Raymic

Hi Corvetters. This forum is the best, and you guys and gals have helped me solve my previous issues, so why not throw another at you.
My 1994 stock LT1's newest annoyance is when I start it cold in the morning, the engine seems to have a miss, but after about a mile, it clears up and runs fine. ( the car is cold, but the weather is hot ) The low coolant light also shows during that time but shuts off when the miss stops. Again this lasts for about a mile. It never overheats, in fact it's always under 190 degrees unless sitting in traffic so the cooling system is fine. What concerns me is that I fill the coolant overflow tank according to the manual spec, and after a month or so, it's dry. radiator seems to stay at a level where I can see the coolant. Might I have a weep hole issue? Oil is clean, so i'm not losing coolant into the heads. no codes either. Any ideas?
Thanks!

Silver85

You sure it's not coming out the tailpipe? Any smoke on startup?

billschroeder5842

You may want to double check your coolant sensor operation. If your sensor is wonky it will send mix signals to your computer and make it run richer (or leaner) than it needs. The fact that it smooths out after a bit warm tells me that your sensor may be the problem.

My thought on the coolant is if your fluid is TOO watery, it will have a tendency to evaporate. Is your mix 50/50?

Raymic

I dont have a garage, so in the winter I cover it and start in occasionally when the air temp is above 40 degrees. I did notice a lot of white "steam" during the winter from the pipes and the sweet coolant smell, but again, no water in the oil. I let it get hot before shutting it down to avoid too much condensation.

Raymic

I use Peak 50/50 coolant to fill the overflow

billschroeder5842

Ouch. the sweet smell of exhaust is worrisome. Pop your plugs and see if any are particularly off. A slight head gasket leak would exhibit the symptoms you suggest.

Basic question.... you did do an inspection of your system for leaks? A small leak can go through a lot of fluid.

vette196

smoke test it......I'm pulling the heads on my '96...the infamous #7 blew the head gasket
Smoked and ran, but when I drained the oil....not gold or black, but the color of diarrhea.

Fun times!

Raymic

Thanks to all for the feedback. Oil looks like it just came out of the can, looks like new, so there is no coolant in there. What is baffling me is the coolant seems to only drop to a certain level, and then levels off, and stays steady, but the overflow tank is bone dry. Like I said before, the car never gets too hot. I'm thinking of using some dye and a blacklight to see if i'm losing coolant externally. Thoughts? Again, thanks to everyone for the feedback.