Ok, I'm going to try and be as clear and as descriptive as I can in this one, I'm really starting to worry about my baby'

To begin with, here is what I have
1988 Camaro Sport Coupe
LO3, basically stock from my knowlage
T5 tranny

So far I've replaced a handfull of things on the engine. Including;
Heater hose that sprayed coolant all over and caused the car to completely die on my way to work one day(got the distributor wet)
Valve cover gaskets/valve covers
upper/lower radiator hoses
drivers side exhaust manifold gasket

What I already know is wrong;
Oil leak on the front of the oil pan
bad valve seals (smoke out the rear)
strange coolant leak from the gasket(comes out between the block and heads on the front passenger side)



Now when I drive home from school my car will run fine coming out of the parking lot, then on my way home the car will get up to just under 260* and if I keep driving for another minute or two (sometimes longer) it will go back down under 220*.
Sometimes when shes cold she likes to run very rough- the only way I can describe that is that when I fully let out the clutch after a complete stop it will bog/hesitate and then hesitate to keep accelerating.
I think it may be a fuel pump issue but would like that particular thing confirmed.

Also, the biggest thing worrying me right now is what sounds to me like a lifter not being pumped up, or came loose somehow from engine vibrations.
BUT why this concerns me is that my sister just blew a main bearing on her 98LS1 Formula and that it COULD be mine on its way out too.
At times it sounds like an exhaust leak, other times it sounds somewhat different, I'm only 17 and its hard for me to totally diagnose.

The engine has possibly 170,XXX miles on it from what I believe...


Eventually I am going to buy a new 305 from Scoggin Dickie, but will take me almost forever and a half considering I work at a grocery store!

Shes my first car and I couldn't be more attached to her... it might be sad, but its honestly my dream car.. I would more heartbroken to lose my car than my girlfriend of two years.

Please...please any help or insight would help me feel about it.

I'm willing to take a million pictures if need be so if would help at all let me know!

-885speed

 

Assuming your temp gauge is right, 260* at ANY time is a bad thing. I'd take a look at your thermostat and maybe flush the radiator/cooling system, a 195* t-stat is cheap insurance(sub $10) against a warped head/block.

It probably wouldn't hurt to replace the pugs and wires, check the cap and rotor out and make sure they're in good shape.


Does the sound it's making sound like a tick or a deeper knock? What is the oil pressure like?

 

The coolant leak is more than likely the intake manifold, which will drip from the area you described.

 

The coolant temp. fluctuation could be an airpocket that forms against the backside of the thermostat (air in the system). Very common, especially after replacing cooling system components without properly bleeding the system of air.

Your ticking could be exhaust tick, could be a rocker out of adjustment.

 

Well I've already gone through a 180* thermostat, this is the second one I installed, and yes I know I didn't put it in upside-down.

plugs/wires were done last august, now interested in the cap/rotor now that you mention it.

The tick is somewhat light, not so much of a knock, like I said it sounds like a lifter or or exhaust leak, but I can't find an exhaust leak anywhere.
The only kind of knock I ever get is from my clutch setup when its in neutral sometimes.

Oh, my oil pressure seems to be doing OK, at cold idle it sits just about 30PSI and after she warms up it drops, but not dangerously low.


Well, I would have to take a picture of it, its coming out between the block and the passenger side cylinder head on the exhaust side of the head.

I know a set of gaskets for the top end would be a good choice, but if I'm going to pull the top end apart I would rather wait a little bit and have the money to get my heads redone (valve seals, leak check)

however I'm also thinking, if my main bearings are going to blow out on me, I might as well baby her on the road until I can get a new engine.


Thanks for the suggestions!
Will take a picture of that leak I found for you tomorrow Five7Kid

 

It could be a very stubborn pocket, although I try to be as thorough as I can when I replace anything cooling orientated, both times replacing tstat I made sure to let it warm up and wait for it to open, and fill it back up.

As far as the rocker goes, how hard would it be to check for it? would I be looking for 0 lash on the pushrods and make sure its torqued to specs?
or would it go deeper than that.
If its not much more than that I wouldnt mind giving it a shot when I'm off Wednesday

EDIT: sorry for the double post

 

i would get some chemical block test to check if your coolant is contaminated from the combustion chamber. pull the plugs on that side and look at them to. sounds to me that u have a bad head gasket or a cracked or warped head.

i wouldnt be to concerned about your main bearings unless you spin the engine to the moon. to set valve lash, depending on your cam, if it hyd or solid just let it idle with the covers off, listen for a ticking rocker and snug it down just a bit till it quits ticking, then back it off a tad. make sure the car is at operating temp. but i would adress the overheating issue.

