Alright, so my car is really starting to worry me now. It used to be alright, it was pretty driveable, and though the temp would raise up while sitting in traffic too long, it wasn't this bad.

I recently did an oil change (10W-40 oil as opposed to the 5W-30 I usually put in). This was after I mistakenly poured a bottle of power steering fluid in the engine, confusing it for oil. I noticed while pouring that it didn't resemble oil and immediately went out and bought some 10W-40 oil (to hopefully correct the lifter and valve noise I'd been hearing before). So, I dumped out the oil and PS fluid. Poured a quart though with the plug off the bottom, and then plugged it up and filled it back up. I didn't replace the filter though because I didn't have the wrench for it and figured since I hadn't started it there should be any PS fluid in there.

I had also done a throttlebody bypass right before all this happened. I disconnected the two hoses of the TB, plugged up the TB, and connected them together. Hoses were tight and don't think there was any leakage.

Well, yesterday I was driving around (short drive) and sure enough the temp would stay relatively low from start for a good while, but once it did get warmed up (around 180), when I would be sitting at a light, the temps would start to raise to like 210 and higher. And smoke would start pouring out of the back passenger's side of the engine bay. I pulled into a parking lot and got some food while the car cooled down. After maybe an hour, I got into my car and the temp was cooler (180) but it would start raising up when the car wasn't in motion (up to around 210). And when stopped at lights, smoke would start pouring out.

I also got under my car the other day and noticed there was a bunch of oil over everything (k-member, coolant hoses, etc.). When I got my plugs and wires replaced, the mechanic told me that it was making a bunch of lifter noise and there was an oil leak somewhere (possibly the timing chain cover). Now, I was going to wait maybe a month or two, and get all the parts to reassemble the heads and put in the new cam. But I don't know if she'll survive long enough to get there. I mean, it used to run fine, just had some lifter and valve noise. But now, it takes a while to get the rpms up and the oil pressure seldom gets up to 40 psi. So, should I continue to hold out for the head rebuild or does it sound like the engine is gone and needs replacement?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

Also, AC relay was disconnect since my mechanic couldn't figure out what was causing the A/C compressors to not switch off (went though 3 of them in a matter of months). Could this shutoff the fans and cause overheating?

 

Also, lost some coolant due to disconnecting the TB hoses. I'll put some more in tomorrow, even though the level was good. But could I have air in the lines or something? Is there a way to bleed that out? Maybe I should just take it to a mechanic and have them flush the system.

 

Alright, so I think I'll set up a manual switch for the fans, replace the thermostat, and bleed out the cooling system. That might help with the overheating, and keep her running long enough to have the heads rebuilt.

Also, going to check my TB hose connections again, to make sure I did everything alright.

 

you need to have your engine compression tested and see if it is still good. From what you are describing it seems as if your motor has let go.. Valvetrain noise is never good and usually when you have low oil pressure its a sign that the engine is on its last leg. I know this from experience. My LT had low oil pressure so I replaced the pump. It ran well for a month then the engine began dropping oil pressure again and eventually let go... I would definetly have that engine rebuilt, buy a complete engine from golen or a reputable LT1 engine builder, or find a good used low mileage motor for the car.. As far as the overheating goes you said that the smoke comes from the rear passenger side of the engine compartmen. That leads me to suspect that your heater core is clogged and needs to be cleaned out/replaced... I would make sure and find out what is going on to cause the car to overheat before you have the engine redone because more likely than not the issue will persist even after you put a new motor in...

Good Luck!

 

Your temps seem normal. Stock fans don't come on until 226° and it is normal for temps to rise when you are stopped. The disconnected a/c won't keep the fans from coming on by temperature. The smoke could be from the oil you describe all over the place. The noises, hard to tell. The oil pressure is not optimal but might be worth checking with a mechanical gauge.

 

Maybe I'll try to find a good mechanic to determine the source of the oil leak. Maybe I'll find one who can do a compression check to. But the thing is finding a good trustworthy mechanic in these parts is damn near impossible. Would a dealership be able or even willing to do all of the described?

 

And sucks about the temps. Why did GM let the temps raise that high? I would really like to keep the temp as low as possible for as long as possible. But by hooking up a manual fan switch and turning on the fan whenever it hits about 210* would I risk burning out the fan from overuse or something similar, or could it be done?

 

Stock temps are not going to hurt anything. That was the way it was made to run (mostly for emissions). Fan switches are available to buy, make yourself or have fans reprogrammed.

A dealer would be happy to work on your car, but it won't be gentle on your pocketbook.

 

What hasn't been nice on my pocketbook is a crappy mechanic that replaces parts with out figuring out why they broke in the first place, and then after they break again and again, finally giving up, after I've paid for the labor and parts. I think I'd prefer a dealer look over it. Thanks for the tips.

And yeah, I just set up my new Baja foglights with complete new wiring, pull out switch, and a fuse to keep everything safe. I am the son of a boat mechanic and electrician. I'm pretty sure I could hook up a on-off-on switch for the fans using the info on here.

 

There are diagrams to make a fan switch in the electrical section of my website.

 

Yeah, I saw them. Thanks. Once again your incredible website comes to the rescue.

 

Alright, so I went for a drive today. Smoke started up while car was still cold. Amount of smoke increases as rpms raise. It's got custom longtube headers. I think they have a leak someone and that's the reason for the smoke.

Oil pressure was great. ~20 psi when idling, around 35-40 psi when running with 2.5k rpm shifts. As for the valve noise, it's still there. Checked the oil, was a little low, so I put some in.

I think I'll just wait it out. I'll install the fan switch and wait to get my heads done, and I'll have them check my headers, which I believe to be leaking somewhere.

 

Why would a header leak cause the engine to smoke?

 

I think you're right. I guess I just figured that the air coming unfiltered straight out from the engine was somehow leaking out through where the headers bolt on to the engine. I mean, the smoke seemed to be coming right from there. But damn, I really don't know.