I don't drive my car that often, mainly on nice weekends. I had it out this past weekend, it was fine Friday night and all day Saturday. Then Sunday afternoon, on my way home I was driving down the PA turnpike and I smelled coolant. I looked down and noticed that my temp guage was ALL the way to the top!! So I pulled over immediately, popped the hood, was blinded by steam and noticed coolant everywhere!! I mean, it was even all over the back of my car....dripping off!! I couldn't really tell where it poured out of because it splattered all over the place. After it cooled off a bit, I pulled out the oil dipstick just to see if coolant was there. Well, the oil was GONE! The dipstick was dry! So, not only did I loose all the coolant but the oil was gone too?!?! Yeah so I'm really worried here! I never had any overheating issues before. I have a 160 T-stat and the fans always worked fine. Anyone have any clues as to what the hell happened???? Could I have really damaged the engine???
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

maybe a blown intake or head gasket did you check your radiator and radiator reserve for oil in it and get under the car and drain the oil whats left in it and inspect it for signs of damaged bearings (little peices of metal shavings)

 

I had it towed to a friend who is a mechanic. I checked the radiator overflow and I didn't see any oil in it. But I'll know better by the end of the day. Do head gaskets just blow? I mean my car was running great all weekend. Even yesterday when it overheated, I would never have known until I saw the temp guage and smelled coolant.

 

Yes a head gasket can just blow ....

I was going down the interstate one day and had one go on me.

 

Okay, I heard the news! It was a stinkin blown heater hose! I'm guessing since I pulled over right away, nothing was damaged. He checked the oil, and it was so clean that it was hard to see. My bad, I thought it was empty. Ooops.
He did mention though, the coolant bottle was a tad "muddy". That could just be rust. Before I bought the car, it sat for 8 years so yeah there was some rust. He replaced the hose, filled the system back up, ran it and it stayed nice and cool. Like I mentioned, I have the 160 t-stat...and that's mainly because the HyperTech Chip called for it. Is it possible for the car to run too cool?? Meaning would it burn more fuel because of such cool running temps?? Anyhow, I am relieved. I might get a new coolant bottle and completely flush the system. He's also running a compression check in the morning just to check the heads. Another thing he mentioned was a funny smell....but so much coolant leaked out that it sprayed all over everything under the hood...so it'll probably take a while to burn off. Will coolant stain the polished runners???

 

I read somewhere once that running too cold will cause a higher rate of wear and tear on the engine.

I can't remember where I read this.

Is there a reason why the manufacturer makes these engines run so hot? What is the purpose of having the water run at it's boiling point, and under such high pressure?

 

I think it's because the engines pollute less at such high temperatures. The gas burns more completely or something like that.

 

Sounds like something manufacturers would do.

 

Glad your car is OK, as far as the stat, I run the same setup 160* stat and ThermoMaster chip. Yes you can run the car to cold and it will effect performance/gas mileage. My car runs around 160-180, and seems to do OK. With my mods, cam, intake, runners, heads Etc,Etc I was advised to go with the 160*. But you know how it is, there is alway another opinion and I am sure we will hear it. Good luck.
BTW, the coolant sitting around could cause you some grief, give it a good bath when you get it home...

 

Yes, the cars burn cleaner at higher temperatures. This is partly necessary due to PCV and EGR systems causing a poor enviornment for combustion.

Believe it or not engines can run stronger and make more power a higher temperatures. I have read that a lot of cicle track cars run upwards of a 210 or 215 degree thermostat. There are members of the local drag racing club that have done similar with good success

 

This has me wondering now. Could these cooler running temps cause me to fail emmisions?? I failed pretty bad and was told that my Cat was bad. But maybe its not burning the gases cause it never gets hot enough.

 

Running at the cooler temp may indeed cause emmissions problems. In Ohio we don't have to worry, thank ***. The smog/air delete is done on my car among other changes and I would bet my life that my car wouldn't pass. I swapped to a higher stat last year, to see if I would feel a difference, I really did not as far as power, seemed less responsive to the throttle. I did notice the exhaust wasn't as fumey and my fuel mileage got a tad better, nothing to write home about. So back in with the 160* stat until I can confirm the results with something other than the seat of my pants. Due to the fact that my chip and yours calls for the colder stat, I am going to run it until I can afford some dyno time to verify the pros and cons. Hopefully next spring, I have lots of other projects that are more important to me like rebuilding trans, springs, shocks/struts, SFC. Boy, you got to love these things, reminds me of boating, big hole in the water to throw your money in....Life is good!!

 

marry me.. err sorry

anyways unless the hypertech chip changed the fan temps or you have it running all the time, most of the time your probably running hotter anyways
the fan doesnt normally kick in until 220
they do it for emissions reasons, just like the other 90% of the stuff going on in the engine compartment
my car has a 160 and it seems to like it, i cant feel a power difference anywhere in the 160-180 range really.. but once it gets hotter like 200+ it gets a little sluggish

 

how did you fail emissions?

was it CO, NOx, or HC? The three have very different causes and some are related o combuustiion temperature....

 

I failed for NoX and HC's. I mean I failed horribly!! I'll get the paper when I get home tonight, and post the readings.

 

For the record, the chip does change fan setting so it comes on at 160ish, thats why they tell you to swap the stat. As you stated, just the stat won't do it.

 

Also, IMO having your motor temps in the 200's as designed is crazy if you want better performance. A hot motor zaps power, so does a cold motor. I have played around with this and I can tell you that my 305 TPI with its mods likes to run in the 160-180 range. Yes, it does emmit a little more cramp, but I don't have to worry. If emmissions is a problem, keep the car realitively stock, the third gen Camaro is know for its over engineered emmissions systems anyway. We have the EPA to thank for that, cars built in this era all suffered as far as performance due to emmisions laws. But lots of guys/girls have come up with work arounds to gain some of that HP back. It is all a game, trash emmisions to gain HP, or suffer so you can pass the tests, it is all good, because we decide. That is my two cents, and you can keep the change!!

 

I'm betting the chip only calls for a 160 stat because it bumps the timing advance in the curve and probably tweaks the fuel tables.....so they probably want the super cold thermostat cause if the car gets too hot it might start to detonate.

Lower temps WILL cause more emissions...like every one else, the hotter those cylinders are the more complete of a burn you're going to get. I'd venture to say most cars from this era run best around 180 to 190 degrees.

Glad to hear your overheating problem was just a hose. I had a loose heater bypass hose and it did the same type of thing..but I just heard a hiss and saw it pissing a little coolant from what LOOKED like the side of the head. I freaked until I saw the hose clamp loose the day after.