Indeed, hence how unscrupulous assholes will kill neighborhood dogs by leaving out frisbees full of antifreeze. However, twisting that fact into "antifreeze=nonpoisonous" is a bit disingenuous at best!
Focus is stuffed up. Only 3 cylinders are firing (sometimes 2, or even 1, depending on how angry it wants to be) and a rapid roadside diagnosis session went nowhere. It has spark... Which is not a good sign. These engines happen to be known for dropping valve seats, too. This could be bad.
.... And further research reveals that the mystery noise I decided was just regular valvetrain noise THE DAY I BOUGHT THE DAMNED CAR is the precursor symptom to the damned valve seats taking a vacation into the combustion chamber. I KNEW I should have been more concerned when it got louder in the past few weeks.
Yup. No compression and "there's somethin' rattlin' around in the #2 cylinder. I kin pull the head tomorra if ya want"
$2500 for a Ford reman longblock with a revised cylinder head that addresses the valve seat issue. Since my dad likes the car and intends to drive it for another 10 years, that's certainly less expensive than buying some other commuter car of uncertain pedigree.
And no, I'm not directing him towards something cheap yet cool. He only drives himself to and from work and prefers to be chauffeured everywhere else.
I'll also have to see about the core charge. a 4cyl end table might be nice.
The stock 1st-gen CTS-V has a disappointingly quiet exhaust. Some guy was toying with me along the Boston waterfront and I could barely hear him even with the windows down.
What are some signs that one needs new spark plugs? Not starting easily? A pulsating you can feel at idle and hear in the exhaust note? I'm just trying to get a feel for what could be ailing my plastic sardine box!
The stock 1st-gen CTS-V has a disappointingly quiet exhaust. Some guy was toying with me along the Boston waterfront and I could barely hear him even with the windows down.
