My personal issues happened with a German Ford engine. Coolant was squirting out the back on both sides where the heads and block would normally be sealed with the head gaskets. Solved with a thorough flush and a head gasket set, plus a few Sunday afternoon wrenching hours. More annoying than anything else.951tom wrote: Fri Dec 05, 2025 11:25 am <<...>>
I believe the issues Dr. Bob mentions (pls correct me if wrong) were incompatible gasket materials GM used in the 90's with the 2-EHA formulation (which Zerex G48 & others contain). Plus, owners would top off with old school green IAT & compound the problem. The dexcool issue is a topic we have followed for decades as my father purchased a Firebird new in '97. I would like to hear & welcome anyone's input if I should flush it out and go with a blue G48 mixture? Good post.
Thanks for the suggestion.Off topic...Dr. Bob for your garage mouse problem, go with poison in pet friendly bait stations. Everything else is a waste of time IMO. Your problem will be solved in a few weeks plus you can see when they eat it to gauge effectiveness. Been there, done that, at my old garage.
Tom
'87 951
I keep some bucket traps out in the corners, and started catching one or two a day when "normally" I might see one or two a year. Moved the winter DD away from that wall and saw a LOT of evidence. Then digging in more I found about 5lbs of bird seed where a 20lb bag had been, and followed pee and poop to where they were nesting. A bunch of traps made short work of the colony after the bird seed feasting was cancelled. Closed up the nest and filled the cavity with expanding foam, added some baseboard to finish a job I should have finished years earlier. Buckets and traps are still out but no more takers at least so far. Two cats in the house, but they'd rather stay warm and cozy in there than brave the wild wild garage space. The "P" word snaps to mind. In reality, they would make a handy snack for a pretty broad assortment of local predators. Hawks, owls and eagles top the winged list, with coyotes and bigger cats common among the 4-legged group. So the cats stay inside, and I let the birds snack on the mice I relocate for them. Stellar jays seem to love them.
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Lots of TSJ (things-stuff-junk) were removed and ejected, and the floors got a very thorough cleaning to eliminate any scent trails, plus all the pee and poop evidence. It needed that anyway; the meeces were just a good inspiration.
The 928 is up on tall stands today for winter hibernation, with some mothballs in bags strategically placed to make things less attractive to any remaining local rodentia. We live at the edge of a national forest, so sometimes end up with interesting visitors. It's a 'feature' here apparently. We try not to poison anything that might get back up through the food chain. The traps and buckets are usually good indicators of invaders.
Only one flush today, in between Clark Griswold house lighting duties. I filled it with distilled water one more time and will be curious if it changes at all vs the last flush. The last flush came out a very pail yellew/brown -- almost clear -- so I'm wondering if that's residual coolant or just the water getting 'dirty' in the block...