Zach Merritt

My ‘90 Bonneville came with 5w-30 out of the factory, and that is the recommended weight. However, I’ve had something knocking for years, and want to get it quieted down so I can get a few more years out of the car. A co-worker recommended I switch to 10w-40. Mileage is 227,914 miles. I read that engines using hydraulic tappets need a thinner oil. Also, the engine is pushrod, not overhead cam. Would I benefit from increasing the oil weight? I’m running synthetic 5w-30 right now, just put it in a few days ago.

Engine: 3.8l GM Series 2 3800 NA

Issues: Tachometer occasionally drops to 0, engine keeps running.
Stalled twice since last Sunday (10 days).
Wouldn’t start after sitting for 2 hours yesterday; waited 10 minutes, tried again, waited 15 seconds, fired right up.
When it died this morning, it wouldn’t​ start right away, but it sounded like it was almost there; after pushing it to the side of the road, it started right up.
2-3 weeks ago I was pulling into the garage and all the lights turned off for a second and the engine stuttered, but it caught again and kept running.

I’m thinking it’s an issue with the ECU.
I’ve already checked battery cables, they are tight.
Recently did plugs and wires, ran some fuel system cleaner through it.
Note: I don’t give a crap about this car. If it’s toast then oh well, doesn’t bother me at all.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.

So I had probably the worst Christmas ever. I woke up at 5:30 and barfed. In the next 5 hours I barfed 3 more times. I haven’t peed since about 4-5 this morning (now 7 in the evening: 14-15 hours), and don’t have any urge to. I’ve had 2 good sized bottles of fluids, totalling about 48 oz (6 glasses). First bottle was water, second apple juice. Starting on another bottle of apple juice. Should I go to urgent care/ ER and get an IV drip? Still feeling a bit barfy, was running a fever of 99.9 (I think that’s gone now). I also feel numb and a bit disoriented, signs of dehydration.

So I noticed the other day that my transmission seems to be jumping from the gear it’s supposed to be in to one higher. So if I’m driving at 38 MPH (who actually goes 35?), normally I would be at about 1600 RPM. If I stay off the gas for a few seconds, it bounces back and forth between 1000 and 1500. Normal idle in gear is about 700, out of gear is 900. While the transmission is under power, it behaved normally. It’s only if I coast for more than a few seconds. If I tap the gas it goes to normal for a few seconds, then back to jumping around. The car still shifts through all the gears just fine (tested on the freeway: using cruise control makes the issue not occur). This issue is especially evident when I’m going down a hill riding second. It still seems to hold the car back like it should, no lurches like if I downshifted after getting up to speed. There is a little shuddering when on mostly flat ground and this happens. (Almost unnoticeable, so I could be imagining it). 227k miles on the clock, original everything, regularly serviced. Fluid is clean, full.

My car has lately been making a strange noise that seems to be slowly getting worse. It’s only at 35+ mph, is louder based on road surface, and goes wuh-wuh-wuh etc (constant). I also can feel the car shaking at the same rate as the noise when I hit the brakes kinda hard to really hard (short freeway offramp). Could this be warped front rotors? I know it’s not the back drums, just replaced those.

One of the tires on my car is wearing funny, and I’m trying to find reason why. I already know the alignment is bad and the car pulls right pretty hard. But could the fact that the shocks are complete garbage (still support the car, but you feel everything) be a factor?

So I was minding my own business eating chips and dip that I bought, browsing CT. Then my dad comes over and takes a big scoop of dip. Which then falls right into my phone’s speaker, ruining it. It still sort of works, but it’s about 1/5 the volume and it buzz’s and crackles. I use my speaker quite a bit. I’ve had this one about 5 days (got a replacement on warranty). Warranty doesn’t cover “water damage” (dip damage) so that isn’t an option. A replacement would cost $200-230, plus I would want a tempered glass screen protector and a basic case, because that’s what’s on my phone. Then tax on top of that, and it’s $250+. Should I make my dad buy me a new phone?

I was talking to somebody who has worked on cars his whole life, and I mentioned that I have leaky valve cover gaskets. He recommended that I add 1/2 cup of brake fluid to my oil, because it softens the gaskets and makes them swell to plug the leak. Is this a pile of crap, or is it legit? It seems odd to me.

Somebody I know has a 4 cylinder GMC truck (somewhat newer, mostly computer-run). He says that it runs fine for about 5 minutes, and then it dies and won’t start again. He has replaced all the sensors but isn’t having any luck. He has also redone the fuel system (new pump and filter). Any help would be appreciated. I am assuming it’s got a throttle body.