Why is my car shaking and the check engine light flashing?
A shaking vehicle AND flashing MIL ("check engine light") sound like the vehicle is misfiring on at least one cylinder. As @Anna Nguyen, @Brendan Sinclair, @Antoun Nabhan and others have said, it could be an ignition related problem. It could also be fuel-related. If one or more fuel injectors are clogged or dead, that would also cause a misfire in the affected cylinder(s). These are relatively cheap/easy things to check and fix.Other causes (which could be more complicated and more expensive) to fix include contaminated fuel, a bent intake or exhaust valve, a broken valve spring, a damaged piston/connecting rod, and on and on.I recommend getting a scan tool and checking the codes which are causing the MIL to light/flash and I also strongly recommend NOT driving the vehicle until the problem is fixed. If you continue to drive the vehicle as is, you will exacerbate the problem. Dumping unburned fuel into the exhaust due to a misfire will overheat and kill your catalytic converter. A more serious problem like a bent valve can eventually cause you to crater your engine (i.e.: completely destroy the engine).
Will exhaust leaks at manifold gaskets cause the engine to misfire?
I'm going to address the issue that has so far been overlooked. Most gasoline passenger and light duty trucks on the road today utilize electronically controlled fuel injection. Exhaust manifold leaks have the effect of “fooling” the oxygen sensor. Exhaust gas travels in pulses with high and low pressure zones. Exhaust gas leaks out during the high pressure event. Outside air is drawn INTO the leaking area during the low pressure event. The result is an oxygen sensor that reports a lean condition. (Too much air in relation to fuel). The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) will then increase fuel delivery to compensate. With a leak of sufficient magnitude, the PCM can end up substantially increasing fuel delivery in an attempt to “correct” the perceived lean condition. The engine (or that half of the engine) actually ends up running quite over- rich (Too much fuel in relation to air). Spark plug fouling can result, which in turn may lead to a MISFIRE. If this situation occurred on , for instance, a 98 Ford F150 with a V8, the following may be present. Lean exhaust code and misfire codes set on the bank with the exhaust leak present. The exhaust leak did not cause an immediate misfire. But it is the root cause of the resulting mayhem.
The brake light in my 1989 Chevy 1500 P.U. blinks 6 times then stays lit?
It's the rear anti-lock brake module/ecu flashing a trouble code 7. We just had 1 in our shop with a code 6. Replacing the vehicle speed sensor on the transmission fixed it on ours. For the brake light, the long flash gets counted with the short flashes. So 1 long flash and 6 short flashes is actually a 7. (if this was the check engine light, that would be a code 16) Code 7 is for: Shorted isolation valve or bad ECU. The brake ECU is bolted on the side of the master cylinder. The isolation valve is under the master cylinder and has brake lines plumbed to it and has 2 wires going to it. Not to be confused with the regular proportioning valve that's in between the 2 and has 1 wire and looks like any other proportioning valve. This is an extremely primitive ABS system.It doesn't even have wheel sensors. Pulling the 'brake' fuse under the dash or disconnecting the battery will clear codes.
Advice on tune up for 2000 Chevy suburban @ 100,000 miles?
Put a can of Engine Restore into the crankcase after your next oil change. It works wonders on making the engine perform just like new. Better compression, better mileage. I swear by the stuff and I've got a '94 Ranger with 285,000 miles on it. Regarding the rest of the engine, put some good quality plugs in as part of the tune-up, replace your timing and serpentine belts, air filter... you know the rest of the drill. You'll put another 100k on the odometer before you know it.
What type of radiator coolant do I use for a 1989 Chevy 350 throttle body engine? Green stuff or the orange?
Using either is supposedly fine for any vehicle. They cannot be mixed at all. System would have to be flushed VERY well to change coolant types. The orange (Dexcool) lasts much longer but has been suspected of being hard on some cooling system parts. (eating at some parts and clogging others) Some people switch to using the regular green stuff on vehicles that come with Dexcool. Think that voids the warranty on new vehicles though. My warranty is up, I do smell a whiff of coolant on occasion, although the coolant level hasn't dropped low... I don't trust Dexcool and feel it does seep through gaskets and shorten the life of the cooling system. It's on my list to change over to the green stuff and a little sealer. When there's no warranty involved... Always use the green stuff!!! http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/gm_dexcool.html http://www.injuryboard.com/view.cfm/Topic=1095
I have oil blowing out of dipstick tube?
3 things come to mind...I'll go with the simplest first...you are over full on oil. The second is the PCV Valve is clogged...PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation...this allows the crankcase to vent..(this is where your oil is in the oil pan)...and the last...not a good thing but probably worth fixing...your piston rings are bad allowing blowby...(this is oil escaping past the piston rings and compression passing back past the combustion chamber into the crankcase). This causes pressure to build up in the crankcase and the easiest escape route is through the dip stick tube. To check your PCV valve...this is the little item which is located on your valve cover...normally on the drivers side..simply remove it and shake it...if it rattles inside than odds are it's good. once you have done this place your finger over the end of it with the engine running and see if it has suction....if it does then this eliminates this. If the engine oil level is ok...then sorry it's the rings in the engine and requires a rebuild or a replacement engine.
Is it safe to drive a vehicle without power steering fluid?
No it’s not. While you CAN drive without it, the potential failure could result in stranding you on the side of the road. Anything built in the last 15 years most likely has a serpentine belt system that powers all your accessories.When you run out of power steering fluid, the bearings in your power steering pump no longer have lubrication available to keep them cool. Those bearings will fail, the pump will seize and that will result in your serpentine belt to fight against one accessory that is no longer moving. The belt will fly off the engine and all other accessories, water pump, A/C, alternator etc will be powerless and your vehicle will shortly cease to run from overheating or dead battery.
How long does it take to repair a head gasket?
You don’t repair a head gasket, you replace it.Once I had a rally car - a bit of a ratty old junker if the truth be told - that had a 2.3 litre overhead cam engine. It was a bit like this, only this one is way nicer:Anyway I was heading off to do a rally on some Friday night. On the Thursday, the day before, I took it out for a blast around the lanes to shake down any last-minute faults, and blew the head gasket. It was too late to do anything about it that night, so next morning, I got up at the crack of dawn, stripped the engine down to the point of having the head off (it was OHC, so that involved also removing the cambox, timing belts, etc. plus the exhaust manifold, inlet manifold and carburettors) By then it was almost 9am, so I drove to the nearest big town - 25 miles away - to get a replacement head gasket set. 25 miles back, and by 10am had the head all cleaned and ready to be reassembled. Engine back together and running by 12pm, I then had to drive it 250 miles to where the rally started. It all went smoothly and I made it with plenty of time to spare.So the answer to your question, for me, on that occasion, for this car, was about 6 hours, including an hour to fetch the parts. Sometimes what you need, apart from the basic skills, which in my case don’t amount to all that much, is a great big incentive!As I recall, the rally ended in disaster, but that’s another story.