Coolant question

**burnout** · 11-01-2006, 06:53 PM

My coolant guage is not working correctly. What are the signs of a overheating engine? What temp does the coolant boil?

**99_natural_beauty** · 11-01-2006, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by burnout

What are the signs of a overheating engine?

Smoke coming out from under the hood?

Seriously though, there's many things that can cause an engine to overheat. Check the simple things first, such as the coolant level. How many miles are on the car? Has the coolant system ever been flushed? It might just be junk caught in the radiator, or a thermostat sticking. Might be the water pump. Might be a leak that isn't obvious to you.

What are the conditions when it overheats? Is it after you've been driving around for an hour, or is it shortly after the car warms up? Is it a drastic, quick jump from where it should be, or is it very gradual and doesn't raise the temperature that much, and then stops?

As far as what temperature it boils at, I really have no idea. In any case, it's not something you want to screw around with, you need to get that fixed before some serious damage happens.

**burnout** · 11-01-2006, 07:20 PM

well ive had no smoke no noises what so ever nothing, car runs smooth its the guage that bothers me it warms up gradually but then all of a sudden it will be at like 250 then go back down below 220 the fluid levels are fine the radiator has been flushed. But that darn guage is freaking me out. there are 95,000 miles on it.

**99_natural_beauty** · 11-01-2006, 07:24 PM

Well, at around 110k was when I started having those kinds of issues. There was a leak I never knew I had, plus the water pump was going out. Maybe one of those is the culprit.

**99_natural_beauty** · 11-01-2006, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by KageSS

Your coolant gauge is junked. Replace the gauge.

Is that really a common problem? I don't know, but a way to find out if it's the gauge would be to hook up a scanner to it, drive around and record the readings, then go back and look at it. Of course you'd have to have access to a scanning device and a laptop.

**99_natural_beauty** · 11-01-2006, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by KageSS

Yes, the smart thing to do is to have it checked out by a pro. Rad's are nothing to fuck with.

But he did say everything was working fine, but the gauge. These gauges have been know to take a dump, they never read true to begin with .

So in my unprofessional opinion, it's the gauge.

Good point, he did say it was the gauge. Wise you are.

**SeVeReDiStOrTiOn** · 11-01-2006, 09:20 PM

Originally Posted by burnout

well ive had no smoke no noises what so ever nothing, car runs smooth its the guage that bothers me it warms up gradually but then all of a sudden it will be at like 250 then go back down below 220 the fluid levels are fine the radiator has been flushed. But that darn guage is freaking me out. there are 95,000 miles on it.

What year is your ls1? 99-02 is basically a dummy gauge past 210*..so it'll only show a overheat condition which might be what it's doing. Hook up a data logger like the other guy said to get a true reading while you're driving. Getting temp of the motor with one of those laser temp readers is a good idea also.

**Transam388** · 11-02-2006, 12:18 PM

Adding more to this, you you may also want to check that your fans are kicking on when they should. I once even just had the nut come off one of my fans so the motor was spinning but the blade was just sitting in front of the motor spindle. Anyway, just another suggestion for you to check. Good luck and let us know what it was.

**twozs** · 11-04-2006, 07:29 PM

aluminium engine and heads + no colant = ruined. better git'er checked out

**ericwilloughby** · 11-05-2006, 07:31 PM

The coolant will boil at 250-260 under 10-15 psi. When you see it go up to 250 like that and stop that is because it has reached the boiling point. It will not go any hotter than that until ALL of the water is boiled away. Just like a pot on the stove, its water can not be hotter than 212. It is steam after that. You probably have a sticking thermostat. Turn on the heater. If it is hotter than normal, yep, you are at 250. Not good but it will not do damage until the water starts boiling away from the surfaces it is trying to cool.

**Stricken1** · 11-09-2006, 12:54 PM

You might want to check your rad. hoses. I know that when the hoses get real soft they can collapse and restrict the flow of coolant. Another thing to check is when the car is warmed up squeeze the upper hose and hold it for a few seconds then relese it, if you feel a surge of coolant your water pump is okay.