LIM Leaking? (56k beware)

[rys99grandam]

So I was driving home from a hair cut and lunch with mom when I noticed my car hitting the higher then normal 210 degrees on the temp gauge. I wasn't to worried about it. I just got done flooring it hard on the freeway to avoid people who cannot drive the speed limit. Anyways. So I pull in my complex, And Im thinking to myself. Well that temp gauge reading has not quite gone down now has it. So I pull in my spot now my temp gauge is a hair higher then 210, and I turn the car off. Woosh second I Stepped out I smelt burning coolant. My first reation was pop the hood and see. So I look around, no noticeable hoses, no pudles in my spot, no nothing. So I kinda just brushed it off and went inside like a tard. So I get on the fourms, and I see LIM. And I go DOH. So I Run back outside and look around and this is what I found.

I also notice my car was running rough idle wise. And has been having issues warm starting over the past few days. It did this before, changed plugs back to Ac Delco Fixed it, But now its doing it again and I know the plugs are good. I hear these are all symptoms of the LIM. So Take a look!

Below the TB, By the T-Stat
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rythetallguy/My%20Pontiac/Lower%20Intake%20Manifold/LIM02.jpg

Again By the TB, T-Stat, Etc.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rythetallguy/My%20Pontiac/Lower%20Intake%20Manifold/LIM01.jpg

Now this on the other side by the PS Pump and Water Pump
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rythetallguy/My%20Pontiac/Lower%20Intake%20Manifold/LIM03.jpg

Again By the Water Pump, PS Pump
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rythetallguy/My%20Pontiac/Lower%20Intake%20Manifold/LIM04.jpg

Here are two pictures of my oil/coolant, Nothing Seems to be mixing. Yet.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rythetallguy/My%20Pontiac/Lower%20Intake%20Manifold/Oil.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/rythetallguy/My%20Pontiac/Lower%20Intake%20Manifold/CoolantColor.jpg

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I am already guessing its my turn for the LIM joy, Just want to make sure :D

Sorry for the large pictures, But I figured the larger they were the better to see the problem because you cant pop the hood and look at it yourself

[MantaGreen97]

In the first and second picture it looks to me like the head gasket is leaking. The LIM looks pretty fine actually.

The 3rd and 4th ones look like light leakage of the LIM variety. Like the head is leaking on the right side and the LIM on the left, lol.

If your LIM is leaking lightly it's not likely you're going to overheat; however if the head gasket is leaking it is quite likely you're going to overheat.

[rys99grandam]

Ive had a blown head gasket on my Saturn and the over heating were constant cycles, That blue thing has been there since I bought the car. I know the head gaskets in these cars are an unlikely failure. What you can't see in the picture 1 and 2 is that below those two gaskets looks like coolant has dripped out, its fairly visible for the most part, its hard to get in there with a camera shot. I don't know if this car is really worth keep around much longer I keep having little thing here and there that keep falling apart and its annoying the living crap out of me.

[bballr4567]

Looks like a little bit of leakage in 3 and 4 as Roland said. Mine had about 4 times as much coolant there though.

[rys99grandam]

The fact thats its not in the coolant or oil and the fact that it runs cooler now expect today then when I fight bought it leads to be cancel out the Head Gasket, But its a possibility, The car was checked out before I bought it by a family friend who works on all the cars, way up in arizona, to long of a drive for me lol, and he checked all that stuff out and said there was no issue, the car was in great condition then a few months later the crappy idle started but not to bad, and now this a year after I bought it. I would attempt the repair by myself but I am unsure I would be successful, yet I don't trust dealerships here.

[MantaGreen97]

Originally posted by rys99grandam
The fact thats its not in the coolant or oil and the fact that it runs cooler now expect today then when I fight bought it leads to be cancel out the Head Gasket.

Huh? :wtf: :???: Can someone translate that? :lol:

As for it being checked out before that still doesn't negate the possibility of a head gasket blowing--that can happen at any time. A leaking LIM can start at anytime as well but often it's an existing condition to some degree for a long time before it gets bad enough for you to notice.

I'm not sure if the head is blown from those pictures but it does kind of look like it. The t/stat side the LIM is looking dry and fine but below it (where the head meets the block and hence where the head gasket is) looks to be leaking something or at least have something that made that area look damp for some reason.

The P/S pump side OTOH definitely looks like the intake is leaking there though, yes.

Another reason I suspect the head is because if your coolant level is fine, no coolant is currently mixed in the oil, you aren't likely to overheat if only the LIM is leaking, and externally at that.

At the same time it might be neither that is causing the overheating (though the LIM is clearly leaking and it's only a matter of time before it gets worse), you might just have a stuck t/stat...

[rys99grandam]

Originally posted by MantaGreen97
Another reason I suspect the head is because if your coolant level is fine, no coolant is currently mixed in the oil, you aren't likely to overheat if only the LIM is leaking, and externally at that.

Coolant Level is Fine, Has not changed since I swapped Coolant Res 3 months ago. I keep an eye on that for the LIM in particular.

Oil is not mixing from what I can tell

Its not "overheating" Thats far from it. Its only going up 5 to 10 degrees above normal operating temperature. The car has never gone past 3/4 EVER. It has gone to roughly 220-225 on a 115 summer day in Arizona. Thats the hottest its ever been.

But the T-Stat is a possibility and if that ring in there is shot, It can cause some sort of leak, I'd imagine.

Also I believe a LIM leak can case the car to idle rough and stuff?

Oh and ignore what I said, I'm not to sure what I ment to say anyways LOL

[MantaGreen97]

Ah okay it's not overheating, for some reason I thought it was. Sorry our gauges in Canada go from "40-125" as they are in deg C, haha...

So it sounds like you don't have any cooling problems then but the LIM is leaking a little bit or just started leaking. You will want to get that replaced before coolant gets in the oil. It's obviously not so bad now but I would continue to keep an eye on it and fix it/get it fixed as soon as you can. You might want to also get a compression and leak down test done to see what's going on with whatever that leakage looks like on the driver's side forward head...

[rys99grandam]

Compression and Leak down test are excellent ideas. I have to take her to the dealer to get realigned. I will see about having them do the LIM ( I am going to Vegas and other roads trips next months I need it fixed ) And the compression and leak down test.

Am I not right in saying a bad LIM can cause.
Rough Idle
Maybe a loss of some compression?

[Colin]

Originally posted by rys99grandam
Am I not right in saying a bad LIM can cause.
Rough Idle
Maybe a loss of some compression? It won't cause compression loss , but it may cause a rough idle if there was a vacuum leak or coolant was leaking into the intake ports . Like Roland said , the LIM doesn't look that bad really .... ;)