Coolant Problems (yes, im a newb)

I just bought a 1985 z-28 camaro (125k miles). It was running great until today when I was gunning it down the highway. I didnt watch my Temp guage (D'oh!) but after I pulled up to my friends house a few minutes later I noticed my coolant was leaking because it was boiling out of the cap and smoking :/
The temp when I looked at it was around 230, after I let it cool down for about 5min to take it home it went back down to normal during driving.
People said it could be a number of things:
There isnt a 50/50 ration of coolant to water.
A radiator problem.
A valve or something (rember, im a noob) is working properly.

I havent gotten it checked it out yet, and I know the real experts are propably here :D

Any idea why it was boiling or how to fix it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!

One more thing, the fluid level was at Full Hot, and now its down to almost nothing.
Thanks again for any help!

Did it overheat just on the highway? Sounds like your thermostat is just stickin closed.. They are cheap, and simple to replace..
Is it still overheating?

thats a real nice car, yeah check the thermostat
mine done that too. it was stuck.

take off those luvers and it'd probly help. lol

lol yea i think it would look hella nice with out the louvers

Thermostat definatly

well, first things to look at, is the cooling system all orignial/?? waterpump, radiator, hoses????? thermostat, all that stuff. if it is, my guess is a part failed.

but heres a test. jump in and drive the car around the block once or twice, then pull over with the engine running and pop the hood. there are pretty much five key parts to the cooling system the block(waterpump), radiator, thermostat, cooling fan system, and the hoses. with it sitting there idling, get out, check if your fan is on, if its not get in and turn your A/C on, then check again, your fan should be running. if its not, the fan is bad. if it is running turn the A/C back off. now, check for heat in the system. naturally the block will be hot, dont grab that. grab a hold of the upper radiator hose. is it warm?????? if it isnt, chances are your thermostat is stuck closed. if it is, move to the radiator and CARFULLY touch the cap, it SHOULD be HOT!! if its not, your radiator is probly clogged or something, if its hot, grab the lower radiator hose, is that hot??? should be if its not, probly also means the radiator is cool. now, if the upper hose is cool close to the radiator, but hot close to the block, you could have a bad water pump, and there is no coolant flow, and the coolant in the hose is being heated by the hot fluid coming out of the open thermostat. but there isnt enough heat transferrence to heat the coolant close to the radiator. if the cooling system is hot everywhere, and the fan isnt running while its overheating, it could be one or more of the following. the fan motor, which you can test by turning on the AC as stated above. the fan temp switch on the passenger side of the block above and in front of the starter motor. or the cooling fan relay on the firewall in front of the driver. hope that helps.

yeah... what he said

People said it could be a number of things:
There isnt a 50/50 ration of coolant to water.
A radiator problem.

i thought the coolant doesnt do anything except prevent corosion, water would do the same thing as coolant only it would cause corrosion. or am i wrong?

coolant is a blend of anti-freeze and water. idealy a 50/50 blend. get it... ANTI-FREEZE. in the winter it keeps your colant from freezing. it lowers the temerature at witch it will freeze. yes it prevents rust and all that stuff too. straight water would freeze at higher temperatures and it would make things rust.

but it doesnt do nothing to cool the engine better than water

You still need to have properly mixed coolant.. Too much water, and your cooling system will corode, and parts will fail prematurly.. Too much coolant, and it will gel at high temps..
But I doubt thatd be the problem

but it doesnt do nothing to cool the engine better than water


i dunno if it does or not. it could. but there are adaatives that you can add that do make the mixture disapate heat faster. 40 below is one along with water wetter and there are others.

not trying to pick at you Iroc, but the fan switch is in the pass. head not the block

water transfers heat better than coolant. all the coolant does is prevent the water from freezing and from boiling away while it cools the engine. now a days its all formulated to prevent corosion. ive always heard that you dont have to have 50/50, that its just recommended. i generally only run with about 1/4 to 1/3 coolant in the summer for obvious reasons...one of you guys want to prove me wrong and explain the 50/50 thing???

you dont need no 50/50 mixture... its "recommended" I would say go with about 50/50 if you drive your car summer and winter without changin coolant so its good year round.. I only drive my babies in the summer so I use mostly water with Redline WaterWetter additive.. good stuff..

chevyracincamaro - you are correct about water cooling better than coolant. and no, 50/50 is not completely nessesary, it is kinda like the 3000 mile rule for oil. someone just kinda said, this is a safe number, lets use it. the 50/50 is to protect for temps to -30 degrees F which most of us wont ever encounter. so running 30/70 for most of us would probly be ok.

4onfloor - well, i do know that the coolant temperature sensor is in the head, but the fan switch sensor is in the side of the block. ive changed it before. took a nice little coolant shower when i did it too lol.

the one in the block is the knock sensor, atleast on 3rd gens it is. the one in the passenger head right above it is the fan switch. it's not a variable resistance sensor like on the driver's side head for the temp gauge, though they look identical. it's a thermal switch. at about 220 degrees it grounds out and trips the relay for the fan. go out on one of your 3rd gens and turn the key on, and ground the wire, the fan will come on.

the knock sensor is on the driver side of the block, the fan switch sensor is in the passenger side of the block. the one in the head, is the temp switch.

since when is the knock sensor in the drivers side of the block? every 3rd gen including firebirds that i've seen is on the passenger side, and there was nothing but a plug in the driver's side. then the temp gauge sensor is in the driver's side head. not saying your wrong or that everyone's is the same, but i've actually ground the fan switch wire as a temporary fix on a few cars untill could get a new sensor. and on the fuel injection swap that i did on my truck, the wiring harness is routed for the kock sensor to be on the passenger side, with the temp sensor in the passenger head

this is in the driver's side of your block? if it is, it's a new one on me
http://www.thirdgenresource.com/sensors__maf_s__relays__etc__?b=1

well, ill have to go look on the IROC, but i do know for sure that the fan switch for my RS is on the passenger side of the block. cuz my fan quit on me, and turns out that the fan switch had broke, and the wire was taped onto it making and breaking connection. i replaced the wire, and replaced the sensor, and the fan has worked ever sense. so i know that it was the fan switch.