tornado_735 Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 I first encountered this problem last night. I was coming back from getting a beer with a friend of mine, and it came on when I was on the freeway. All the places to get anti-freeze were closed between where I was and my apartment, so I just went home. As I was getting off the freeway, the light went out almost immediately. I forgot about it until today when I was driving to Dayton to get the 4th rim for my car. Sure enough, it came on and caught my eye. I stopped at a truck stop, and the reservoir was a little low. I took the cap off the radiator, and it looked a little bit low. I got a gallon of coolant and got about two cups full into the radiator and about a quarter of it into the reservoir, and started back on my way. Again, the light came on about 3 miles down the freeway. I watched the temp gauge like a hawk, and it stayed dead even a shade under 210. When I got to Dayton, again, as soon as I pulled off the freeway, the light went out. It came on and stayed on the entire way home from Dayton (80 miles) and again, the temp stayed just below 210, and when I got off at my exit, the light went off. I am somewhat suspicious because the last time I had a low coolant light act up like this, I had blown the head gasket (in my '91 CS). Could it just be the sensor, or could this be the symptom of something else going on? The coolant could use a flush, but it looks ok. I am not losing any oil that I can see and it's still good and clean since I changed it about 1000 miles ago. Any ideas? Thanks, Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 clean the sensor, if that doesn't fix it, replace. if that doesn't do it, i'm the wrong person to talk to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted August 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 clean the sensor, if that doesn't fix it, replace. if that doesn't do it, i'm the wrong person to talk to... Hey Robert, I been meaning to ask...why don't you like 90* V6 motors? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 wow, thats been there for months and you're the first person to mention it... i really don't remember which thread it was, but i think i pissed off a few mods in what was essentially a 60*V6 vs 90*V6 pissing contest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman093 Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 Sounds like a little bit of air in the system. My GTP did exactly that when I bought it. I bled the cooling system and it has stayed off. Mine had two bleeder valves, so yours probably does too. There's the one on the engine and another on a heater hose line on top of the firewall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted August 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 I'm curious as to how I could have gotten air in the system though. I mean, when I changed the oil, I peeked inside the radiator, but that was over a month ago, and this problem just popped up. Either way, what's the proper procedure for bleeding the coolant system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89SupremeCutty Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 start the car, let it get to operating temp and open the bleeder valve that's on top of the thermostat housing. when no air comes out then the system has been bled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 My Lumina did this last year a few times in the morning going to work. Sensor was fucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRONDOG442 Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Its because Robert is unaware of the almighty LX5 which is also a 90 degree v6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Its because Robert is unaware of the almighty LX5 which is also a 90 degree v6 not quite... needing split crankpins to make it an even firing engine is never a plus in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRONDOG442 Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 the crank pins are not split in any LX5 I have dismantled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 the crank pins are not split in any LX5 I have dismantled. then how can a 90*V6 be an even-firing engine without them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 the crank pins are not split in any LX5 I have dismantled. then how can a 90*V6 be an even-firing engine without them? You DO realize your picking a fight with the wrong guy about that, right? Just checking.... As for the coolant light issue, swap out the sensor. I do believe it is on one of the rad tanks. My low coolant light was on for so long I think it died... I know there is coolant in it, I don't need a computer to tell me that. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 the crank pins are not split in any LX5 I have dismantled. then how can a 90*V6 be an even-firing engine without them? You DO realize your picking a fight with the wrong guy about that, right? Just checking.... Jamie ohhhh! I can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 not the most reliable source(wiki) but here goes: "It is not a simple cut-down V8. Although it has a 90° vee-angle like the Northstar and Aurora, the engine block was engineered from scratch, so bore centers are different. It has chain-driven dual overhead cams and 4 valves per cylinder, but is an even-firing design with a split-pin crankshaft similar to the modern GM 3800 engines. The LX5 displaced 3.5 L (3473 cc, 212 cu in) and produced 215 hp (160 kW) @ 5,500 rpm and 230 ft·lbf (312 N·m) @ 4,400 rpm. Bore is 89.5 mm (3.52 in) and stroke is 92 mm (3.6 in). Compression ratio is 9.3:1." power/torque are equal to or barely higher than the later LQ1s and what appears to be similar torque curves as well, but i'm not entirely sure on that from only two points on a dyno... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted August 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2009 Well, the coolant light has been staying off for the last day or so. But there is a new development. One thing I either failed to mention or failed to notice was that my radiator cap is really really old, like original old. I got home from work this morning, and I notice a very small amount of steam coming out from under the hood. I looked, and there seems to be a small coolant leak originating from the filler neck. The bad thing, though was there there was what appeared to be oil floating on top of the coolant in the reservoir, although the coolant in the radiator neck looks fairly clean. The oil looks clean too, with about 1200 miles on it. I am going to flush out that reservoir right now. The oil scares me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted August 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 Well, I cleaned out that reservoir at the car wash, and got all that scum out of there. I got a new radiator cap, and it seems to have fixed the problem. Now just to watch that coolant in case it gets dirty again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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