Hey guys!

Good to be back in the third gen world! I am having some problems though so naturally I decided to go to the pros for help

So a little background,

I just got this car two days ago. It's a '92 Camaro RS with a 3.1L in it. I got the car dirt cheap and I know why. It was only running on 5 cylinders and had a bunch of work needed. I've replaced the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap & rotor, upper radiator hose, air filter, and a fresh oil change. She's running a whole lot better.

Now onto the problem. I noticed that the coolant in the car was dead dry, so I put some in through the radiator cap. Immediately it all started draining out and it seems to be coming from the middle of the car by the oil pan.

I looked at the heater hoses coming from the firewall and they are dry. Could it be coming from the heater core itself? The carpet in the car is dry so I'm not sure. I know that the heater core is gonna need replacing. Just trying to get rid of the leak first. Where else should I be looking?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-CarRook

 

"....seems to be coming from the middle of the car by the oil pan...."

This is a bit too general of a description to be of much help. It could be coming from any where; a hose, corroded thru freeze plug, etc.

The best way to locate the leak is to pressure test the cooling system. Once under pressure, you'll have to look around over and under the car to see where the coolant is actually coming from.

 

As mentioned the next thing to look at is the engine block. If it comes out immediately then why not have someone pour water into it while you look to see where it's coming out? If the leak is higher up it will tend to travel across to a different area before dropping to the ground. So you may have to follow it back until it's dry where the leak has started. The engine is tilted back so the actual leak may be farther forward as well.

 

Your freeze plug on the back of the engine against the transmission is rusted through. Same problem as my 3.1 right now. I need to pull the engine and replace the freeze plugs.

 

Hey guys, so here are a few pics I was able to take while underneath the car. After seeing exactly where the leak is coming from I'm also leaning more toward the idea of the freeze plugs because all the other hoses that I could think to check seem to be dry.

So the next question is how do I replace them and where are they? Do I have to drop the tranny because I'm not that skilled lol

 

I still haven't done mine. Considered dropping the tranny, but I couldn't get it that high off the ground. Got a hoist to replace my oil pan off my '88 and figured I'd use that to pull the engine and replace the freeze plugs. They are circled in red in the pic. Good luck.

 

If your not 100% sure where its coming from you can buy a kit for $20.00 Autozone or just about any chain store.


It comes with a bottle of "Fluorescent dye" and a really cool flashlight (looks like the small Maglite) It shines a "black light" in order to see the dye.


Just fill it and let it flow. Give it a few minutes and scan the area with the light from all directions. The darker it is outside the better.

 

Antares 57,
So what is that engine out of.


This is a Chevy Small Block

 

Not mine. Got it for reference. Looks like a 2.8 or 3.1 by the plenum on top.

 

Sorry but that is not a Chevy small block.
His car came with a Chevy Small Block just like all Third Gen Camaro and Firebirds .

 

So the pic that was posted of the freeze plugs isn't a 3.1?

 

It might not be a 3.1L but it's definitely a GM 60* V6.

 

Wow. Well, you can pull the transmission cover if you want to try to get a slightly better look at it.
Not sure which would be easier to pull (to fix this), I guess I would do the engine.

 

So you would find that freeze plug configuration in a stock Third Gen. ?

 

How would I remove the tranny cover?

 

From all the 60* blocks I have seen, yes. All GM 60* blocks of that vintage are essentially the same. Somewhere along the line the block got larger diameter mains and the casting got beefed up when it was punched out to 3.4L.

The 3.4L DOHC block didn't have the cam and lifter bores that the pushrod blocks had.

Castings were different between RWD and FWD models with respect to engine mounts but the water jackets were the same.

 

It's just a round cover right behind the oil pan. IIRC four bolts, one of which is visible in the image you took.


Otherwise it looks like this:

 

Alright I'll give this a shot and report back. Wish me luck!

 

Okay, so for your reference, I finally pulled the engine below in pic. This is the 3.1 V6 out of my '91 base Firebird. Coolant was leaking, or rather pouring, out of the upper left hand freeze plug. It had a pea size hole in it as in pic two. The rust spot on the lower left had freeze plug had some crud on it and when I rubbed it off it broke open too. Hope you've had some good luck working on yours.