Psych0matt Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Ok, in a nutshell, here's the rundown of what's happened the last few days. wed: pulling into a spot at work, I see a bit of smoke/steam, smells like syrup, I think coolant on the way home from work, it seems to warm up really quick, at least according to the guage, running warm (about 215-220), but never blowing warm air inside. Doesn't ever go past about 220. Every time I stop, I get lots of smoke/steam, but all my guages still read normal, or at least within reason. Still never passes 220* thu: drive to campus, "warms up" really quick again, still no heat, a little bit of the syrup/coolant smell as I park, no noticeable smoke. Same for the trip home. Today: still no heat, the guage on my dash seems to warm up to about half within a few minutes, while my DIS seems to be reading normal, but then all the sudden in about a minute jumps about 10* at a time from about 90* to 180*, and then continues to go up to about 220* or so, never passing 225, and fluctuates between 210-and 225ish. I didn't seem to see any smoke or smell coolant tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Ball Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 I would love to put new heatcores in my car. I think they clog like crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 I just had roughly the same problem. mine wasnt as nice to me though..lol The heater inlet pipe from the tstat housing to the heater core was blocked up on mine, which in turn i guess caused the quick disconnect fitting to leak, not enough to see without looking for it, but to smell and steam off the motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 buddy of mine said to disconnect the lines and blow out the heater core from both sides a few times, sounds like it's blocked up. How? One of the few things I don't have experience with, where is it, what's it look like? I could probably find it easy enough, but just to be safe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93CutlassSupreme Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Do you smell more coolant when the heater fan is on? Is the passenger side floor wet? Those heater core lines are hard to get to where they meet on the firewall. I'm sure they're harder on a 3.4. I wouldn't fuck with "blowing out" a heater core, I'd just replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildbill Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 It might be a good idea to replace the thermostat too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 some garages can do a back flush, they charge 50-75 bux for it though. i just hooked the water hose up to my heater core outlet hose, and disconnected the inlet at the firewall and flush water thru it. which im glad i did, would of been pointless to change my heater core. my oppinion you have to disconnect the lines at the firewall anyways...to change the heater core, an extra 15 mins to blow thru it all and make sure its not clogged somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 well, It looks like I'm gonna have to take it in at least to figure out what's wrong, but probably have it fixed, since I don't have the time (and its like 10*). It was on the verge of overheating when I took it to work, and almost as bad on the way home. I think having the hood popped and the 10* air helped keep it from being worse. I though maybe a water pump issue, but the belt still looks great, so I'll pop it off in the morning to check for sure. Does it sound like it has any possibility of being the WP? smoke/steam coming from the rear of the block, passenger side, by the brake booster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Could be alot of things. If the WP goes, I'd be surprised if it actually stopped pumping. Blowing out the heater core with the amount of space is next to impossible. When was the last time the cooling system was serviced? I would take it in and see if they can find out what the problem is. It sounds like you have a leak somewhere letting air into the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 I cant remember if I've ever had the cooling system serviced, but the engine's only been in the car a year and a half, so everything should have been clean hypothetically at that point, or at least the equivalent of a fluid change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 I cant remember if I've ever had the cooling system serviced, but the engine's only been in the car a year and a half, so everything should have been clean hypothetically at that point, or at least the equivalent of a fluid change. Hmm. Ok, well I'm thinking a leak thats bring air into the system. When the intake gaskets went on my truck, I found no leaks but I smelled coolant, lost heat, and the car got hot real quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 hmmm, I hope that's not it, but it's quite possible. That would probably be easier than the heater core though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Heater core change is a bitch... Anything else isn't to bad to service on these cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 well, I'll get up a few hours early, and call Meineke to see if they can squeeze me in. If it's the intake gasket, I can hopefully either do it tuesday morning, or they won't rape me on price to do it there. If it wasn't so fricken cold, or I had another car to drive. Dang, I need the TGP working Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 For some reason I doubt its the intake..... Good luck, hopefully they don't charge you alot to look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 For some reason I doubt its the intake..... me too, but still better than the core. I'm thinking its an old hose or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 well, per ken''s suggestion, thermostat is out, so we'll see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 I contact matt and told him to pull the T-stat. He has been operating under the assumption that the DIC info is more accurate than the gauge info. can you say engine damage? no tstat, with the rubber seal stuck back in... and cardboard in front of the rad... and keep sticking in antifreeze till further notice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManicMechanic Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Better yet, cut the center section from the t-stat and stick the outside of the t-stat back in instead of just putting the rubber back in by itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 too late. No difference. Seemed to be a little more forgiving, but I only went around the block twice, not to work or campus. till getting really warm, but backing off at times, but it is only 6* out. I'll top off the coolant tomorrow morning and head to campus, see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 coolant topped off, Tstat out, I have to go to campus for a class 1-2, and then to work til 9, so hopefully that helps, since from campus to work its a lot more in traffic driving than from home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 TOpped off my radiator twice, on a lunch break and after work, and I think that about fixed it! I must have a slow leak coming back. It's been cold and I haven't been in the engine to notice, but I guess neglect will cause problems anyways, I'm gonna leave the Tstat out for a day or two and make sure that it's going to be alright, but I think it's just a slow Rad leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Hmm, how low was the rad getting? Was the light coming on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 I'm going to check my light tomorrow, but last I tested it it was fine. It had to have been pretty low, I put about a half gallon or so in it, but I haven't seen any signs of a leak, so it never occurred to me that it might be low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych0matt Posted February 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 wellp, still getting warm, but not quite overheating. I picked up another gallon of coolant and a new thermostat today, so after she warms up from the drive home I'll throw that in, and we'll see what that does. I still think I have a leak, but I'm suspecting the thermostat is bad anyways, since I was running super cold when I took it out, and almost overheating again as soon as it's back in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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