Reloader Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 I have a '94 Chevy Suburban 2500 4x4 with a 454 V8 offroad and towing package. I love it other than the gas milage ...but recently it has been giving me some problems. The water pump went bad a few months ago and I replaced that. Worked perfectly for 2 weeks, then the radiator cracked. Since it is the plastic/fiberglas tank, no patch I have tried has worked worth beans. I lost my job right after it cracked so i have been eeking things along by just adding fluid every time I take it out. about a galon of fluid tops it off each time I drive about 10 miles. Shortly after the radiator crack however I have been having some powerloss problems. It runs fine when I first start it up but as the engine warms up the oil pressure falls a little(normaly at about 65 on the gage and drops to 55 when warm and still driving), whenever the truck is idling though the pressure falls almost to nothing(between 15 and 20) When I try and get moving again I have to rev the engine up very slowly to rebuild the oil pressure and then push the gas in harder to actualy start the truck moving. Which makes for a lot of lag in the get up and go that I love about this truck. What could be making the Oil presure crash like that? and what should I do to fix it? I just finished interviewing for a new job so hopefully I will have the cash to buy parts or even take it to a mechanic in the next month or so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLBUX Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Re: Any Chevy Mechanics in here? Some suggestions: A two part epoxy adhesive may patch the plastic radiator temporarily. I have used it successfully on derby cars. If it is a tiny leak, a little Stop Leak may work. Is there any water getting in your oil? If it looks like chocolate milk you have a cracked head or head gasket problem. You may have a vacuum leak that may account for a loss of power. I have a '98 Dodge that developed a similar problem. Mine was losing oil and pressure badly and it happened all at once. Turned out I had a valley gasket go bad on the intake manifold. I was sucking oil up in the chambers and I was plagued with pre-ignition problems. Turned out I had a hole in a piston and had metal shavings in the crankcase. Wound up putting a new Jasper engine in. Runs great! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deldeer Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Re: Any Chevy Mechanics in here? try JB WELD on the crack. stuff works great.( just check if it can be used on that kind of plastic). check to make sure your engine is not spewing antifreeze on any electrical parts. it happen to me on an old ford, truck would'nt get out of it's own way.& check for a vacum leak like llbux said. your oil pump may be getting ready to go also......good luck. i feel your pain... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Re: Any Chevy Mechanics in here? Shaun 300 is a chevy mechanic, I'm sure he could answer your question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IowaDeerHunter Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Re: Any Chevy Mechanics in here? Tominator is right, maybe try to PM shaun. i am sure he would be glad to help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reloader Posted June 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Re: Any Chevy Mechanics in here? Tried JB weld on he crack and two part epoxy...both held for about 2 days then peeled back off... same with stop leak....slows the leak down but doesn't stop it. Never heard of the Bulldog stuff...may try it...problem Im having is that the crack is too narrow to work any patch compound into the hole and the material whon't allow any glue Ive tried to bond with it. As to the Oil part I am not losing oil, and when I changed the oil 2 weeks ago the old oil looked a little dirty but not too bad and definitly didn't have any water in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reloader Posted June 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Re: Any Chevy Mechanics in here? Vacum problem is a good possibility but when I ran the vacum hoses I couldn't find anything...may run them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sureshot Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Re: Any Chevy Mechanics in here? I work on most type of vehicles ands i know once the plastic tanks start to leak there is no fix, new rad, does not make sence to try to seal plastic to alluminum, just does not hold up just like chevys brite idea of aluminum intake and steel heads on the vortecs, we change at least 5 gaskets a week, with the oil pressure and the power loss I have no idea what to say, I am just wonderign if you over heated it and hurt soemthign internally with the antifeeze down, hope not! With lower oil pressure the moter should rattle a bit[if really low] and not loose any power untill rattling,I do not believe the loss of power can be from a oil pressure problem, I know we change alot of sendign units on the chevys, plus we also ahve changed a couple of whole dashes becouse on most you cannot just change one guage, expensive deal the dash is!! What i woudl do first is find some one with a master guage to check the oil pressure, if its up on the master when warm you know its either in the guage or the dash, at the same tiem check the wires really close that go to the sendign unit,I knwo some of the vehicles had a fuel cut off switch connected to the oil pressure switch, possably the computer is taking a reading from the sendign unit and saying there is no oil pressure so it is cuttign out the fuel just untill you get the pressure up by gunning it then it is ok!This is just a blind guess but I know one vehicle that came in with no fuel pressure and we thought pump and after a new pump still nothing, was the sending unit!![lesson learned lol] ot save the moter compeatly they put the switch to shut the fuel down if oil pressure drops below a certain amount, not sayign yours has it without the manuals at work I can not say for sure but soemwere to start !! plus is the check engine light on?? if so thta would eb the easiest way to find any problem with a scope or scan tool, at least give a idea!! Wish i was there to help out, just shootign a few ideas at you, good luck and keep us posted!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reloader Posted June 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Re: Any Chevy Mechanics in here? The engine never sounds rough when the oil presure falls, it just gets slugish untill it revs back up a bit. I will check into a sending unit and see if it is a problem if i can figure out how to check it. The engine did overheat about a year and a half ago but not recently. I was on the highway when one of the tension pulleys on the serpentine belt blew off. I cary an extra belt but not any extra pulleys. I was in the middle of nowhere in Iowa and had my wife and kid in the car. since the water pump is on the serpentine belt I lost all coolant circulation but since it was about 2 degrees out (December of 03) I tried to get to the next exit but stoped and turned the truck off every time it came close to overheating...unfortunately since the alternator is also on the serpentine the truck died about a mile from the exit...had to have a traveling repair man come out to replace the pulley...talk about expensive for such a simple fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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