'96 LT4 Battery/Coolant
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Meridian Idaho
'96 LT4 Battery/Coolant
Need help!!! Had to jump start due to dead battery. Found coolant under hood, in area of water pump, air inlet, t-stat hose etc. Rechecked start, alternator seems o. k.; battery is less than 1 yr old. Upon restart noticed the temp gauge was 225 degrees and fan not running!!! I suspect I have a related problem with fan that may have drained battery! Any gurus out there with the solution before I tear the hell out of all that unneeded stuff? Any ideas are appreciated!
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 11,043
Likes: 3
From: San Jose Pat Tillman - American Hero
Sounds like it could get messy...no pun intended. Tell me this - do you have a stripe like this under your hood?
If so, it's a tell-tale sign of a waterpump gone bad. The pump on my car was leaking coolant out of the weep hole on the bottom onto the serpentine belt. The belt then flung the coolant onto (among other things) the underside of the hood, leaving me with the stripe above. It sounds like yours might really be ready to let go, if it hasn't already. The downside to that is that your opti may have (likely) got wet, which is a big
. Very expensive to replace.
Anyway, I'll leave it at that until we can find out more about what may or may not be wrong with your car. As for the fans not being on at 225, unless you've programmed them to come on earlier, they're not supposed to be until well over 230...238 I think it is. It's just how are cars were designed (i.e., to run hot).
If so, it's a tell-tale sign of a waterpump gone bad. The pump on my car was leaking coolant out of the weep hole on the bottom onto the serpentine belt. The belt then flung the coolant onto (among other things) the underside of the hood, leaving me with the stripe above. It sounds like yours might really be ready to let go, if it hasn't already. The downside to that is that your opti may have (likely) got wet, which is a big
. Very expensive to replace. Anyway, I'll leave it at that until we can find out more about what may or may not be wrong with your car. As for the fans not being on at 225, unless you've programmed them to come on earlier, they're not supposed to be until well over 230...238 I think it is. It's just how are cars were designed (i.e., to run hot).
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Meridian Idaho
I do have the underhood line tho not as bad as pictured. Car runs ok so maybe i caught it before the water got to the opti?! Found broken battery stud on positive terminal thus the need to jump. Fan must be ok to not run at 225'?! All things seem to happen at once. . wouldn't you know. Murphy's Law! Thanks again, HW
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 11,043
Likes: 3
From: San Jose Pat Tillman - American Hero
Sure thing... Glad you caught it early. Whether or not the opti is damaged is sort of a toss-up. If the car starts to run funny, you know it is. I think alot of people just go ahead and replace both (waterpump & opti) at the same time for labor cost reasons. The thinking is, "Well...if I'm gonna *have* to do it eventually anyway, I might as well just replace both now even though only one's bad and save myself on the labor of (essentially) the same repair twice."
I, on the other hand, just did a WP replacement because my funds wouldn't allow the $500 opti to be done at the same time. I guess it's up to you when it comes to that.
At any rate, best of luck Harry, and welcome to Corvette Forum!
I, on the other hand, just did a WP replacement because my funds wouldn't allow the $500 opti to be done at the same time. I guess it's up to you when it comes to that.
At any rate, best of luck Harry, and welcome to Corvette Forum!
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 113
Likes: 0
From: Mechanicsville Va
I recently had a very similar thing happen. My battery kept dying so I left my vette in the garage. Every time I went into the garage, there was a puddle of coolant under the car. My filler bottle was fine and it seemed to be coming from the bottom of the radiator housing. After replacing the battery, I decided to replace the radiator. So far, everything seems fine.
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Meridian Idaho
Started the r/r on the water pump. Any body know of any good parts dealers . . Kichtner Chevrolet? Also found the battery problem was caused by shop replacement of batt where the positive terminal was tightened to the point that the stud was broken!! Some people seem to think a side mount battery stud needs 100# of torque!! Thanks for all help and ideas. HW
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,947
Likes: 0
From: North Aurora Il
One thing about that stripe, it's not a definite water pump if you get the stripe. I recently took a 6 hour trip and it was raining the whole way. Afterwards I noticed I had the stripe. Wiped it off and it hasn't returned. So I'm pretty sure you can get it from driving in the rain.
However coolant on the engine is a definite problem. Do you see it leaking anywhere with the car warm and running? How many miles?
However coolant on the engine is a definite problem. Do you see it leaking anywhere with the car warm and running? How many miles?
Last edited by kwd1; Oct 10, 2004 at 12:38 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 11,043
Likes: 3
From: San Jose Pat Tillman - American Hero
Originally Posted by kwd1
One thing about that stripe, it's not a definite water pump if you get the stripe. I recently took a 6 hour trip and it was raining the whole way. Afterwards I noticed I had the stripe. Wiped it off and it hasn't returned. So I'm pretty sure you can get it from driving in the rain.
However coolant on the engine is a definite problem. Do you see it leaking anywhere with the car warm and running? How many miles?
However coolant on the engine is a definite problem. Do you see it leaking anywhere with the car warm and running? How many miles?
Good point... I guess I was just going off this particular thread where he came out at the beginning and said there was coolant in the engine bay. But yeah, water from a rainy road could certainly do that as well...
Harry - As for parts dealers, I got my new A/C Delco OEM waterpump from Chris May @ Superior Chevrolet for $153 + s/h. That was $125 less than what my local dealership quoted me. I don't have the number handy, otherwise I'd post it for ya'. If somebody doesn't chime in with it, just start a new thread and ask for the number - shouldn't take long for somebody to respond!
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
