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Pontiac Montana Engine And Engine Cooling Exhaust System Manifold/header/muffler/tail Pipe Safety Report | Apr 26, 2004
Reported on Apr 26, 2004
| A YEAR AGO,I PUCHASED A PREVIOUSLY OWNED 1998 PONTIAC MONTANA TRANSPORT VAN WITH APPROXIMATELY 58,000 MILES ON IT. I AM A CERTIFICATED AIRCRAFT MECHANIC WITH OVER 10 YRS OF EXPERIENCE. SO, I AM AWARE OF POTENTIONAL PROBLEMS WITH USED VEHICLES. I DID NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE UNTIL 3 MONTHS AGO. WHEN I HAD A LOW COOLANT LIGHT COME ON. I IMMEDIATLEY CHECKED THE FLUID LEVEL AND IT WAS LOW. I THEN, BEGAN TO LOOK FOR A REASON FOR LOW COOLANT. I FOUND THE COOLANT LEAKING EXTERNALLY OUT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD AREA. I WAS ABLE TO PUT A SOCKET ON THE NEAREST INTAKE BOLTS AND FOUND THAT THEY WERE LOOSE. THIS TEMPORARILY STOPPED THE LEAK. SERVICED ALL THE FLUIDS. I ASSUMED THIS PROBLEM WAS FIXED. I DID NOT NOTICE ANY ENGINE NOISES, NO OTHER PROBLEMS, NOTHING ELSE. TWO WEEKS AGO, THE VAN AND IT LOST POWER MOMENTARILY, THEN A SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON. NO OTHER PROBLEMS, VAN RESUMED PERFORMANCE. WHEN I INSPECTED THE VAN AND ITS COMPONENTS. IT HAD A CODE OF 300 WHICH MEANT RANDOM MISFIRE IN THE ENGINE. THIS IS A CODE THAT COULD BE GIVEN BY NUMEROUS REASONS. I ALLOWED THE VAN TO IDLE TO OPERATING TEMPERATURES. WHEN SUDDENLY THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN. I IMMEDIATELY START IT BACK UP. NOW IT HAS NO OIL PRESSURE AND THE VALVES ARE RATTLING. I CONTACTED MY LOCAL PONTIAC DEALER TO SEE IF THEY WERE AWARE OF ANY RECALLS OR SERVICE BULLETINS RELATING TO THIS MODEL. THEY DID NOT KNOW OF ANY. I BEGAN TO RESEARCH THIS PROBLEM. I WAS ALARMED AT WHAT I HAD FOUND. APPARENTLY, THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT IS REPEATED OVER AND OVER WITH THIS PARTICULAR ENGINE AND COOLANT COMBINATION. SPECIFICALLY DEXCOOL, THE ORANGE COOLANT. IT IS SHOWING POSSIBLE INCOMPATIBILITIES BETWEEN THE COOLANT AND THE GASKETS USED ON THE INTAKE MANIFOLDS, HEADS AND OTHER VITAL ENGINE COMPONENTS. ONE OF THE WEB-SITES I RESEARCHED WAS WWW.GM-V6LEMONS.COM. I WOULD LIKE FOR GM TO RADIFY THIS INTO A RECALL( SERVICE BULLETIN) BECAUSE SO MANY OF US HAS SUFFERED FROM THIS POSSIBLE DEFECT.*AK | |
| Make: | Pontiac |
| Model: | Montana |
| Manufactured by: | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
| Year: | 1998 |
| Was a crash reported? | N |
| Was an injury reported? | |
| Was a death reported? | |
| Was a fire reported? | N |
| Location: | WILLIAMSTON SC |
| Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): | 1GMDX03E8WD |
| Mileage: | 69000 miles. |
| Speed: | |
| Number of cylinders: | 6 |
| Vehicle type: | FWD |
| Vehicle fuel: | GAS Fuel injection. |
| Was a police report filed? | N |
| Tire size: | |
| Dealer name and location: | |
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