Overheating 96 Camaro Z28

[kaseZ28]

Hi

I just bought my car which is a 96 Camaro Z28. The first thing i do when i buy a car is change all the fluids, because i dont know the history of it. anyways my radiator fluid and temperature of the car was fine but i still decided to change it anyways. after i changed the fluids i started having a heating problem. my temperature started to rise reaching about 235 to 240. I tryed bleeding the air out of the cooling system but i dont know if im doing it properly. can any one please help with specific detail on how to bleed the cooling system. or if you think it's something eles please let me know. Thanks

[89IROC&RS]

dont have a fourth gen personaly, but i believe there is a pair of valves on coolant pipes on top of the engine, they look a bit like grease fittings if im right. while the engine is running, open them up and let the air out, when coolant starts coming out yoru done. also, with the cap off, run the engine top off the radiator, then either rev the engine up yourself or have someone else do it, only a little bit so the coolant level drops down, top it off, bring the revs up a bit more, top it off, do this up to about three quarter throttle, then with the rpms still up, put the cap on, and then let it down to idle. that should make sure there is no air in the system. also, did you use the same coolant you took out???? i mean what color coolant did you take out. orange or green?? beause you should put back in what it originally had. orange is dexcool, and green is regular antifreeze.

[96CamaroSS]

According to the 96 owners manual you are NOT supposed to run the car when opening the bleeder valves (It makes the system fill up with more air). Run the engine then let it cool... Open both bleeder valves and leave them open... Then fill your car through the radiator until a steady stream of coolant runs from both bleeder valves. Then close the valves. And fill the radiator up the rest of the way up to the base of the filler neck... Start the engine and let it run for approx four minutes. If the coolant level drops in the radiator, fill it up the rest of the way. Replace radiator cap and fill recovery tank.

[spaghetti&]

you open the valve with the car off and then proceed filling the rad until you get all the air out of the valve

[kaseZ28]

If i open the valves and the coolant comes out does that mean that the air is out? because when i opened it the coolant came out and i still have the same problem. i dont think that im doing it right or something. PLEASE HELP

[kaseZ28]

I was wondering do you think the mixture of the coolant isn't right. I used prestone, i dont think its 50/50. what i did was pour in all the antifreeze and add water till it reaches the top.

[96CamaroSS]

You might still have some air in the block. Go ahead and run the car again let it cool and bleed the air out... You may have to do it several times.
I had the same problem after I changed my thermostat and water pump. Eventually it went back to normal...



You may try leaving the bleeders open a little longer and see if any air comes out.

[ridge_runner]

nah, then mixture wouldnt make that much of a difference

[tacoma man]

thermostat????? has that been changed, it could be sticking. or it may have the wrong thermostat
in it. advance auto parts sold me a 160 for my
90 rs 5.0 liter, it made it run about 210-220
degrees, i called chevy, they said my car should run a 195. i put it in the car never goes over 200.
you may want to check it out. if you decide to get a new one, make sure that its the factory recomended one. cause overheating will damage
your engine, i had one overheat on me all the
time, eventually the heads warped and blowed a
head gasket. had to sell it afterwards....

[kaseZ28]

when you mean bleed a lil longer, how much time exactly

[kaseZ28]

here's what im doing. im turn on the car for about a minute, then i wait about another minute. then i open the two vaules for about 1 to 2 minutes. after i go for a test run.

[96CamaroSS]

I would leave the bleeders open until the system completly pressured down. Tacoma-man mentioned the thermostat. It could be sticking causing the coolant not to flow and your car would overheat. Did the car have any kind of problems before you drained the coolant?




It's a good idea when you buy a 93-97 Camaro with the LT1 to check the water pump for leaks... This is unrelated to your problem, but they are known to leak.

[kaseZ28]

no the car didnt have any problem before. only after i changed the coolant. i will continue trying tomorrow. thanks alot

[sipote]

you must have air in the system, merchants flushed the radiator on my 97 v6. and after driving the car for like 50 miles the engine light came on, i looked around the dashboard and noticed the Temp gauge was going pass the half almost to red, it would go up and down. i took it back to merchants. and whom ever did the flushed, did not do it right, it had air in the system. and that is why is was over heating. i hope it not do any damage to my camaro, since this just happened yesterday.

good luck

[89IROC&RS]

yes mixture does matter. water is a much better heat sink than coolant, which is actually just antifreeze. so the name is not correct, but anyway, the green stuff is only there to keep water from freezing in cold weather, and keep the radiator from rusting from the inside out. thats why durring the summer you can run as low as 20% antifreeze and in the winter you can run up to 70% antifreeze in severly cold areas. but water is what really takes the heat out of the engine.

although thanx everyone for clearning up my misunderstanding on the steps to bleed the system, i would have felt bad to have caused a problem by giving misinformation.

you say you just bought the car, did it overheat before you changed fluids??? im assuming you test drove it.