning to see where its leaking from. oh... and change your garage.
there are three lights i bet i know are on... 1) tire pressure low
2)the oil light
3)low coolant
the first two can be reset with a button on the fuse box (left of steering wheel) its a red button "reset", put the battery on and read the manual on what the bells mean, its pretty simple. the third will go away when you fix your leak and fill up.
2007-01-11 09:39:24 · answer #2 · answered by Dude 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you need to find a new garage to work on your car. You are losing water either into the engine (bad head gasket or cracked head) or externally. These engines have a habit to leak just under the intake manifold.
With the lights all lit, well, find another garage and get an estimate before you leave the car there.
Good luck and get it fixed before you overheat and cause real damage.
2007-01-11 09:38:03 · answer #3 · answered by shovelkicker 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that what you should do first of all is get a decent mechanic!
If you put water (plain umbrella juice!) in your motor during winter chances are your motor is already good for scrap pile. Why? Well! During winter we have low temperatures. Water (plain water) freezes. Once it freezes, it dilates (the ice increases in volume!) and will break the engine! This is why during winter (and it won't hurt in summer too!) you have to put "anti-freeze" in your engine! This is a mixture of aditives in water that will keep it from freezing.
The problems on the engine are probably the ones that keep evey light on your dashboard on!
It is hardly possible to instruct you on how to repair a car!
Go to a decent service center, one that issues an invoice and does not consist of a grease- spotted overal guy with dirty hands and a cigarette in his mouth, that will look at the car and say "It'll cost you 250 and it'll be ready next week!".
What you need is a solid, professional mechanic! Go get one before it's too late!
2007-01-11 09:37:10 · answer #4 · answered by Kostagh 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If you have to keep adding coolant that means you have a leak. Coolant leaks are not hard to detect. It is a basic, routine procedure performed daily at most repair shops.
I'm thinking that there is a whole lot here that you are leaving out, which makes any internet diagnosis impossible.
I'm also thinking that you have probably not gone out of your way to take the best care of this vehicle and now this neglect is catching up with you.
2007-01-11 09:50:31 · answer #5 · answered by Naughtums 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
sounds like you either have a head gasket or intake gasket leaking into the engine .get a different garage !
2007-01-11 09:30:48 · answer #6 · answered by D42D 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I tend to agree -- you bought a US car silly. It was meant to break down often. That increases the need for maintenance. Which increases the need for mechanics (more jobs). Which increases the need for parts. Which increases the need for manufacturing (more jobs). Which makes more money. And finally, that money drives our economy.
So, the next time to buy a car -- get something like an Asian or European model... let us export our large American vehicles to other nations who will support us... just joking.
2007-01-11 09:37:39 · answer #7 · answered by D. 2 · 0⤊ 4⤋
Trade it in and get a Honda, Nissan, orToyota. They run forever !!! I'll never buy an American car again !
2007-01-11 09:33:56 · answer #8 · answered by Me 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
The only good american cars are cadillac and lincoln. I'm sorry to tell you, but the answer is it is an american automobile. You bought a lemon the minute you purchased your automobile. ALWAYS go german, swiss, or japanese. Take care sweetie!
2007-01-11 09:30:36 · answer #9 · answered by justsomequest 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