Overheating camaro ss
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Teching In
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 6
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From: Austin
Overheating camaro ss I have a 2001 Camaro SS. I have been the only owner of the vehicle, and I have seen it at it's worst. The car has overheated several times through it's life. I have changed parts in the past which did correct the problem for the particular moment. The SS has overheated about 5 times randomly throughout the past four months. At first, It would start to get hot while driving on I-35. The heater on full blast would always cool it down. I have changed out my THERMOSTAT, RADIATOR, HOSES, and FLUID. The car is not leaking anywhere. My FANS do work and turn on and off with no problems. I believe that the problem is getting worse, because it will now heat up while the heater is on full blast. I hooked up my car to a scanner and it would read at about 225 while my gauge was reading at 210. The gauge DOES WORK and will increase, but there is a delay. That means that my car has probably got hotter than I would of thought as well as faster. I am told over and over that it is probably a head gasket. I am also told that on LS1's they usually throw head gaskets when there is a warped block or head which has been caused by overheating. Apparently, a block test was done by a friend of a friend and he is sure that it is my head gasket. There is no smoke or smells coming from the car. All fluid levels have been holding up just fine.
TECH Addict
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,907
Likes: 1
From: Bergen County, NJ
If it gets hot while driving at highway speed it is not fans since they turn off at 35 MPH. Either the airflow over the radiator is insufficient or the coolant flow is insufficent. LS1s do not blow head gaskets from normal use, and if your coolant isn't foamy and oil isn't foamy then you probably don't have a head gasket issue. If the air flow over the radiator is clear and your air dam is in place check the water pump - take the cap off cold, leet it warm up to operating temperature and then when you crack the throttle you should see the coolant flow. If that is good, I would flush the system, replace the thermostat with a 180*, replace the coolant, and replace the radiator cap. Also check the radiator cap sealing surface, there was TSB on imperfections where the cap seals and the fix is to clean it up with 400 grit paper.
What mods do you have BTW?
What mods do you have BTW?
Last edited by DaddySS; Jul 18, 2009 at 03:35 PM.
Main things I would replace then, but you need to be more detailed in what you have replaced and let us know.
1. Water Pump
2. 160 Thermostat or dont run a thermostat
3. Get a manual fans switch and run that on high under 45 mph
4. Check with a tuner and look at what your tune is set at? And maybe find the mystery dignostic through a tune or dyno pull.
