Discussion
Hi everyone,
I've just purchased my first Ultima - It's a 98 Spyder witha 5.7ltr V8 Chevy and a G50 gearbox with 3k on the clock, and Holly 4 carb's.
I picked the car up last week and for it's test run i took it to Le Mans 24 Hour, so travelled about 1,100 miles in it. I love the car, although it does have a few teething issues as i've found out that i was wondering if anyone could help with?.
1, For some unknown reason the car seems to drink quite a bit of oil, although i can't see it leaking anywhere? The dipstick is an aftermarket chrome one - when i was at Le Mans i decided to check it and it didn't even register on the dipstick - i put 2 ltr's of oil in and it was up to 3/4 full according to the stick, i then drove home and again, not registering on the stick so it must be burning it somewhere? Or is the dipstick the wrong one for the car?
2, I noticed a red liquid under the car at the rear that was being sprayed on to the underneath of the exhausts and smoking. I think this could be leaking from the driveshaft seal?, but when i checked the gearbox fluid level it seemed like it had been overfilled and was a dark oily colour rather than the red liquid i found? - should i go on a mechanics course? lol.
3, Burning Rubber - I noticed a strange smell of burning rubber on the way back from Le Mans, having a look around the car i noticed that the inside front left was down to the thread - so i'm guessing the tracking is out, 2 new tyres and some tracking required.
4, Under the dash i found a choke cable, this is connected to a pipe in the drivers side storage compartment - Although when you pull or shut the choke, there is no noticeable change in engine note or performance? Any ideas what this is?
Anyway, there's a few newbie/silly questions to get me started. If anyone is based in Essex, your more than welcome to come and help me with my new toy.
Many thanks
Craig.
I've just purchased my first Ultima - It's a 98 Spyder witha 5.7ltr V8 Chevy and a G50 gearbox with 3k on the clock, and Holly 4 carb's.
I picked the car up last week and for it's test run i took it to Le Mans 24 Hour, so travelled about 1,100 miles in it. I love the car, although it does have a few teething issues as i've found out that i was wondering if anyone could help with?.
1, For some unknown reason the car seems to drink quite a bit of oil, although i can't see it leaking anywhere? The dipstick is an aftermarket chrome one - when i was at Le Mans i decided to check it and it didn't even register on the dipstick - i put 2 ltr's of oil in and it was up to 3/4 full according to the stick, i then drove home and again, not registering on the stick so it must be burning it somewhere? Or is the dipstick the wrong one for the car?
2, I noticed a red liquid under the car at the rear that was being sprayed on to the underneath of the exhausts and smoking. I think this could be leaking from the driveshaft seal?, but when i checked the gearbox fluid level it seemed like it had been overfilled and was a dark oily colour rather than the red liquid i found? - should i go on a mechanics course? lol.
3, Burning Rubber - I noticed a strange smell of burning rubber on the way back from Le Mans, having a look around the car i noticed that the inside front left was down to the thread - so i'm guessing the tracking is out, 2 new tyres and some tracking required.
4, Under the dash i found a choke cable, this is connected to a pipe in the drivers side storage compartment - Although when you pull or shut the choke, there is no noticeable change in engine note or performance? Any ideas what this is?
Anyway, there's a few newbie/silly questions to get me started. If anyone is based in Essex, your more than welcome to come and help me with my new toy.
Many thanks
Craig.
Hi Craig ,good news on the spyder sounds like you had a good trip to Le-mans ,will try to answer some of your questions .
chevys do tend to use a fair bit of oil ,try to fix all your engine oil leeks but to be honest you will have to check it often .
Red oil does sound like gearbox oil !!! driveshaft greese is very black so don,t think it will be that ,best thing is to clean it all up and go for a steady drive to try and work out were it is coming from .
push pull control under the dash is the heater control ,pulled out is generally open in closed ,it operates a valve in the side pod that shuts off the water supply .
hope this helps . simon
chevys do tend to use a fair bit of oil ,try to fix all your engine oil leeks but to be honest you will have to check it often .
Red oil does sound like gearbox oil !!! driveshaft greese is very black so don,t think it will be that ,best thing is to clean it all up and go for a steady drive to try and work out were it is coming from .
push pull control under the dash is the heater control ,pulled out is generally open in closed ,it operates a valve in the side pod that shuts off the water supply .
hope this helps . simon
Hi Craig
Welcome to the club.
Pretty much as Simon said.
They do burn oil and provided there are no engine oil leaks then there is not much you can do about it. In this case it is not a sign the engine is shot.
