Well... no carshow for me...

just headed back from picking up a claybar kit to get ready for the show, and my car decides to overheat. I pull over and turn it off for 20min. I pop the hood and find that the coolant is almost empty, so i got my mom to bring down some more.  I topped it up, but it still rose.  Now, being the genius i am, i thought it'd be ok to take it to the nearest shop.. no such luck.  About a block away it shoots way up and i hear popping noises. I immediatly shut it off and coast into a parking lot.  Luckily there was a shop really close by, they said to put the coolant right into the rad (being as im an idiot, i never thought to do this in the first place). She made it over to the shop ok, no other noises on the short ride over. But, im pretty sure that any popping noises are bad, so im hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.  Worst case, if the engine is shot, im swapping in a 3.8L  (either N/A or S/C, not sure as of yet, one step at a time...).   Also the oil was really really low, and dark. I checked it about 2 weeks ago and it was a bit above the ADD mark so i figured i was ok.. Obviously not.  Im thinking the low coolant was only a result of the low oil, causing it to burn off while trying to cool the engine down, but idk...   And i was all ready for the car show to :( Just bought the last of the detailing products..


edit: If anyone here has done a L67 swap, id like your opinions on the difficulty level?  Provided i bought the mounts from the PFF thread (3.8 conversion mounts).





Edited by kawana

ya im still debating what i want to do.  I can get alot of help from both PFF, theres many good threads that show what needs to be done, and my uncle is an unofficial mechanic, with pretty well every tool id need lol :P  We'll see, it may not be as bad as i thought, but im just planning for the worst case.  Im not about to spend $1500+ to swap in another 20yr old 2.8 lol :P 


edit:  i talked to the mechanic today, he had 2 other cars going and didn't get to check it completely, but he says its possible that it was the thermostat. Other people have suggested that it may be the water pump.  The rad was cool to the touch also.


Edited by kawana

If the rad was cold to the touch, and the belt was still intact, it is one of a few things.

 

Air pocket caused the cooling system to stall.  Crushed or bent coolant pipe, impeller on the water pump quit or a stuck thermostat.  I would replace the thermostat, and then properly burp the cooling system and go back to driving the car.  See if it acts up again. 

Actually, now that you mention it, maybe a 3.4L P/R would be a good alternative. I imagine it'd be quite a bit easier to swap in, and would have a decent amount more power over the 2.8 and would have room for modifications later on. It'd probably be easier to track one down, compared to the L67's and such.  Just gotta find one that wasn't in a camaro, those would probably be bagged on, what with people getting them over the V8 and trying to be fast :D