Hi,

I am having a problem with my 94 LT1 Camaro. My check gauge light came on, I looked down and seen that the temp gauge was right up to the red line. I checked the coolant and it was empty so I filled it back up, drove about 5 minutes home and when I got home it was almost on empty again and the temp wasnt going down any. It smeels like burnt coolant, any ideas on waht could be causing this? The fan seems to be working fine.

 

check coolent hoses and oil first. It has to be going some where

 

the oil is black but i think thats because its due to be changed and from it overheating.

I just put in a new thermostat, where should the temp run at with a 180 thermostat in it? i let it idle till it reached half then shut it down, before it never went past 1/4

the other odd thing is that the fan always comes on, within 10 seconds of turning the car on the fan is on, its always done this since I got it about 2 months ago.

Any ideas?

I dont see anywhere that it is leaking coolant, but i'll have to check out underneath the car when i get a chance to jack it up. In the mean time any other ideas would be appreciated!

 

If you dont have any leaks from the hoses or water pump,more than likely you have a blown head gasket.Get it fixed fast.

 

woudnt it run bad then? it idles perfect and wouldnt the oil be coloured?

 

No the antifreeze doesn't always go into the oil, but it may be burning it in the cyclinders and if that is the case you should be seeing some white smoke coming out the tail pipes.

 

no white smoke out the tail pipes

what is the normal temp for it to run at? with the new thermostat when idling it seems to be staying at 1/2 gauge, but i only let it run for about 10 minutes.

 

Are you sure you have the right thermo???? IF it cost less than 15.00, then you prob have an older style...

 

paid $21 canadian for it.......

 

bump

someone has to know what temp there car runs at... where on the guage should the needle point on a stock LT1...

Should it be at 1/4 or at 1/2 and when do your fans come on? mine has always came on within 10-30 seconds of starting the car.

 

Normal driving (moving) is at the quarter mark for me. In stop and go traffic, with the fan on, it usually stays at the quarter mark or in between quarter and half. I believe the fans should come on around the half way mark. If your fans come one before that, then maybe there is a sensor problem?

There are two temp sensors, one on the water pump, one in the cylinder head. Maybe one is bad, but if your losing coolant then sounds like something else. A hose might only leak when you are driving it (system under pressure) or maybe the water pump is leaking, but this usually leaks while the car is off and parked also.

Hope this helps, good luck.

 

well I think I foudn the problem with it overheating, the thermostat combined with air in the system. I flushed the rad and put new coolant in. BUT now it is running cold, its just barely above the 75 mark is this hard on the engine?

I think the cause is the thermostat, I know its the proper one for the car but its a cheap brand (canadian tire) so I think i should get the one from the dealership?

 

http://shbox.com/1/tstat.jpg

This will give you an idea as to whether or not you have the correct T-stat.

BTW, this site is extremely helpful, should be bookmarked to the "favorites."

Shoebox is the man...

 

ya i got the right one it has that piece at the bottom... Is it ok for the car to be running that cold? just barely above the bottom marker.