Hello all. I just bought a 1994 LT1 last week with 96K miles on it for $7600. It needs a new sunroof (as this one has cracks), antennae, and a couple of other minor things. I can upgrade those as I go along, but my main concern is that I brought it to a shop to have them go through the engine and make a spare ignition key for it. $140 later I was satisfied.

I then drove it on the highway the very next day and it blew a coolant hose. The shop cut the hose and moved it up a bit and clamped it back on as a quick fix. So I bought a kit that has ALL of the hoses and will have those installed this week.

My question is this. It has always run just below the "warning" level on the gage for coolant temperature and I was told this is normal. Anyone else have this issue?

I Bought a K&N air filter (I have them on any/all vehicles I have owned) but the attachment "gasket strips" that come with the kit do not fit on the air filter when I go to slide it in the housing for the air filter so I put it in without them. Anyone else have this issue?

Also if anyone can steer me in the right direction as where to order quality parts through, I would appreciate it. I'm not a big fan of ordering parts on e-bay or amazon for a Corvette if they are made in flippin' China. The hoses I ordered are from Davies Corvettes in Florida, but even that I was a little hesitant about.

Need:
-Sunroof
-Window/roof seals
-Front hood emblem
-antennae kit
-new stereo

Thanks all!

-Dean

 

On the issue of engine temp watch the digital readout and not the analog for true engine temp. The analog isn't nearly as accurate and can show higher or lower readings than real engine temps. I'm running a stock cooling system and engine temps run from 200 to 210 on the highway and get up to 228 in town and thats when your fans should kick on and bring the temp back down.

If your car is running hot one of the first things to check the front of your radiator for debris because they tend to pick up all kinds of stuff and block the air flow. Blowing out the backside with air will also will get rid of dirt and debris and increase air flow. This helped my 93 run at lower temps both on the highway and in town.

The K&N filter question I don't have a answer for but someone else will.

Buying parts for your vette is made easy by using the Corvette suppliers in the left hand column here on the Forum. Buying parts that aren't made in China is getting more difficult as time goes by. The best you can do is DO YOUR HOMEWORK on parts when you can and know much of what you buy at AutoZone and others are imported.


Sorry I forgot to add welcome to the Forum and congrats on your 94 Polo and it looks good.

 

Welcome and post up some pics. Make sure you browse the "C4 Parts for Sale" section often. You can get a good deal on quality parts there.

 

Thanks guys. Yeah the analog and digital both seem to be on the same page as one another...HOT. I installed the seal for the hatchback as the old one was pretty bad.

I am looking to replace the thermostat on it as well as put new window seals and coolant hoses on it sometime this week. I also have a new hood ornament coming for it, but I will do that and the back decals myself. I'll leave any engine stuff to the experts.

Another issue it had the other day when it rained here is that the door ajar light came on in the dashboard and the light itself would flash off and on. The door wasn't ajar (either of them). I locked the car and came into work only to then hear the alarm system going off. So there is definitely an issue with some condensation (possibly in the fuse box area I am assuming).

I have posted some pics of it in my profile and I hope to post some more when it nears completion. The big purchase will be the sun roof. Not looking forward to shelling out $1,000 for one of those puppies.

Oh and the stereo has seen better days. Any suggestions on a decent stereo to install? I'll keep the original in a box on a shelf after.

 

Nice looking car. I'd look for a roof here or on CL before I drop a grand on a new one.

The issue with the "door ajar" is possibly due to a faulty "door ajar" switch.

What stereo you put in depends on how much money you want to spend. There are a lot of posts and pics here on that subject. You can go single or double-din, with or without amps/subs. You can install yourself, or take it to a professional installer.

 

rockauto.com is great for ordering normal maintenance parts, have multiple brands and great prices. I also agree, check the front of the radiator for debris if your running warm. good luck with the car, iv had my 94 for 4 years now and still love it just as much!

 

Thanks again. Yeah I forgot to mention that when I took it in for maintenance they blew out the radiator for me. They said it was full of debris. Hopefully it's not something that needs to be done too often as I don't have an air compressor. But I do have a leaf blower! Ha ha.

 

My question is this. It has always run just below the "warning" level on the gage for coolant temperature and I was told this is normal. Anyone else have this issue?

I Bought a K&N air filter (I have them on any/all vehicles I have owned) but the attachment "gasket strips" that come with the kit do not fit on the air filter when I go to slide it in the housing for the air filter so I put it in without them. Anyone else have this issue?

