Guys my 97 z28 was over heating. Drive it about 5-10 miles and it would go straight to red line and over. Everytime it got near red line I would cut it off. We couldnt figure out what was causing it, so I had someone look at it. The IDIOT drove it in the red, and when he came back to the house and we popped the hood.....DISASTER!! The radiator had completely blown out all the water through the overfill tank, blew the lid completely off of the overfill tank, water all over the motor, and too make matters worse part of the water pump was melted. You put water in the car now and start it up it shoots the water out, so it wont hold water at all. Fellows dont even speculate on what it is, because I cant take these car and personal troubles anymore. Just help me out with these few questions.

1.If the heads are warped from the heat how much am I looking at for some heads.
2.If the motor is completely ruined, has any of you had to buy a used motor before?
3.I had to have it towed to the chevy dealership so if it is the heads how much money would I expect to get rapped for.

Problems, problems, problems, and problems

 

First off having it towed to the dealer was a big mistake imo. $$$$$$$$$$$
Their quotes are not going to be realistic. Take is somewhere else.

Really it sounds like you just have alot of air in the system. Add water, bleed it, add water, bleed it, etc.
If you have an air pocket in the water pump it will not move water but it will still build pressure. Air in the system is a common problem with LT1's btw especially if the coolant was low to start with.

If it's not that then the pump is out, the radiator is clogged and/or fans in the front not working. Cooling is pretty simple to figure out. Not much that can go wrong.

I think you have to run the hell out of it while it's overheated to do real engine damage. If you had a 10min normal drive home in the red I think it would be fine. I wouldn't call water coming out of the overflow tank DISASTER though. Melted water pump??? I would like to see a picture of that!!! Al melts at 1200 degress and with the other metals added it's going to be higher than that. Put some pics up. Should be impressive. If it really is "melted" then disguard all my suggestions and go directly yo eBay and get a engine.

 

Too bad, probably just needed the cooling system to be bled assuming the waterpump was turning and there was coolant in there. Maybe a new water pump and hoses. Maybe just a radiator cap.

I feel bad just telling you this and I hope it's not that serious as you think, but....

I would say, that the first thing to do is get the main leak(s) fixed and evaluate it from there - pressure test it, etc. If that means new water pump and hoses, then do that first & see if it runs. You may have drowned the opti, but hopefully not. Then if it starts & runs and you find you have a head(s) lifted and get coolant leaks or choco shake in the oil, then minimum getting the heads disassembled, resurfaced, reassembled, new gaskets for heads, & intake and exhaust manifold, new head bolts, labor, etc. and hopefully your exhaust bolts don't break off. Plenty of $$$ and if you have the dealer do new heads, that'll cost a bundle more. The dealer doesn't do ANYTHING cheap.

Used heads can be had for a few hundred dollars, but they might be warped, too. New heads might be a grand or more depending what you get. Used motors are from a few hundred to a grand depending on what you get - might get a bad one of those, too.

Basically, you should just get your credit card out and bend over right now if you are leaving it at the dealer and telling him to fix it unless you're over exaggerating the carnage.

 

1. $150-200 for used heads in good condition
2. $1200-1500 for a solid rebuilt Lt1 engine (ready to drop in)
3. You don't want to know, find a good mechanic with experience and reasonable rates.
I don't care how broke it is, $83/hr is not reasonable.

I hope replacing the water pump and gaskets solves the problem for you.

 

If its blowing water out right after startup, the head gasket(s) are blown. Heads arnt expensive to fix up. Get them cleaned, a valve job, and have them milled untill flat. If your water pump had a meltdown (literally as you say), it would overheat quickly, and the head gaskets are probably blown now. You need to look at the cylinders when the heads are off for scoring.

The chevy dealership will rape you without lube. Have it taken somewhere else.

 

My shop charges $84/hr (Cummins), and we're cheap compared to car dealerships locally. We may be higher than independent truck/generator shops, but I guarantee (and so does the shop) I/we do better work. We charge for our experience, and peace of mind that the job is being done right, the first time. And trust me thats more important than $$.

 

Thinks guys for the info. Yeah, I agree with the dealership comments. Was talked into taking it there and finding out exactly what happend to it. At least I hope they can tell me and not say "well we have to do this and that" before we can tell you. In other words rack up the money, because there is no way in the world I would be stupid enough to get ripped off and have them fix it. Man what a stressful headache it all is