Very strange.. 1) Thermostat is BROKEN!
2) Even with NO coolant, i feel/see WATER (no steam) out of the exhaust "sometimes?"

What is going ON, all V6 pros?

 

Mine was broken too, one of the tabs that retain the spring was off. If you drive the car in the winter and live up north I'd replace it with a stock temperature. If you live in the southern half of the country or just drive in the summer, I'd replace it with a 180*.
You mean water's dripping out your tailpipe?

 

K-slice.. "Sometimes!" ??? And yes i know im all over the place, and im sorry abotu that. I will try to breathe, and focus.

The latest

1) Starts up, runs fine, for ~10 seconds.
2) Right after that, idle drops down, runs rough, wants to stall.. Spits a "spattering" of "Drops" of what i FEEL is water as i let some get on my hand, etc. NO STEAM OR SMOKE. NONE.
(At this time, i have the thermostat off, lower hose off, and am running it "dry of coolant." The area under the thermostat - which ill likely get a 196degree, is orange with rust, im trying to run as much water through it before i hook everything back up.)

Im really not sure why it is doing that, but i drive it the ~2 minutes back home.. when it almost died (stalled) i floored the gas, ... and it ran FINE (nice idle, etc) for the rest of the ~45 seconds home~ (Since im not "Driving" the car with no coolant, for more than 5 minutes at ANY time!)

So im not really sure what is happening. Lower hose is on the way, and i can buy a Stat. Other than that..?

Could i have "made it jump back into timing?" very strange. Im not sure whats going on!!!

It also shut off with a "Shudder" so it starts, cranks, fires, runs.. im letting it sit so it doesnt get hot because i know it only takes but a little more than 5 minutes for it to get HOT w no coolant and im not going to blow this engine...

Thanks.. things to check, tests to do, information ?

 

Umm, those drips are NORMAL for an engine with COLD exhaust... One of the products of combustion is water vapor, which condenses on the COLD pipes to become drops of water.

 

180F


Operating temperature vs power and longevity!
http://www.carnut.com/ramblin/_cool3.html

 

I agree as some water dripping is normal depending on humidity at start up. I am confused as to why you would run any engine "dry" without coolant. It's to easy to overheat the block & heads and crack them or blow a head gasket. Here in the Arizona desert, i agree with the other posts that the 180 degree stat is the best choice. but please, don't run any engine "dry", coolant is important.

 

10-4, ill get my new lower hose (mine cracked) and a "180 degree stat" as long as my oil WILL get over 212 degrees, im happy - and i might even stick with 10W-30 due to this lower temp stat.

I checked the Stat out I AM GLAD I DID, IT WAS BROKEN! And i might just go ahead and get a new air pipe and "check valve" anbd put it on, as it is supposed. to. I seem to be losing vacuum from there.

Next issue: Try to figure out why i sometimes smell gas from under the hood (?), why my gas mileage is so bad, and if its related to my Carb itself OR Intake Manifold gasket (?)

Thanks. Any suggestions?

(Oh, and another odd thing: Sometimes, when im trying to start my car, my starter goes "Crank-crank-crank-crank-whiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" until i let go of the key. i turn it again, and it starts fine. But sometimes, it turns over 506 times - or three to four times, and then i hear a "Whiiiirrrrr." What could that be?)

Thank you all. I DO appreciate your help, and im gonna go withthe 180 stat if it wont cause other issues (others say to use the 195 degree or ill never burn off all the fuel.)

 

If the starter noise is what I think it is, you'll want to either replace part of or the whole starter soon. That is, if the noise is a loud grinding noise. If it's a whine, that's something different, but it could mean the bushings in the motor (starter motor) are worn.

Unless it's an indication of low system voltage, which means you want to check all of the connections between the battery and the starter and engine block for tightness and corrosion.

 

Mavrick is correct. The solenoid which is on top of the starter goes weak over tine and doesn't push the little gear out far enough to engage the flywheel teeth ,which causes that wiirrrrrring sound. eventually, that wiirrring sound is all it will do, and listen to the Mav, and get a new starter. and FYI, I am a tram driver at our racetrack during the two NASCAR events we have and starting tomorrow I will be at the tarck for 10 hours a day, so i won't be on line untill next week. good luck on the car.

