My '89 keeps overheating - HELP!
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,581
Likes: 2
From: The Motor City
My '89 keeps overheating - HELP!
My '89 6-speed coupe is experiencing MASSIVE overheating and I don't know what the problem is.
The car overheated on me the first time late last summer. It didn't bother me so much since I was putting it away for the winter anyway. During the winter, I changed the thermostat, the upper hose, flushed the rad, and put in new GM coolant (the green stuff). I just took it out today, and while idling the temperature climbed to normal, with the fans cycling on and off as they normally should. But when I got the car on the road, the temperature started to climb very high (130C or about 260F). Both fans were on, but they weren't dropping the temperature. I turned around and headed back home. When I hit the driveway, I turned the car off immediately and popped the hood. There was coolant all over the passenger side under hood - no doubt from the coolant overflow bottle which was bubbling pretty baddly.
I should also mention, while the car was idling, there was considerable white smoke pillowing out the exhaust pipes, accompanied with a weird smell. This smoke went away as the car warmed up, so I figure it's probably a combination of both moisture in the exhaust system and in the gas tank - the car was stored with very little and VERY old fuel in it all winter (a mistake, I know). I thought that it might be a sign of burning coolant, but there's nothing in the oil.
I'm totally stumped, and what's worse my cousin wants to use the car for his wedding in 2 weeks.
HELP!!! Anybody have any ideas at all? :confused:
The car overheated on me the first time late last summer. It didn't bother me so much since I was putting it away for the winter anyway. During the winter, I changed the thermostat, the upper hose, flushed the rad, and put in new GM coolant (the green stuff). I just took it out today, and while idling the temperature climbed to normal, with the fans cycling on and off as they normally should. But when I got the car on the road, the temperature started to climb very high (130C or about 260F). Both fans were on, but they weren't dropping the temperature. I turned around and headed back home. When I hit the driveway, I turned the car off immediately and popped the hood. There was coolant all over the passenger side under hood - no doubt from the coolant overflow bottle which was bubbling pretty baddly.
I should also mention, while the car was idling, there was considerable white smoke pillowing out the exhaust pipes, accompanied with a weird smell. This smoke went away as the car warmed up, so I figure it's probably a combination of both moisture in the exhaust system and in the gas tank - the car was stored with very little and VERY old fuel in it all winter (a mistake, I know). I thought that it might be a sign of burning coolant, but there's nothing in the oil.
I'm totally stumped, and what's worse my cousin wants to use the car for his wedding in 2 weeks.
HELP!!! Anybody have any ideas at all? :confused:
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 3,179
Likes: 13
From: Coal Valley IL
CI 4-7, 9 & 10 Veteran
Re: My '89 keeps overheating - HELP! (TheCorvetteKid)
Welcome to the forum! You posted in the wrong section. But, oh well. It sounds to me like you may have a cracked or warped cylinder head if you are seeing white smoke from the exhaust. C4's notoriously collect debris like leaves in front of the bottom of the radiator. There is an article in the May 02 edition of Vette magazine entitled Oh So Cool. There is some good info for you there. :seeya
