I bought the car today driving home we stopped at the gas station

My dad said the engine coolant looked low (reserve) so he put it in, i come back from the bath room and i see is smoking(alot) and boiling/bubbling,

So we let it cool down then continued on, but had to stop again because it got really hot and lots of smoke, We used rags to try and soak some oil out of the reserve, soak a good amout out the continues

So it starts getting hot again, so we soak a little out the open the radiator cap and pour some fluid into there,we poured quite alot, then continued

So we stopped again because it was smoking and lots of boilin coolant, so we open the radiator cap just alittle and some of the rexerve just drained out a little, then contiued on,

So this time it is VERY VERY hot and it is SMOKING more than space shuttle( it smokes alot somke is comming out every edge of the the hood, we pull over and just sit for a half an hour then contiue on, and make it pretty far then it gets hot but no smoking,

So we sit again for 20 minutes and then make it all the way home, so i get inside and im like thank you jesus for letting me get home, then i go out side to work on my car(interior) and it is STILL BUBBLING AND BOILING, im like WTF!


THE FAN IS JERRY RIGGED YOU HAVE TO MANUALY PUT THE WIRE INTO THE BATTERY TO WORK.


IF i need to post pictures for you guys to analyze then just say so,


Im only 16 so buying whole new parts ismost likely out of the question

O and the boiling was so bad that it blew the cap off the reserve


THANKS so much

 

where is the smoke coming from? is it running on straight water or antifreeze and water?

 

It comes out a lot of the reserve, a little out the radiator cap, and a verlittle over by the engine

 

Is it smoke or Steam, because they're really 2 different problems?

 

Did you have the fan on at all?Is the air dam under the car intact?

 

It is steam, i think, i dont know what the air damn is.

 

The air damn is a rugged piece of plastid bolted under the car just in front of the radiator deflecting the air onto the radiator. They seem to get ripped off easy if not careful where you park.

 

Make sure you stop before it gets to hot because I blew my engine like that. Listen to these guys and start checking things out.

 

Definately need to quit driving it until you find the problem. Have you checked the oil dipstick. I would look at the bottom of the oil filler cap and on the dipstick for anti-freeze. Could have a blown head gasket.

One old timers trick to see if you have coolant in your oil is to stick a lighter to the oil on the dip stick and see if it smokes or boils. If it just smokes you can assume no water, if it boils you have water in your oil. Meaning a failed head gasket of cracked head.

 

Can u simplify that, o god thats terrible thats like opening a letter to see if you got a D- or F, blown gasket would cost a fourtane to fix, i think im gonna do that so it is the engine oil one right?

 

Thank you jesus, i got the D-.... it smoked, im not bankrupt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....okay that was a greaqt feeling, but what about making it safe to drivwe again how do i do that?

 

Ive never heard of the lighter trick. Its a lot easier just to look at the oil. If its milky white you have a blown head gasket, if not your ok there. Check your thermostat and change out. Also, wire your fan to run while the car is on, this will get you around for awhile. When it cools down, fill with antifreeze and check for leaks. Also check while your driving. DO NOT OPEN RADIATOR CAP WHEN HOT! Fill from reserve tank if you have too. As stated check air dam also. Not a whole lot can be wrong when overheating, but it can take your engine out. Looked at your post again, sounds like its comming out under pressure. If there was a leak it would be blowing out there.(path of least resistance) I would say thermostat is stuck closed.

 

So is the fan running all the time, didnt see that answered just that it was jury rigged? Do you have 1 or 2 fans? I didnt see what year car it was? I didnt see where you were from also. Down here in florida it really doesnt get cold so if you had too you could run straight water in the car instead of a mix of antifreeze. Water has a higher boiling point. Antifreeze is just your anti corrusive in your car. Take your thermostat out. Note these are just temporary fixes. Had to say that before I got totally blasted by other board members.

 

1988 Camaro 305 TBI, lots of rust (how do i fix that?)

I fan, Air damn is still there, But today whie i was working on interior i would run the car i would whatch the temp go up, i would go all the way up past the red, and i would turn the car off and see that there might be a very very little amount of steam coming somewhere, its barley visible though.


Illinois very cold, im jelous i wish i lived in florida
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What does this mean ....\/ down there \/....

Yep im not a very mechanical person


Looked at your post again, sounds like its comming out under pressure. If there was a leak it would be blowing out there.(path of least resistance) I would say thermostat is stuck closed.[/quote]

 

Well like the one guy said for the steam path of least resistance. Find were that steam is coming from. Most likely(obvious) a hose has a hole or the radiator might have a hole. You could buy a pressure tester for it from the local auto parts store if you cant find anything else.