 

He won't need a whole starter if it's just the solenoid, which I highly doubt, as I've busted 2 starter drives now (and finally realized the shop that swapped my 2.8 starter onto the 3.1 boss used the WRONG BOLTS). I know that sound well...

 

I could attempt to take a youtube video for you, but id have to further peril my "Starter!" Its .. i cant tell if its a "Whirrr" or a grind, but i once seized the engine on a Ford Escort and when the starter tried to start that, it made the same pitch/type of noise .. again, t only does this AFTER it crannked a few times, and is most likely to happen if i DONT give the car gas as my choke is wide open, thats when its most likely to happen..

So my "Starter is going out" and one day it will leave me stranded?

Oh, in other news. i replaced my BROKEN thermostat with a Stant 195 degree unit. Made agasket with the Permatex Ultra Copper. Car runs -really well,- folks. That old BROKEN (!) Stat is out.. and there were no vacuum leaks..
no "Stalls"...
No "overheats"...
It ran quite well.
All i did was put a Stat in, and refill with Water and the last of a flush i had. Im pleasantly surprised, actually

I also have a mix of 10W-40 and 10W-30 oil in there (?) and if 10W-30 is all thsi car needs, so be it.. people say they use 10W-40 and it works very well. to. Who is correct there? Thank you!

Will post if anything out of the ordinary happens...

Starter replacement cost? And is Starting related to "Timing?"

Oh.. and what could cause a "Sometimes i smell gas from under the hood, sometimes i dont?"

 

Lifetime warrenty starter from AZ only costs about $100 or less. It's pretty esy to put in yourself IMO.

 

New starter will run you between $50 and $200... The solenoid about $20...

However, get under your car and remove the shield from the bottom of the bellhousing (assuming an auto). Get a 1/8" allen wrench and slip it between the starter shaft and the flywheel teeth. If it's too tight and won't fit, you need to shim the starter. If it's sloppy, you need to take a shim out or put a thinner one in there. If you have a manual trans, you need to guess and check with a starter shim set. Starter shims are about $6 or so... You NEED to make sure the alignment is correct on the starter even if you don't replace it because you may end up doing so anyways soon enough. I worked on a 95 Z28 that crapped out 2 starters (starter drives, actually, the one I saw was cracked right open) in 3 months because the guy took it to a shop that didn't check the alignment. Fixed that with a single .060" shim...

:edit: Starter drive crapping out had me on my back in 20s degree snow at a gas station... With hardly any tools and nearly frozen fingers .

 

I agree with you about the starter and if the budget won't allow a complete starter, I understand. but it is usually better to replace the starter and the solenoid together. LOl, being a desert rat here in Arziona, I couldn't picture changing out a starter in the snow and lying on your back in it. You ROCk!! I sometimes do work at a youth camp up in our Bradshaw Moutains in January when there is snow , but never had to repair the Camaro in the snow.

 

Well, at the time, I was flatter than flat broke. I counted every penny I had (yes, I even counted the pennies) to get the replacement starter drive. It was either yank the starter and fix it, or pay the gas station guy $80 to have the car there for the night...

:edit: Funny you mention Arizona... My older sister owns a towing company out there. Maybe if and when I can get the car done I can go out there...

 

Im a penny-counter too

In other news.. K&W sealing my car Finally figured out my "Hunch" was right.. THis time, i smelled the smoke? ... K&W

And man, does it run good. Still truck-ish gas mileage...

is it the carb?

 

LOl, even though I can say right now I'm doing better financially than i have done in three years, I count the pennies too, will spend if needed to make a care reliable.

 

What is the name of your sister's towing company? I work for an electric utility in the transportation repair garage and we have used several towing companies. She may have towed for us.

 

your carb could be out of adjustment, but "truckish " gas mileage does give much to go on to diagnose the problem. keeping it in proper tune. good plugs, wires, cap & rotor, proper tire inflation, can all help increase gas mileage.

 

I think it's Sam's Towing or something like that... Don't know the exact name. AFAIK, she's living in Gold Canyon or somewhere out there not too far from Phoenix. I'll have to ask either my father or my other sister.

Anyways, on topic... 84, like I've said before, get a tune up done and then if the mileage still stinks, and I believe it possibly will, then go to a shop where there is a guy who knows carburetors and ask what he thinks. I'm pretty sure that a carb rebuild may be in your future, as a carb, even on eBay, is over $200...