Chevym84

i have what looks like a heater core leak(atleast i think so but i havent located the leak) leaks on the pass side behind the motor so im thinkin thats what it is and it leaks so bad that u give it 5mins and it will empty the cooling system. i tell u this is the worst car i've ever owned ive put $2G into it already(thats parts cause i do the work) and still having problems....i've had 68 camaro...70 chevelle ss 454 and no problems and they would run circles around this car. anyone else have so much cooling system problems with their LT-1?

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

#1.) What has cost you $2000 in parts? Depending on what problems you're experiencing, if you've spent $2,000 in replacement parts and it still doesn't run right, there's other issues that you need to address.

#2.) Definitely somewhere near the heater core hoses. Find where the leak is coming from and change the hose or do whatever else you need to do. Coolant leaks are usually easy to diagnose, if you know what you're doing.

Chevym84

yes i know it easy to find leaks i'm just tired of this car(dont get me wrong i'm a big gm fan and f-body as well) but yes i've spent about 2g on this car. everything in the cooling system has been replaced. water pump and coupler(spines wore off and it was overheating) then started overheating again and found the radiator had a block. i have a rough idle that is cause by a bad nosiy lifter that i had to replace(yes i replaced all lifters). have a tranny that pops out of reverse and grinds in 5th. replaced a 10 bolt cause it could hold up to 275hp.....

Chevym84

i just ad to vent man. the 68 camaro i have still has the original rear end according to the #'s and yes i beat it up everynowand then. i love this 95 t/a and all i wanna do is drive it but i never can cause i'm alwas workng on it.

ScrapSilicon

iTrader: (3)

so..what year{edit ah a '95 t/a} and mileage is this ? my raggedy '94 Z pushin' 150k and I knew when I got it that it was going to be a money pit but it is a money pit that I prefer over my previous money pit('94 GrandAm GT V6). I over paid for it($3k) and have dropped 1500 in just the middle and rear suspension.. haven't got to the motor(it needs attention ..badly but it is still soldiering on) and hope to do the front suspension soon.

creepingdeath94

iTrader: (1)

Unfortunately, these cars have a reputation for being abused long before we get a hold of them and don't get the maintenance or experienced workmanship/repair work they need when they do break before we get them, so it is a roll of the dice as to whether or not the car will be a can of worms or diamond in the rough. Being as the newest of LT1's is over 10 years old, rest assured they will need some sort of work or at the very least maintenance...which gets costly on these cars. What I'm trying to long windedly say here is don't give up on these cars overall because the person before you beat on it. They can still be a lot of fun with the creature comforts more modern cars have once all the kinks are worked out...and they tend to be a lot cheaper than lets say a '68 Camaro these days :-p

azmarkus

2G, so that's basically 5 car payments, that's a whole lot less than 48 or 60. LT1's can be frustrating in that regard, but it's certainly not a secret that over time you're going to pour some money into it. I'm thinking that by spending that much money you could have a brand new cooling system from a Maserati?

Good luck with the car.

Chevym84

yea thanks i'm not goin to give up and the 2g. was for everything not just cooling system......i'm also wondering do u have to take apart the dash to remove the heater core or is old school, im guessing the dash cause nothin on these cars are easy, lol

Chevym84

and i also have a 60mo. car payment, LOL

Chevym84

the car has 150k on it and yes its a 95 t/a w/o high rise hatch, from what im hearing a pretty rare option for 95....

Chevym84

yea i think its commin from the intake....i cant see for sure but behind the right head there is a puddle on the block and is leakin down the right side of the block....like i said i cant see the actual leak....

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

Which side of the engine is it? Your original post said passenger side, but now you say right? For the sake of this conversation, let's use "driver side" and "passenger side" so there's no confusion.

The intake is a dry manifold - there are no coolant passages. Perhaps the hose from the back of the heads (steam tube) is leaking (passenger side also). There are no coolant hoses/pipes on the driver side of the engine (except the water pump hoses in the front). If it's toward the back, it could be a blown head gasket. Are you getting any white smoke out of the exhaust?

Perhaps you could post pictures?

Chevym84

ok sry for that.. its the pass side. no white smoke and the oil has bout 1500miles on it and is still amber.. and you were saying something about a hose to the back of the head. its a pretty big leak as it is empty's the coolant in bout 5-10mins.....

Chevym84

i would post some pics but i can barely even get the little mirror in there to see where its commin from

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

I'm definitely going to recommend you do a thorough job of looking at the heater core pipes/hoses, including where they go into the firewall. The steam tube won't be able to completely empty the cooling system in 5 minutes - that's a major leak.

Chevym84

yea ive looked at the heater core and it looks fine. the lines goin into it are dry and under where the heater box is is also dry. so theres no coolant ports in the intake and heads?

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

Coolant flows through the block and heads, but not the intake manifold.

Chevym84

ok WOW im in over my head here...thats right cause coolant flows in and out of the water pump.....nothing in the intake...damn man i have no idea where this could be commin from....

Chevym84

wow yea i looked at my lt4 heads ur right theres no place for coolant. unless i blew the head gascket but instead of leakin into the motor its leakin out the back of the motor......i would never tell cause its always ran like crap...

rebuilt

Steam pipe seals could possibly be leaking