Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Worst Nightmare, 3 Major Fluids Leaking

Sorry for the longwinded post, but I need to explain the whole story and dilemma. Help will be GREATLY appreciated.

I should give you a little background before I begin. Last winter I had the usual "idle not stable/not starting when cold" deal. Ofcourse at the time I looked for a place online that could explain the mystique, but I turned up with nothing. Ceg eventually found me in may.
With my rough idles and (not lieing) atleast 25 tries to keep the car running every winter morning, smoke started to come out of my engine bay. Eventually it got worse and worse. It came from the front passenger side and towards the bottom (alternator). There was also a clanking noise at higher rpms that got worse as it got colder. Several mechanics looked at it and turned up with nothing. I drove it until early April when the car started stalling at high rpms and eventually didnt want to start again. After pushing it, towing it, and bringing it to a mechanic, it ended up with the mechanic calling and telling us the engine is seized, and we need to drop 2 grand or get rid of the car. After he looked at it further, he called us back 2 hours later and told us a bearing was spun (something like that) and the rod was bent. The alternator cables were frying (causing smoke) and it seized and didnt allow the engine to crank. Hundreds of dollars later and warmer weather, my car is back to normal.

New winter, same and new problems. Since Ive been reading up a lot in CEG since may, I already have done some basic engine work on the car, and I am about to clean the UIM, replace the gasket, and replace the IAC. I have the same startup troubles and idle troubles as I did last year, but not as bad... as of yet. Last sunday I was fooling around on the first big snow of the season doing reverse donuts and 180s and all of that. After one of my donuts my car stalled and took me a bit to start it. The idle was stabilizing at 200rpm. Yes, 200 rpm. It would stall once in a while, but the highest it would idle was 200. I couldnt find anything wrong, so I did a temporary fix on the throttle body to keep it idling closer to 750rpm. This week I noticed the same smoke, and the same smell. I do not want to admit to myself that its the alternator again because I also noticed 3 different colors of fluid on the snow when I moved the car. Green, Red, and Black. Coolant, trans fluid, and oil. There was more coolant and transmission fluid than there was of oil. Maybe a few drops of oil, and it could have been from my oil (and filter) change from last week. I really dont know. I feel a vibration noise in the 1100 and 2000 rpm range, and the coolant light only flashes for 30 seconds after startup (I think thats normal anyways). I looked in the coolant reservoir and didnt see any oil, I really dont think its a headgasket. My only guess is that one of my donuts threw ice at my radiator or a few hoses. If so, whats with the smoke and vibration again? Multiple problems? 1000 dollar range repairs?

Oh, ofcourse I forgot one last thing. I also have a few problems with my transmission since my first c-ceg meet. I overheated my transmission while bouncing off the limiter racing hector and steve. Ever since, Ive changed the fluid, and did the 1-2-bang shift fix with the new sensor. Now it runs ok, very minor kick in shifts, but o/d light blinks after bringing her into high rpms frequently and shift kicks violently while o/d light blinks. This piece of information might help in figuring out the leak of trans fluid... maybe.

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

anybody?

We're not psychic.

You will have to get under there and LOOK.

Steve

I did look. There are smart people on here, but unfortunately outnumbered by those with smart mouths. Does anybody know how its possible to leak all three all starting within a day or two?

The thing is, I did look, and I came up with nothing. The leaks also stopped on their own. Ive had a very busy week and had no chance to take anything apart. I figured somebody might actually try to answer my questions like how can all three of these fluids would be able to leak all at once within a few days. The answer to that question might help me find the problem(s).

I have fixed a cable going into the IAC which did return my idle back to normal, but it also has gotten a little warmer out as well.