 

So im going to autozone and looking at hoses, also for my rust problem would this work,.... i really appreciate you help
Rust Prevention - Rust Inhibitor Corrosion Protection Coating

 

Well I heard you say you say steam but not sure where from, before you buy a hose do you have a general area? Could it be the radiator and not a hose? How much rust do you have? That stuff is a rust ihibitor but dont think it will do anything for your existing rust. What are your plans for your existing rust, how do you plan on taking care of that if you even do.

 

Tomarrow night i am going to post pictures of the entire body all four side, it pretty bad i cant describe it only pictures, but all i know is something has to be done soon before im in situation where i have to say goodbye because it is so bad, i think i may be able to save it, all inknow is i gotta keep it cheap i dont even have a job yet i just turned 16 so ill be gettin one soon but im lookin for something under 50$ because i still have to take care of the engine cooling problem and it needs new tires really soon.

Anyway it was steaming a lot while actually driving but do to the fact that it is a day old and not registered i cant get back on the road, i have been running the engine in my drive way, it starts out all the way at o (theremostat) then goes all the way past red over the coarse of like 25 minutes, when i see that and stopm it i go to the engine nothing feels REALLY Hot but you can see in the shadows a very little steam, so this is totally differant than actually running it on the road, bu the genral area on the way home yesterday was definetly the Resivoir but when we opened the radiator cap it was over there.

 

You need to stop driving it until you get the overheating problem solved, or you might blow the engine. Assuming that the air dam is in good shape, :

First off, I'd replace the thermostat with a new high flow RobertShaw type, and use a 180 degree unit. Drill 1 or 2 1/8" bypass holes in it so you have a little coolant flowing at all times. Flush the cooling system to get any rust and crud out. To rinse the system, fill with plain water and run it until it's hot (not overheating), then drain. Refill and repeat until the drain water is pretty clear. Then put in a 50/50 mix of distilled water and the green antifreeze. You might also throw in a bottle of rust inhibitor and water pump lube.

Once you have a good thermostat in it and the system is clean, start looking for leaks. If the hoses are old, replace them. That includes the 2 radiator hoses as well as the heater hoses, and any other coolant hoses under the hood.

Make sure the radiator core isn't blocked with gunk and leaves. Blow water from a nozzle through the core to clean it out.

With the radiator full but the cap off, if you start the engine you should see coolant flowing, make sure it is. How does the water pump look.

Make sure the system is holding pressure, I think they run at 16 pounds. You might also want to replace the coolant temp sender, sometimes those fail.

If everything is working right, the engine won't overheat. You need to find out what it is that *isn't* working right and fixit.

 

Tomarrow after school I
1. Take off radiator cap and fill all the way to top with Fluid
2. Start up and whatch for swishing
3. Look for leaks in hoses
4. Identify where steam is coming from
5. Check Radiator for leaves and stuff blockin it
6. Check for wet spots on radiatior
7. Put cap back on radiator and let it run
8. Keep checking thermostat
9. Hope that problems is solved

Is this right?

Thanks Alot

 

when i got mine the inside was pretty rusty too, i flushed it when prestone flush a few times, then took the top radiator hose off pointed it to the ground stuck the hose in the radiator and just let it run till it cleared up... but dont do it during the day people frown on stuff like this:P

 

So is this what i need to do, if not please help me

 

yeah thats a start hope all turns out ok.

 

So i should actually keep the radiatior cap off while im running it, when we drove home all that we poured into the radiator whent in to the resivour so this is right?

 

Noone has said the obvious so I will. Third Gens are all around 20 -25 years old. Most of these cars have been dogged out, NOONE sells a nice car. I have an 1987 I paid 2500. for. It has no dents and no rust at all. Before I drove it I put 500.00 within days of buying. In the last year I would not want to count how much I have dumped in. It gets driven once a week if that. Do I expect it to break down within the next year....yes. With that said, take 20 - 30 bucks to a local reputable repair shop and have them pressurize the system. Personally, I would replace the thermostat and hook the fan to run all the time. But then again I have only been working on cars 30 years.

 

I might have missed it but no one mentioned the water pump yet. Check to see if there is any coolant dpipping out of you water pump. If that is shot things will get hot in a hurry. And please stop driving it until you fix the overheating problem!

 

I have been running it in the driveway, but never on the street

Im going to register it when i get this problem solved, then i wil drive it if evry thing is safe, im also going to post a picture of the engine to show you whats happinign because it is so hard to describe.

