ws6 overheating!
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2011
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ws6 overheating! i just bought a 2000 ws6 firebird about a month ago with 60k miles on it. everything has been running excellent until last night on the way home from a trip to pismo beach. i had not been driving more than 20 min when my engine temp gauge slams into the red. i pull over and and check the engine and it seemed as if the coolant had came out of the radiator cap(were you check the fluid level..im a noob) and could not find any leaks at all under the car. i refilled the radiator with some dexcool and drove off as soon as the car cooled down. the car seemed to stay cool when i was driving on the streets but as soon as i pass anywhere above 75mph the car would start to heat up fast. any help would be appreciated.
Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 79
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From: Los Angeles
GET THAT DEXCOOL OUT OF YOUR WS6!!!! FLUSH IT IMMEDIATLEY! some say dex cool is good but more say its bad! your cooling system is no doubt clogged up probably, drain your radiator there is a drainer at the bottom of your radiator you twist it out, drain it and flush it out with clean water, i would then refill it with only water run it, then repeat process till your sure you got all of that junky dexcool out of your car, other things that will cause overheat wil be bad thermostat, the wrong radiator cap, and a few other things. but start from the cheapest if not free then work your way up. Water would be used as the #1 coolant if it wasnt for corrosion. You can use "The Green Stuff" for a piece of mind.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2011
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ultimateorangess: no steam from exhaust but thanks for the help that eases my mind a bit, LS1aiden: really? the sticker on my radiator says to put dexcool only. either way thanks for the info i got some homework to do on that.
Correct Dexcool only!!! Try cheaper to more expensive like said above. Thermo-waterpump-radiator. Does it do fine under throttle or only above 75mph cruising? Also does it look like there are any contaminants in the fluid when you take the radiator cap off?
Does the car have its "air dam" under the chin? The
fans will cut out when rolling at speed, depending on
the passive airflow for the radiator.
Radiator and A/C condenser both want cleaned of
debris.
fans will cut out when rolling at speed, depending on
the passive airflow for the radiator.
Radiator and A/C condenser both want cleaned of
debris.
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My engine has the green stuff. The dexcool after it ages will turn to a gel and cause clogging. Not for sure if this is your problem or not. I would say check that both fans work. To do this just turn on the ac while the car is running. Both fans should kick on.
Could be water pump not moving water fast enough. Usually that's not the case though. Thermostat is a good possibility.
Could be water pump not moving water fast enough. Usually that's not the case though. Thermostat is a good possibility.
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Brett Foote Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 79
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 79
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
LMFAO water would be the #1 coolant if it wasn't for corrosion. That has got to be one of the funniest things I have read in all my time reading this forum.
If you had fluid coming out from under your radiator cap, then either you need to replace it, or it just wasn't screwed on the all way and got lucky it didn't blow off causing coolant to shower your engine bay. Be sure to clean everything with water thoroughly, its corrosive to paint.
If you had fluid coming out from under your radiator cap, then either you need to replace it, or it just wasn't screwed on the all way and got lucky it didn't blow off causing coolant to shower your engine bay. Be sure to clean everything with water thoroughly, its corrosive to paint.
Last edited by LS1aiden; Apr 29, 2011 at 08:35 PM.
i just bought a 2000 ws6 firebird about a month ago with 60k miles on it. everything has been running excellent until last night on the way home from a trip to pismo beach. i had not been driving more than 20 min when my engine temp gauge slams into the red. i pull over and and check the engine and it seemed as if the coolant had came out of the radiator cap(were you check the fluid level..im a noob) and could not find any leaks at all under the car. i refilled the radiator with some dexcool and drove off as soon as the car cooled down. the car seemed to stay cool when i was driving on the streets but as soon as i pass anywhere above 75mph the car would start to heat up fast. any help would be appreciated.
Sounds to me you have a bad radiator cap and you haven't known it for awhile....which caused coolant to slowly seep out over time which in turn causes "space" (or air) in the coolant system. When you shut the engine off and walk away, as the engine cools it will suck air into the coolant system. It can run completely normal for quite awhile as you lose coolant....then all of a sudden, bam, overheat fast out of nowhere.
I say go buy a new cap first, they're $3.50 (Stant with pressure release is what I've had on mine for like the past 5 years, its rock solid, PepBoys, $3.50).
Make sure you top it off and get all the air out of the system. If that doesn't solve the issue, take the t-stat out and put it in a pot of water on the stove and make sure its opening at the proper temp, use a cooking thermometer as the water heats up to know when you reach the right temp.
Thats pretty much all it can be if it just went BAMMO real fast, right into the red while driving. But I guess you never know with these friggin cars anymore....
Good luck.
.
Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 79
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
Aiden, you run straight water for your cooling, and get back to us on how well that works. What is the boiling point of water? Then, look up how adding 'green' or "dexcool' coolant to the water changes its range of cooling. I'm about to go to bed, so will await your amazing reply.
You sound even more stupid! Nothing flows better then water and Nothing cools better then water. The main purpose of coolant is to lower the freezing point of water so your raditator doesnt crack in low temps., thats why its called Anti-Freeze. And to your stupid *** comment about coolant increasing waters boiling temp., thats irrelevant cause its not stopping anything the engine will continue to get hotter if your overheating "Your so called coolant" will just delay the process by a few seconds if your engine gets hotter then 210 degrees then you shouldnt be driving anyway. IF COOLANT WAS SOOO GOOD THEN WHY DONT YOU RUN ALL COOLANT IN YOUR ENGINE AND TELL ME HOW YOU LIKE IT! THE FACT IS YOU CANT! YOU HAVE TO HAVE WATER, WATER COOLS!!!!LIKE I SAID WATER WOULD BE USED AS THE #1 COOLANT IF IT WASNT FOR CORROSION NOT ITS BOILING TEMP, NOTHING COOLS BETTER THEN WATER!
Last edited by LS1aiden; Apr 30, 2011 at 03:38 PM.
The point of a rad cap is to RAISE the boiling temp of your coolant - water mix. Water boils at 212 F at atmosperic pressure (sea level) as everybody knows. The coolant green or red etc is actually LESS effecient at removing heat compared to water alone, but the chemicals in it lubricate AND prevent freezing, depending on the water/coolant mix down to a given value. As stated, the fact that coolant pulls away less heat than straight water is academic for a street car. If your vehicle is on the ragged edge of overheating due to mods etc, instead of running straight water, a major upgrade to the cooling system is in order. A race only car is a different situation...
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2011
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thanks for the help...i feel like a total retard. turns out it was the radiator cap. installing a new one solved the problem immediately. I think im going to have to run a compression check just to make sure everything is ok from when it overheated. thanks for the help again guys!
thanks for the help...i feel like a total retard. turns out it was the radiator cap. installing a new one solved the problem immediately. I think im going to have to run a compression check just to make sure everything is ok from when it overheated. thanks for the help again guys!
Nice to have a cheap and easy fix.....
.
i say #1 look for any other leeks,,, make sure its not spitting out anywere other then the cap. then #2Buy and install a new rad cap,,, and #3 put an new thermostat in it also.
try that ifs still not good flush fluid and replace.
try that ifs still not good flush fluid and replace.