Got mine 5 months ago. The high analog temps made me nervous, especially in traffic. Digital gage showed lower temp. Had it flushed and new thermostat put in-better but still high. These beasts run warm but my fans due kick on at 228 or if you put a/c on the fans run auto. Do check the fans but don't be to alarmed.
I just bought a K&N but have not put it in yet. Did you get instructions or you can look on their web sight. Doesn't make sense but I will find out. I got my Bose gold working well after a couple amps in rear were rebuilt, always something, but a little at a time! Welcome!

 

I have a 96. I was not comfortable with the engine temp running that high either. I know it was designed like that but I geuss I am old school. I purchased a hyper tech and a 160 thermostat. Replaced the thermostat and retuned with the hypertech for the 160 thermostat, that way the fans come on sooner. Dropped my temps 20-25 degrees. For your sunroof try Sunroofdoctor.com.

 

Can you give me info on the Hypertech? Never mind. Found it. $400 just to reprogram fans, don't really need the other items it will program (speed limit, rim and tire size, etc). Think I will pass

 

I have three roofs now. The one on my 94. A new GM Blue tint, and a solid color white roof. Bought the new GM to trade for a solid to match my car. But since I bought the white solid roof, I will repaint it to match my car. GM maybe be available for much less than $1000. However, I am in Saudia Arabia and will be home in oct for one week. So if you are not in a hurry for the roof, maybe we can work something out. You in PHX, right.

 

The stock fans come on at around 225 fan 1 and 235 fan 2 plus or minus a few, if AC is on one fan should come on with it.

 

Yes, sir. Of course, October is the one month a year that a take a vacation. I go home to New York/Vermont area from the 10th-20th. Let me know if you are still able to help me or not. Regardless, thanks for the post/offer, I appreciate it very much. I see I can get them for as low as $600 on some sites. Several junk yards around here too, but a little leery.

 

I spent almost $800 in repair work to put in a hose repair kit for 20 hoses, new thermostat (I see a lot of 160 vs 185 debates on here, all I know is that it was the best one at auto zone for $17) new window seals, new hood ornament, messed with the keyless entry but it is messed up and I can live without it. Not to mention the $65 I spent on a rental car.

I have installed a new hatchback seal myself, console chevy emblem, rear decals and ordered front decals, gas emblem, and radio antenna kit.

$2,000 later (coughs) in a months time and she is almost up to par. The overheating issue still bugs me greatly though. Analog or digital, in my 13 mile trek to and from work (all back roads/traffic) it gets up to 240F!!! Daily, that can't be good. The radiator has been blown out, outside of a flush and a new radiator, I hope I don't have to sink much more into the engine to get this corrected. Corvette Central has some solutions, but they are as expensive as all get out.

Anyone's input is obviously welcome. As much as I love the ride, I would really love a solution to the heat issue with the engine.

 

Since you changed your hoses, did you bleed the cooling system? The LT1's have a bleeder valve to get trapped air out of the system. There should be information on this forum on how to do that and in the FSM (factory service manual). If you don't have the FSM, you should get the set. Its two RED books and covers the year you have from end to end. You can find them for sale on e-bay or check the C4 parts forum as they come up from time to time.

 

You can always add a manual fan switch and turn them on at will or have the prom reprogrammed. Have my blue car set to come on at 205 both fans and off at 200 stock 195 thermostat.

 

Cool, I have the manual. I will look into these scenarios. All I know is they said they added a gallon of coolant so I would say they didn't bleed it but I will ask.

 

You need to start with a cooling system flush. You drain the radiator and then go under the car and remove the two knock sensors to drain the block. Do not be surprised if they are full of crud and you have to remove it to get the water to come out. When the water is out make sure the radiator is clean. There are many posts on this. The car should run down the road at about 190 to 205 and will go up in stop and go traffic or when stopped. The fans should come on at about 229 and cool it quickly.

You can buy a used sunroof on the Corvette forum for a reasonable price. Willcox seems to have the reputation for the best quality weatherstripping. They are a vendor on the forum.

For a new stereo you will need to replace the radio head and the 4 speakers and wires, and probably put in an amplifier. Contact Dennis at Double D Mods and he can set you up with what you need. He is not well known on the C4 forum but is the C5 audio guru. I bought mine from him, with the exception of the amp, which I got from Crutchfield, another good source for radio and speakers. I got an Alpine 45 watt per channel amp that is about 7 X 2 X 2 in size, which I mounted behind the passenger seat.

If you do not have one, buy the red cover factory service manual set for the car. They run around $ 50 to $ 100 used and are worth the price.

I buy parts from Mid America. There are also Corvette Central, Ecklers, and others.

 

Thanks so much!

 

The C4 is like a road debris vacuum, and sucks it all to the front of the radiator. There is an opening at the pass side top of the shroud where you can take a flashlight and look in at the front of the radiator. I used to use a shop vac and a card board tube from wrapping paper to reach in there and suck the crude out. Hope this helps.