How can I? The car was doing this wierd thing today. It was showing 220* so I checked the anti-freeze level. I needed to add a bit. So I kept going and it stayed at 220* and the began rising up too like 240. The strange thing is that the fan never came on. Also, I put my hand on the intake and it didnt even feel that hot. I could keep my hand on it all day. I tryed to put the heat on and no hot aiir came out just cool air. Could this be my thermostat or maybe my temp. gauge just going bad? Any info would be awesome. THANKS

~Josh~

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1992 Firebird
3.1 Liter V6
K&N Filter, everything else stock, for now!!!

[This message has been edited by Setzer (edited October 21, 2001).]

 

do you have heat reletively soon? like within 15 minutes. If so then its fine. If you have NO heat even after 40 minutes then its stuck open. If you temp sky rockets no matter what your car is doing its stuck closed.

 

It kinda sounds like the sending unit.

 

no heat, also check the divertor valve. This is what sends hot water to the heater core. check for disconected/broken vaccum lines or broken connectors.

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$150.00 2.8 Auto.
Blown Head Gasket.
turbo has arrived, but put on hold (4 now)
working on getting a better engine

 

You can also put your hand on the upper radiator hose...

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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

Does a '86 Camaro 2.8L have a divertor valve? I have an overheating problem also. I put a new top end on a 2.8L MPFI, it runs Ok, but after 5 mins the Temp lite comes dim then bright, I replaced the thermostat and checked the water pump. I do Not see the coolant flowing in the rad. I'm stumped...

 

You may have a bad temp or fan switch/relay. As for the diverter valve thing yeah I forgot about that. I had no heat for a while and I had just rep[lced the thermo. Found the damn thing was bad. Stuck internally so I dissed the Vaccum hose and I have heat again.

 

A bad switch or relay would not cause the coolant Not to flow.

 

If you want to check a thermostat it's easy. Put it in a pan of water on the stove, set the burner to hi and watch. You should notice the thermo start to open before the water boils. If it doesn't, it's bad.

 

I know, I put a new one in. But it still doesn't flow.

 

You might have a large air bubble underneath the thermostat. This gives the same effect as doing what 87RS402 said, except you would be holding the thermostat above the pot of boiling water.

Before you physically put the new stat into the intake manifold, did you have it so coolant was "filled to the top" of the intake manifold? Or was the thermostat pocket "empty" of coolant?

What I do on my 'stats is drill two small holes on the edge of the lip- one "north", and one "south". This is an old hot rodder's trick that allows any air to go "upward" and not form a pocket under the t-stat. I think I use an 1/8" drill bit. If you pull the water neck off again, you might want to give this a shot. Hey, I did a little internet search, and came up with a picture for you! It's of an SLP thermostat... if the pic doesn't show, go to http://www.slpeng.com , go to performance parts, and search for thermostats, and pull up the SBC V8 one.


[edit] My holes are drilled much closer to the edge of the flange, since the V6 'stat is much smaller than a V8 one- there's not that much room, but it still works. According to my gauge, the temp runs 5-10 degrees cooler than the thermostat, probably because of these holes.

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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

[This message has been edited by TomP (edited October 23, 2001).]

 

Tom, I don't know what thermos you use but the last few I've bought have had the hole in them already.

Another old hotrodder trick: I always boil a new thermo and measure the water temp when it starts to open. Maybe I'm just paranoid and I should always trust what the package says. It's not like it could be wrong or anything....

 

I going to take out the thermostat and see what happens. If it still doesn't flow it should be the rad.