I drove to altanta yesterday to look at a 93 formula 6 speed.I drove it,liked it,and bought it.Well i get about 5 miles from the guys house and notice the temp gauge is really soaring towards the red (but it never touched the red).A few moments later the low coolant light comes on and i leave my buddy behind and get to a gas staion to get antifreeze.Well i fill the reservoir all the way up without noticing the dipstick thing until it was too late.I get in to start the car and it wouldnt crank for 15 minutes until the car had cooled down.Even then the starter turned the engine real slow.Of course all of this happened after plunking down 4 grand.I thought about taking it back but i really liked the car.The car did great onthe 5 hour trip home but when i pulled in and let it sit for a few minutes a little antifreeze boiled out the top of the reservoir.Is that because i overfilled it?I thionk it has air in cooling system because the needle was all over the place.The one time i stopped to get gas i had to leave it running and it almost got in the red in 4 minutes!Well every time i start the car the starter is very slow.Does that sound like a starter going out?Also the ABS INOP light is on.Is there something i can check for that?Thanks for any help and i apologize for this being so long.BTW,i have always love the TURD gen more but after yesterday i totally fell in love with the LT1.

 

LT1 engines are reverse cooling. If you have air in the cooling system you may need to bleed the air out at the bleeder screws. Be very careful not let coolant spill all over the front of the engine or you will mess up your Opti.

Also, Lt1 engines have iron blocks and aluminium heads therefore every time you over heat the thing you are dancing with the devil. The heads can warp easier than iron heads and if you have air in the system you can have hot spots in the heads.

The starter may be going out or you are running the thing too hot.

I would bleed the air out of the cooling system before I drove it any more as you may have already put a lot of miles on that engine (equivelant miles) due to running it hot. Once I got a hold of the problem and solved it I would drive the car nice for a few days making sure I hadn't caused any damage. Check fluids frequently for those few days. also take the engine up to proper operating temperature each day do not just stop and start drive.


ABS light,,,, check your third light (brake light on spoiler),,, also if your alternator is charging low the low system voltage will also cause the ABS inop light to come on.


I suggest one of the first purchases you want to make is a Haynes, Chiltons or whatever repair book/manual

 

Thanks pearlpurple,i was thnking i bought a lemon for a little while yesterday.The car has every option and has all records since new including oil changes.It even hasthe window sticker and build sheet which i thought was cool.The car has 135,000 miles and has had synthetic oil put in it since the day it was bought (verified by dealer receipts).The guy also just spent $1600 on new dist,opti,water pump and all other ignition parts.I thought i got a good deal until i drove away LOL!I am also keeping an eye on the head gasket,they seem like a weak point on the lt1.BTW,i cannot believe what a new starter costs for these things.My L98 starter only cost $70

 

Does the temp reach that level at highway speeds? If so, check for good air flow to the radiator, it gets air just like the 3rd gen, see if the air dam is there. Radiator may need cleaning also, water pump might be bad...these are possibilities, you might want to check into and eliminate one by one.
If it happens at stop and go traffic, I'd blame the fans. It seems that they're not getting enough voltage due to a bad alternator, because it seems that your battery is not getting charged well.

 

The water pump was replaced as well 6 months ago.Actually i dont recall hearing the fans ever kick on.Is there a relay and if so where?Also on the highway it stayed right around 220 which seems really high to me.

 

The temp gauges on the 93s read high, mines does, just make sure it doesnt go in to the red. It will usally get close and back down while in traffic. The low coolant light is typical LT1 problem. I believe its a sensor in the filler kneck thats to blame. Should not be that high on the freeway, check to see if theres any thing blocking the raidator like a bag. If you turn the a/c on, it should kick the fans on. Other wise pop the hood and pull the air pump fuse, that will trigger the ses light, causing the fans to come on. If you have any 93 specific questions, check out speeddensity.org, its a site meant for those years LT1 cars. Being a six speed, check the rpo codes and find out if it has the M29 wide ratio six speed, that will mean it has the better gears. I recomend getting a 160 T-stat from Hyper Tech and a tune from PCM4less, they can set the fan temps lower and get some more power out of it. I really love the third gen cars, would not mind owning a white 88 GTA.

 

How do i tell if its an M29?Will it be on the RPOS in the glove box?The car did come originally with 3.23s.I cant believe the gas mileage the car got compared to my L98.It goes at least 60-75 more miles per tank.I wish i would have looked into these cars a long time ago.Can anyone tell me how to hook up the steering wheel control back up to the original cd player?It probably just plugs into the back or something.Thanks for all of the advice.

 

If the car is an original M6 and came with factory 3.23's then it's going to be an M29. Look in the glove box, the RPO code will be in there. If not, it's on the door.

Is the stereo an aftermarket or stock unit?? If it's an aftermarket, there should be adapters available on line. If you take the stereo out you should see a flat 4 port connector with a single wire going into it. This is the hookup for the steering wheel controls (at least it was on my 93's).

Also, time for the shameless speed density board plug, link in sig.

 

Hey fastbird,i just went over to speeddensity.org and it seems you have had alot of problems with your LT1.Also the stereo is stock.It is probably unplugged in the back.Also the volume button doesnt work,seems like the spring is off of the button if that makes any sense.

 

Yeah, but that's what happens when you really tear into something. I'm really not having so many issues any more, just haven't been working on it.

I've never dissected a steering wheel to look at the radio controls, so I can't help ya there. They are notorious for going out on the early style though. Yours is probably plugged in still, but the wheel controls don't work.