You say the gearbox is overfull but there is no way to tell. The only way is to drain and refill with the correct amount as there is no level plug.
Can't help on the red liquid. You will have to try and analyse it, what does it smell and feel like? is it antifreeze?
Steve
Welcome to the club.
Pretty much as Simon said.
They do burn oil and provided there are no engine oil leaks then there is not much you can do about it. In this case it is not a sign the engine is shot.
You say the gearbox is overfull but there is no way to tell. The only way is to drain and refill with the correct amount as there is no level plug.
Can't help on the red liquid. You will have to try and analyse it, what does it smell and feel like? is it antifreeze?
Steve
Thanks Guys - At least i now know how to control the heater temperature!
I've had a good clean up around the car tonight, and thrown in another 2 litre's of oil so it's now back up to the top of the dipstick and at the correct level. Going to give it a drive tommorrow for 50 miles and see what's going on.
The red liquid has dropped direclty under the driveshaft in the middle of the car - it maybe dripping off a pipe and running there - I'm goign to check the brake level's as it looks like it could possibly be brake fluid.
I noticed that there was some breather pipes hanging off when i took off the air filter from the Holley - I've re-attatched them and one needs replacing as it has gone brittle.
Out of curiosity - where do you guy's get all your spare parts from? I'll get some pics of the car this weekend. - do you guys have any car meets?
Thanks
Craig.
I've had a good clean up around the car tonight, and thrown in another 2 litre's of oil so it's now back up to the top of the dipstick and at the correct level. Going to give it a drive tommorrow for 50 miles and see what's going on.
The red liquid has dropped direclty under the driveshaft in the middle of the car - it maybe dripping off a pipe and running there - I'm goign to check the brake level's as it looks like it could possibly be brake fluid.
I noticed that there was some breather pipes hanging off when i took off the air filter from the Holley - I've re-attatched them and one needs replacing as it has gone brittle.
Out of curiosity - where do you guy's get all your spare parts from? I'll get some pics of the car this weekend. - do you guys have any car meets?
Thanks
Craig.
Welcome to the club Craig.
The red liquid is more than likely engine coolant - if it is brake fluid i would rectify this before your 50 mile trip!!
If unsure about gear box oil, drain it and fill with 3.5ltrs of good quality gear oil 75x90 i think (I have been told that fully sythetic is not recommended for some reason)
If you can smell rubber burning, I doubt very much it is only the tracking. Is the tyre rubbing on the wheel arch or the moulding that protects the rear of the light fittings inside the front clip?
Hope this helps,
Martin.
The red liquid is more than likely engine coolant - if it is brake fluid i would rectify this before your 50 mile trip!!
If unsure about gear box oil, drain it and fill with 3.5ltrs of good quality gear oil 75x90 i think (I have been told that fully sythetic is not recommended for some reason)
If you can smell rubber burning, I doubt very much it is only the tracking. Is the tyre rubbing on the wheel arch or the moulding that protects the rear of the light fittings inside the front clip?
Hope this helps,
Martin.
scooby_doo_do said:
I'm based in Chelmsford, Essex.
Where do you guys take your car to get serviced? Just a case of taking it to the local garage?
I was thinking of going to the Lodge in SWF at around 7.30ish tonight (providing the 'R' holds off) If you're around why not come down. You'll be able to reconise me, I'll be selling fuel pumps!!!!Where do you guys take your car to get serviced? Just a case of taking it to the local garage?
Graham-P said:
scooby_doo_do said:
I'm based in Chelmsford, Essex.
Where do you guys take your car to get serviced? Just a case of taking it to the local garage?
I was thinking of going to the Lodge in SWF at around 7.30ish tonight (providing the 'R' holds off) If you're around why not come down. You'll be able to reconise me, I'll be selling fuel pumps!!!!Where do you guys take your car to get serviced? Just a case of taking it to the local garage?
Hi Scooby , don,t worry too much about servicing they are very straight forward to look after ,oil and filter once a year ,you can do plugs yourself once a year but they should last longer than that ,air filter should last ages ,gearbox oil should go years without any problems but if you are in dougbt do it yourself very easy .
Biggest concern is when you leave your car at a garage ,make sure you trust them and make it clear you don,t want them test driving it !!!!
still think your red fluid is gearbox oil
Biggest concern is when you leave your car at a garage ,make sure you trust them and make it clear you don,t want them test driving it !!!!
still think your red fluid is gearbox oil
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