Car overheating on dash
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2009
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Car overheating on dash So as the title says my car has been overheating whenever i turn my car on it runs for about 5 minutes then the coolant temp gauge goes to red and it throws the check gauge light. I finally got around to hooking my laptop up to my car through Autotap and as i ran diagnostics my car got up to around 190 and it was already in the red on my dash then around 230 degrees, while idling in park the fans clicked on....my coolant is fine ive replaced the thermostat and radiator cap and the fans are coming on around a reasonable time i just can not figure out for the life of me what is going on. If anyone has any reccomendations etc i would greatly appreciate it. This car is my Daily driver and I am a full time college student and also have a full time job so I am kinda pressed on time for working on it.
My car is a 1997 Camaro Z28 lt1 etc etc....
My car is a 1997 Camaro Z28 lt1 etc etc....
TECH Veteran
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,145
Likes: 61
From: Little Rock, AR
Try checking out your gauge sensor and circuit. If you are sure you have all the air bled out of the system and need a new sensor for the head, get a genuine ACDelco one.
On mine, I have a problem with the gauge doing the same thing. I freaked out one time and had it towed home. Come to find out, I have a bad gauge. If I tap the cluster, the gauge will go back to normal, but usually shoots back to the red shortly after.
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Verdad Gallardo Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 16
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ok so i poured a ton of coolant in the radiator and opened the bleeder valves and nothing happened so i pressurized the system opened the thermostat bleeder untill a steady stream then the other bleeder untill steady stream. This fixed the problem for the most part then my car stopped overheating on the dash. But then i ran it for a little and it overheated again so i bled the system and out poured a ton of air with no coolant through the thermostat bleeder does that mean i dont have enough coolant? I am heading into work now so ill look at it more tomorrow but it seems i am headed in the right direction. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH ill check this again tomorrow for what you guys think
Check your oil. See if there is any coolant in the oil. If so, it will look like creamed coffee, and you have your answer where your coolant is going. That is when head gaskets should be replaced. Do not start the engine any more until the gaskets are replaced. Even if coolant is not getting into the oil it can still escape into the cylinders and be burned off. What you can do to find out:
Take spark plugs out and see if any are cleaner than others.
Rent a coolant pressure tester at any parts store, fill your radiator and pressurize the system. Instructions are in the tester kit on how to do this. Do not pressurize more than the normal 18psi the coolant system alots.
You can start all over and drain the radiator and block. Use the steps I linked to fill system back up. I think the entire system holds 16.5 quarts? You can easily look up the capacities. Don't do this if your oil has been contaminated. As stated if that is the case you then know your gaskets need to be replaced.
Take spark plugs out and see if any are cleaner than others.
Rent a coolant pressure tester at any parts store, fill your radiator and pressurize the system. Instructions are in the tester kit on how to do this. Do not pressurize more than the normal 18psi the coolant system alots.
You can start all over and drain the radiator and block. Use the steps I linked to fill system back up. I think the entire system holds 16.5 quarts? You can easily look up the capacities. Don't do this if your oil has been contaminated. As stated if that is the case you then know your gaskets need to be replaced.
TECH Veteran
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,145
Likes: 61
From: Little Rock, AR
.....
Originally Posted by article at shbox.com
LT1 coolant capacities for the 4th gen F-body:
With Manual Transmission - 15.3 quarts (14.5 L)
With Automatic Transmission - 15.1 quarts (14.3 L)
With Manual Transmission - 15.3 quarts (14.5 L)
With Automatic Transmission - 15.1 quarts (14.3 L)
2X Vote That's what MY car's overheating / bleeding / overheating / bleeding / overheating issues were - on cylinder #1 and #8 at the same narrow place on the Flepro gaskets.
OP -
Do a cylinder sealing test on each cylinder with the piston at TDC with compressed air coming in via the spark plug hole. If you hear a "hiss" or you see bubbles at the radiator (with the cap OFF obviously!) then you've discovered the root cause of your problem.
Good Luck!
(I hope it's not a blown gasket, but I'll bet you a dollar that it is...)
OP -
Do a cylinder sealing test on each cylinder with the piston at TDC with compressed air coming in via the spark plug hole. If you hear a "hiss" or you see bubbles at the radiator (with the cap OFF obviously!) then you've discovered the root cause of your problem.
Good Luck!
(I hope it's not a blown gasket, but I'll bet you a dollar that it is...)
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2009
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Ok so I essentially just went to go back through the bleeding process because my oil was the color and viscosity it should be. I thought these cars had a low coolant light on but it seemed like my car was just really low on coolant and the reason my car was bleeding strictly air was because the reservoir was empty too, so essentially I had to add two gallons of coolant...It has been 3 days of driving so far and Its been real good in fact I believe the temp gauge looks better than it ever has. Thank you everyone for all the help you saved me from trying to find rides to all the crap i go to all week long.