 

Ok cool, I can get this at Autozone?
if not I do have a local performace store, they would have to have it at least in their catalog of products.

Thanks for the help everyone, when I get paid Wednesday I'll give all of these a shot!

Crossing my fingers on a non-cracked head.

 

they sell it at all major parts store, its not a performance product. just ask for block test.

cracked heads are common, especialy when they have been overheated mutipul times, so if you do have a bad gasket, make sure you have your heads looked at by your local machine shop. they will check them for cracks and resuface them if needed for fairly cheap, atleast around here, donno over there. it was around $60 per head for a resurface last i did it.

 

Ok good deal, thanks

Actually when I got home today I let her cool off and then double checked for air pockets in the cooling system, everything checks out there, just slightly less coolant in the radiator than last time... info on that below...

After checking for air pockets, with it still running I walked to the back to check for smoke, light smoke at that time, but I found what appears to be coolant coming out of the exhaust tips.

I'm going for a head gasket when I get the money for it, now that I found that water coming out I'm not going to risk it any longer than I have to.

I'll keep my fingers crossed its not cracked, if they are, theres what seems to be a 90's LO5(possibly LO3) caprice in the junkyard
I would rather pull heads off a formula with TPI thats in there too if its not crushed.

what are the odd though of finding a good set of heads on a JY car?

 

pretty good i would say, if the vehicle was junked due to being wrecked. if the body is in good shape and its there because of engine failure i would stray away from that. look around craigslist for some good heads as well. i have a set of bare swirel port 350 heads, but a guy at work wants them. i have the valves and springs but i took them apart to go thru them. pm if your interested and ill see how serious he is.

 

Well none of the cars I've been taking parts off of have been wrecked, but I may still get lucky...

As far as the heads your selling, thanks for the offer but I highly doubt I'll be able to afford anything like that.


I plan on replacing my cap/rotor and maybe even my coil if its the right price, and check my spark plugs for odd wear.
Might as well start with the little stuff and try to debunk anything else.

Left school early today because my back was bothering me, and the car didnt run too bad, just a little hesitation.

 

Have you checked your oil for any coolant contamination? If its milky I would try to stop driving it immediately until you fix it. Otherwise you will have bigger problems then a cracked head or blown head gasket.

 

I've been monitoring that especially.
no coolant in the oil and
no oil in the coolant

 

"why are you wearing that stupid rabbit costume?"
"why are you wearing that stupid human costume?"

885, i only want $30 for them, but shipping will cost more then that prolly. i think dude at work wants them pretty bad, he hasnt paid yet so it kinda up in the air.

 

Water coming out of the tail pipes is normal. H2O is one of the products of combustion. You usually don't notice it because it's seldom cool enough for it to condense from a vapor before it exits. DO NOT jump to any conclusions about the state of your heads yet. I'd gamble they're fine.

A steady fluctuation in engine temperatures is also normal. As either the t-stat opens and closes or as the fan comes on and then off the motor's temps will slowly rise then drop in a never ending cycle until it's shut down. It's also typical for the dash temp guage to be several degrees off. It is not a precision instrument and should not be used to judge the actual temperature at the end of its little sensor. If your engine were actually getting to 260 you'd likely be venting coolant into the overflow tank.

Cap and rotor are wear items that should be replaced on a regular basis, coil not so much. Save the $ on the coil unless an ohm test tells you its bad.

An exhaust manifold leak may sound like a loose rocker but it will generally be louder when the engine is cold. Before pulling the valve covers and dinking around with your lash try tightening your exhaust manifold bolts. Check the simple stuff first.

You replaced the drivers side exhaust manifold gasket? Why? Factory manifolds shouldn't need one.

You'll have to post a photo of the leak source.

Oil leak in front is sometimes caused by removing the smog pump and failing to install a short bolt into the upper mounting hole in the block. Next would be failure of the timing cover cranksnout seal or oil pan gasket.