I wonder how long my engine will last now. As I posted before, the dealer made it seem like a few weeks and refused to do a coolant change. That was embarrasing but at least the dealer did not soak me for the annual state inspection. As one poster suggested, probably to avoid being sued since anything that went wrong with the engine could be his fault then.
So the vehicle has been going for two months now, another few thousand miles. It's using a gallon or two of coolant per month. Have been told the water pump is leaking and there are some seals probably blown but not sure what is what unless the engine were torn down.
3.0 V6 Mitsubishi in 1994 Voyager. The vehicle obtained 25 mpg at the last check which is quite surprising given its age, 205,000 miles.I suspect the engine is quite tight, no oil burning. I feed bad that if the seals blow completely, then the engine will be trashed. And the engine is in quite good shape given its age and its reputation as an oil burner in general.
One mechanic suggested that the main bearings are not being contaminated because if they were, the engine would be toast. He thought that this engine did not have any anti-corrosion protection on the main bearings so could not take any coolant contaminant. He looked at the PCV valve and valve cover and suspects that the main head gasket? might not be blown since the white of coolant contamination was not as bad as it could be.
Any thoughts? Aside from selling the vehicle quickly and getting out of "Dodge" - pun intended. But that seemed a bit unethical although the car is lasting longer than the dealer suggested or warned so maybe it has another 10,000 miles left?
I went back to using green coolant, somewhat difficult to find. I will also be using ordinary oil for the next oil change instead of the semi-synthetic. My best guess is that the lack of a coolant change damaged the seals inside the engine, even considering its age. Is that possible? The coolant had the right pH but its anti-corrosion properties were gone.