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took the car out last night and for the first time I saw the "Shift 1 to 4" light come on as I took off from a stop light. Im sure im beating a dead horse here but I don't drive this car like a sissy so that cant be the reason. I didn't think anything of it as it shut off as I got up to speed and shifted to second. Now, I have had this car for 3 months and have never seen a light come on... next light it came on again and happened to notice that the water temp was creeping up to 200-220 area. I also have never seen this move before. From what I have read so far the shift light comes on with temperature being above 169* and a couple other reasons, but my thinking is that the thermostat is going or has gone bad. thoughts anyone?
also, how big of a PIA is it to change this out? looks like I can get to it fairly easily but I'm guessing I'm going to unload the coolant from top end of the motor and have a mess regardless...
Your thermostat is fine...220 is fine the fan doesn't kick on to high until 232. The water temp will get up around 230+ in stop and go with the stock fan speed/ thermostat. You can get a 160* thermo if you want that will keep the temps down with the proper fan settings. As for the shift light...just about every manual 8 cylinder GM performance car for the past 20 years has that "feature." You can bypass it or tune it out if you dont like it or if it comes on give a bit more throttle and it will go off. It comes on based on speed and throttle percentage.
The shift light only comes on after a certain temperature is reached. Meaning you don't see it right after you start your car. As mentioned above, this light is normal when you're shifting from first to second attempting to shift between 2000 and 2500 rpm. It was added by GM to avoid the Gas Guzzler Tax.
As for your temperature question:
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thermostat issues?
