i just bought a 96 lt1 stock camaro about a day ago. i drove it to work and it was fine. when i went back home from work, the engine temp was off the chart! it was way past the 260 mark. when i got home and parked it, there was alot of coolant leaking from the car. i waited a few hours to refill it becasue it was really hot. i filled it up with coolant and i noticed that the radiator was brown. it looks really dirty. also, the car still over heats with the new coolant in it. i dont think the fans are working because they never kicked on! even when the engine was in the red, they didnt turn on. could that be the reason the car is over heating? any ideas on how to test my cooling system? anyone know what might be the problem?? any help will help! <--sounds funny.

thanks.

 

May be the fan relay in the fuse box under the hood on the drivers side. They've been known to die. Also check the fans fuse in the fuse box inside the car. Also, you have to "burp" the cooling system when you refill it with any significant amount of antifreeze. See here how to do it http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#radflush, just ignore the part about bleeding the system. Does it heat up to 260F when your on the interstate also??

 

how do i know which fuse it is? i was looking at the fuse box and got a bit confused. lol the car does heat up to 260+ while on the highway also. it can just be on for a few minutes, driving or parked, and it over heats.

my question i had, was, can the fans not working make the car over heat becasue they are not working? do the fans really have that much of an impacked???

 

mine did the same thing when i first bought it. i bought a 160 thermo, made a more effective air dam, and made fan switches. your radiator was under tons of pressure. i hope you didnt drive it for long. do you have an air dam? that could be a big problem if you dont.

 

no, i only drove it 2 times when the temp gauge went off the chart. (it was pretty darn scary) i do have an air dam. how much does a 160 termometer cost? and how would i make a switch for my fans? i think i would feel alot better if i could control when my fans turn on and off.

 

you can get a good slp 160 thermostat for like 20 bucks. i custom made mine but go to shbox.com to find the wiring diagram. its pretty simple to make.

 

is there a way that i can test the fans to see if they are working?

is it possible that the fans not working will solve my over heating problem??

what can i do about the dirty ratiator?

 

Thermostats run around $15. If the have a bad one it could keep the coolant from flowing properly. If your water pump is bad it can also cause circulation issues. If your loosing coolant and it get to low that is also a problem. Make sure you don't have a leak. You can have a break in the coolant overflow causing it to leak. The fans need to be figured out before you drive it any sort of distance since overheating it is very bad on the engine.

 

there should be a plug for each fan, unplug them. get some good gauge wire and test them with the car battery

 

just wondering....do you think there could be a clog in my cooling system?

when are the fans supposed to kick on?

 

im pretty sure its the fans. its prob a fuse or a relay. i think if you turn your a/c on the fans should turn on?

 

i think i heard that too when i was doing research on this on the threads. (the ac turing on the fans) i tried that and the fans did not turn on.

i dont mean to sound like a broken record but do you think that could solve my problem?

 

im 90% sure its a bad relay or fuse now. if you are planning to modify your lt1 manual fans are very very handy.

 

loli ment that will the fans fix my over heating problem.... :-) thanks for all your help.

 

theres no guarantee but it should make a huge difference. you got it man.