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'02 Impala LS problems/questions

My '02 Impala LS has started running rough every so often (twice now) right after startup. It feels like a miss. The check engine message doesn't come up.

I also noticed a grainy deposit inside my oil cap, kind of like oily sand. But, the "grains" are softer and if you rub them between your fingers they smooth out into kind of a paste. The color is dark brown/black.

I have been keeping an eye on my coolant level (wary of the leaking manifold gasket problem) and it looks ok. The last oil change was a month or so ago with whatever stuff the local dealership uses. Any ideas out there? Thanks.

Reply to
gad
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The deposit under the oil cap seems to indicate the possibility of a leaking manifold gasket problem.

Ian has pictures on his site that show it.

If your oil filler cap looks like this:

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get to your dealer ASAP.

Reply to
Brad Clarke

I would certainly take a sample of engine oil and send it in for analysis to make sure that the dreaded intake manifold leak isn't happening.

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They will send you the sampling kits for free.

Cost for the oil analysis is $20 for the basic analysis, or $35 for analysis plus expert interpretation by Terry Dyson.

It is well worth it to check up on these engines.

John

Reply to
John Horner

It doesn't look like that (no yellowish gunk), and I don't see any evidence of coolant on the dipstick. I noticed this deposit just recently, and it is coincidental with a dealer oil change a couple months ago (I usually do oil myself and use Mobil1, but they changed it for me without my asking them to the last time I had it in).

I've never noticed any kind of deposits on any of my vehicles when using Mobil 1, so I might just change it again ahead of time and see if it goes away.

Thanks for the tip, though - the whole reas>

Reply to
gad

Injector problems won't cause crankcase deposits.

Reply to
hyundaitech

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