Thanks

 

Make sure that thermostat is opening, its so cheap to replace it there really is no reason not to. You can usually tell if it is opening, if you squeeze the upper radiator hose that goes to the thermostat housing it will be full of water and hot to the touch.

The radiator check out ok? If its got tiny cracks you can usually see steam shooting out when its pressurized with the cap, and is up to temperature.

If the water pump is out, what he meant is there is a weep hole on the bottom that drips like a leaky faucet, a little drop at a time. It will do it even when the engine is off.

If the head gasket or head is actually cracked, you will have white smoke billowing out of the tailpipe, especially at startup. (Not blue or black)

If the hoses are leaking, you should see coolant or water on something, it will be wet somewhere.

I would start off with the thermostat, those things dont seem to work very well. BTW you can test the thermostat by removing it, and a pot of water, and you need a candy thermometer or a turkey thermometer. Heat the water up and watch the temperature rise, at about 160 degrees, get a set of thongs and hold the T-stat in the water. It should be opening anywhere from 160-195 degrees, you will see the copper part actually pop open. If its not opening or opening late, then you have a T-stat preventing coolant from saving your engine. You will need an extra thermostat gasket if you do this, and some RTV (if you decide to put it back in)

 

When i start up ther is smoke and it continues when i rev ther car, i put the antifreeze in the car and iti put it in the radiatior and it kept getting sucked down, when i reve the engine a lot of white smoke comes out of the exhaust, and there is a little steam coming out of the upper radiator hose by the engine section, but the clamp holding it on is really rustted and old, how much does it cost to fix a head gasket?


Is there a temporary solution cause this sounds expensive, but i did the burn the oil trick and it smoke not boiled, it looked not like oil though not milky white.

 

It is pretty expensive to have a mechanic to do it. Its possible that it is just the head gasket, but its also possible to have a cracked head or engine block. When i cracked my head, it would sit overnight and the cylinders would fill up with coolant, and then when you start it up, it would run really rough. There would be a lot of white smoke coming out of the tailpipe and it would overheat. If its burning up the water as fast as you are putting it in, the oil may not be milky white (maybe like chocolate milk)

Maybe one of the other members can tell you what to check and look for. The unpleasant part about this, is you just bought the car and you dont know what the previous owner did with the car before he sold it. I am not 100% sure, but i am thinking you will have to actually remove the head to find out what is wrong with it.

 

wHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ROUGH, it takes a whilke to warm the car up like turning the keys in the ignition about 5 or 6 times its just smoke though, it doesnt sound like the cars gonnna explode it sounds normal except for the drive belt it a wee squicky....

Is there any test i can do to see whats going on in there im going to check the oil again in daylight when i get home and ill report back then about the smoke out of the tailpipes and the sound also the color of the oilland if it boils or not

 

Why dont you go to the student parking lot and see if anyone owns a third gen. I know a couple of my daughters friends had them. See if they can take a look at your car. Also, if your school has a automotive program, ask the teacher. I'm sure you can find someone to look at your car. Put the keys up and dont run....you can wrap the heads.

 

Im pretty sure it isnt a head gasket because that was some very think looking oil, it looked right not watered, not milky but black or brown whatever color oil is, i have a neighbor who has a thirdegen lives on the block i think i will ask him.

 

Im pretty sure it isnt a head gasket because that was some very think looking oil, it looked right not watered, not milky but black or brown whatever color oil is, i have a neighbor who has a thirdegen lives on the block i think i will ask him.

 

your oil should be a sort of transparant amber color, unless it hasnt been changed in awhile then it'd be black. take out your spark plugs-if any of them are clean, shiny, and wet, while the others are blackened then you probably have a bad head gasket, cracked head, or bad intake gasket. if white smoke is coming out of your exaust pipes when you get on the gas and when you start it, then you probably are getting water into a combustion chamber. it isnt the end of the world, if this is the case, it's just a big project. but it sounds like you've got alot of problems on your hands to begin with.

 

Bottom line is im gona have to take it in to a shop unless any of you live by wheaton Illinois(chicago) then i could pay you less money than the shop to check it out, but i think i have some connections,

 

I identified a part lying on the floor of my car as the oxygen sensor is this the problem im having is it real important that it is put back into where it goes?

 

You know nothing about cars........but you can identify an oxygen sensor??????

 

i dont know why your o2 sensor is lying on the floor but yes it is real important, but no it is not the cause of your problems.

 

I'm just being honest when I say this, but... If you're dumping gallons of water into the radiator and it's either steaming out from somewhere or leaking into the engine and coming out the tailpipe, you've got problems. No car requires you to pour as much water as you say you've been pouring into it. You should not turn the car on anymore, you are most likely causing more problems by running it this way. You'll wind up killing the engine permanantly running it till it gets into the red zone, or for that fact running it at all with water possibly leaking into your combustion chambers which seems a very likely possibility.

You don't seem to know that much about what is going on, so before you go and cause more problems, just being honest here, have it towed, not driven, to a respectable mechanic. Let him determine the problem and fix it, then you can get it home and learn about your car and how to spot and repair future problems. With hack jobs on fan wires, steam coming from all over the place, white smoke coming out of your exhaust, temp going into the red and having to dump massive amounts of water in it, this is most definately not something you should try tackling in your driveway unless you know a good deal about car repair and diagnosis.

With steam coming out of way too many places, one of things you will need are most likely ALL new hoses and clamps. By all new hoses, I mean upper and lower radiator hoses, replace ALL the heater hoses if that is still connected, if there is a small bypass hose leading off your water pump, replace that too. Next you'll probably want to replace the thermostat and gasket. Don't go drilling holes in the thermostat, you might as well not even use one if you do that. The theromstat serves a purpose, don't go hacking it up. Replace the radiator cap. You should prolly have the radiator pressure tested to make sure it's in solid shape. The cooling system should be professionally flushed to remove any garbage in there.

However, due to the white exhaust, those will not likely be your only problems. You probably have a leaking gasket somewhere that will need replacing, and that will not be something you should tackle in your driveway. So get it towed to a mechanic, explain the problems, have him also fix the hack job fan wire and let him give your car a thorough inspection to make sure there aren't any other surprises. Once your car is running solid, then you can begin the process of learning about it and how to repair it yourself in the future.

 

You might want to call around the local high schools and talk to the shop teachers. I found one here that will paint my engine car, and fix dents, install new hood as long as i buy supplies. They said $300 to paint it. Most likely the shop class can give you a similiar idea on doing something to the engine, they learn how to fix it and you get your car fixed. Since you are 16, it shouldnt be too hard to go during lunch or after school.

 

ur
I drove it around the neighbor hood today for like 10 minutes, it was on the 220... this is much better than the day i took it home, it was very nice, i was suprised how well it was it like im not doing anything to it and it is getting better, i think it is because the fan on the ride home kept falling out, but now it is taped so it wont.

 

yes cause i have been stalking this website trying to take in every bit of usefull peice of information, what does it do should i get it put in?

sorry if it sounds like im doing all this to be a pain in the ***, but i am just trying to make my dream come true and if you wanna make fun of me then........... owell? any ways thanks for your help guys i really appreciate this, if i was a millinoaire i would give you all a hundred dollars for you help.

 

The oxygen sensor tells the ECM (Electronic Control Module IE: “Computer”) if you’re running too rich or too lean and makes appropriate changes to the air/fuel mixture to try and compensate for any faulty readings".
How it could fall off in your garage doesn't make sense. You're rust problem must be worse than you think.

 

I didnt fall off, i found it in the trunk of the camaro, how much does this cost to get put it/could i do it?

Ughh i wish my camaro were all happpy and didnt have these stupid problems

 

On my car it's located on the exhaust manifold on the driversn side. It just screws in to a bung (Large nut welded on manifold) and the wires plug into a recepticle which should be close to the same area and it goes to the ECM.

You probably have one already installed and this one is either an old one or one that the previous owner never got around to installing.

 

To day we put in almost 1 and a 1/2 bottle a little in the resevoir too, of coolant so we filled it up to the top , so we let it it sit for about and hour came back then i started it up, then i reved it a little,then came out took off the radiator cap, it was shooting out of the upper hose and flowing back down the level of the fluid was all the way down where it was when we started by putting the cooolant in? So the kid that was helping me said that it was probly a blown head gasket and he said the it could be a cracked head and said never run it again....how much is this gonna cost to fix, i was having so much fun with my car, i wish it would work its not FAIR

 

I found a sketchy site will this fix it.

Welcome to RX Auto. Makers of Thermagasket Industrial Head and Block Sealant

i feel like crying i have terrible luck

 

This is exactly what I said you should do before. Stop driving the car, have it towed to a good mechanic and let them fix this. If you want to keep running the car and experiment by trying to toss on bandaids and all that, you'll wind up with a completely blown engine and no car. The more you run the engine, the more damage you are doing. Your engine has major problems that you cannot fix by pouring in some miracle stop leak/gasket fixer. Get it to a mechanic before you are out looking to buy a new car because you blew up the engine on this one.

 

Nice!!!!!!!!! I had her checked out and he said that your thermostat or water pump is broken! IM NOT POOR! YEA Stupid me