did my intake gaskets go or am i paranoid - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

madness410 · 08-07-2010, 01:27 AM

my 3.8 camaro, apparently notorious for their intake gaskets going...the other day driving back from work it overheated a bit. i pulled over, let it cool down, got back home, checked the radiator and it wasnt filled with coolant.

i put some in once i got home and driving everywhere today it didnt overheat, but every now and then i get the strong waft of coolant, and smelled near the exhaust and it smelled like coolant also, not as strong as toward the nose of the car. i checked the dipstick and it looks like regular motor oil.

my question to you guys is whats the first thing i should look for if they did go? i dont want to run my motor if it has the possibility of mixing oil and coolant together, dipstick looks good, just smells like coolant all over, anyone have any experience with this?

NastyEllEssWon · 08-07-2010, 06:41 AM

look around the front of the motor and around the tstat area for leaking. if there is none check the passenger side floorboard for wetness. when i had a car with a bad heater core i would be able to smell the coolant inside the car. if none of this is happening look at the exhaust to see if its burning coolant off. if not i would just keep an eye on it and see what happens. couldve been a pocket of air in the cooling system that worked itself out.

Blacdout96 · 08-07-2010, 07:09 AM

Is your car hesitating, bucking anything like that? that would be a sign of the intake sucking it up. If the oil looks fine form the dipstick, I would double check and replace the oil. if none of the above, you could have a possible heatercore going, which is super easy to replace in our cars. It's the heater core lines that will be a P.I.T.A. since they sit all the way in the firewall and theres crap all around them to get to. Also, you have to physically take the plastic cover from infront of the heatercore since they seal pretty well. I didn't know why I smelled coolant in my car, but never seen a leak until my wife (then my new girlfreind) stepped on the floor mat and I saw a splash, the coolant apparently flowed under the carpet and puddled next to where the cat makes that rise in the sheetmetal.

Did you flush your radiator yet? The first day i got my car, it overheated, wasent due to low coolant or bad gaskets, the dealership my aunt took it to said they flushed to system, when in fact it had NEVER been flushed, and there was so much sludge from the dexcool, it couldn't cool properly. After I flushed I never had a problem with overheating again.

madness410 · 08-07-2010, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NastyEllEssWon

look around the front of the motor and around the tstat area for leaking. if there is none check the passenger side floorboard for wetness. when i had a car with a bad heater core i would be able to smell the coolant inside the car. if none of this is happening look at the exhaust to see if its burning coolant off. if not i would just keep an eye on it and see what happens. couldve been a pocket of air in the cooling system that worked itself out.

yeah it hasnt been leaking after i ran the motor for a while and had it parked, not a drop. and it isnt wet near the passenger side of the car. im thinking it could be a pocket of air but would it create that much of a smell? it smells strong sometimes and very little at other times

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blacdout96

Is your car hesitating, bucking anything like that? that would be a sign of the intake sucking it up. If the oil looks fine form the dipstick, I would double check and replace the oil. if none of the above, you could have a possible heatercore going, which is super easy to replace in our cars. It's the heater core lines that will be a P.I.T.A. since they sit all the way in the firewall and theres crap all around them to get to. Also, you have to physically take the plastic cover from infront of the heatercore since they seal pretty well. I didn't know why I smelled coolant in my car, but never seen a leak until my wife (then my new girlfreind) stepped on the floor mat and I saw a splash, the coolant apparently flowed under the carpet and puddled next to where the cat makes that rise in the sheetmetal.

Did you flush your radiator yet? The first day i got my car, it overheated, wasent due to low coolant or bad gaskets, the dealership my aunt took it to said they flushed to system, when in fact it had NEVER been flushed, and there was so much sludge from the dexcool, it couldn't cool properly. After I flushed I never had a problem with overheating again.

its not hesitating or bucking at all. how would changing the oil help out of curiouslity? wouldnt it look the same with new oil or old oil if it was leaking coolant? i doubt its the heater core the passenger side carpet isnt wet at all.

i havent flushed my radiator, but after i added the coolant and filled the radiator it hasnt overheated since and ive done a bit of driving. im thinking its an air pocket like nasty said or maybe i accidently poured coolant where i shouldnt have (it was night time) and thats where its coming from. i just want to make sure my gaskets arent going i dont want any trouble with this motor.

thanks for all the help fellas

Blacdout96 · 08-07-2010, 12:16 PM

a dip stick may not show the grey spottining in the oil, I would change it to see if there is any collant mixer begining, thats all. you may have splashed some coolant somewhere and its just burning off then.

madness410 · 08-09-2010, 12:04 AM

02 3.8 motor...having a few problems with it already. driving back from giving my buddy a ride the temp jumps to ~250, and once i park theres a trail of coolant that followed me. its a pretty heavy leak.

i filled the radiator the other day and its mostly gone it looks like...i have no clue where its leaking from, theres a mess of coolant near the belts, and dripping looking like its coming from under the motor. the top and bottom hoses on the radiator seem fine, theres no leaking coming from the water pump im going to guess the heater core lines? i cant seem to find a diagram online does anyone have one? or can anyone offer some help

Jon

madness410 · 08-09-2010, 12:25 AM

turns out now its leaking, a real heavy leak too coming from under the motor it looks like theres a lot of coolant around the belt area too, the hoses seem fine going into and out of the radiator

BigAls87Z28 · 08-09-2010, 12:28 AM

I think you just have a problem with cars and overheating....shesh.

You have coolant near the belts, but major hoses and wp are clean? Id look for a blown heater hose.

madness410 · 08-09-2010, 12:32 AM

yeah wtf thats what i said lol...so far 100% of the camaros ive owned overheated lol. ive only owned 2 camaros though.

yeah coolant is near the belts, and its all over really i guess some of it got onto the belts and made a mess all over, but theres no leaking coming from the hoses going into or out of the radiator, and the hoses into the water pump look clean. im not too familiar with this motor and i was looking for a diagram with the heater and hoses but cant seem to find one.

i took it for a spin not too long ago after filling the radiator with some water and after i parked it it was a constant drip from what looked to be under the motor

NastyEllEssWon · 08-09-2010, 12:35 AM

water pump.

MyFirstZ · 08-09-2010, 05:27 AM

yeah there is a weep hole in the water pump on the bottom side of it, sounds like that is were it is coming from just get a flashlight and you can probably watch it drop.

madness410 · 08-09-2010, 07:13 AM

yeah i was checking it out this morning but can't seem to find what you guys were talking about the weep hole. it cam very well make sense the coolant does look like it's coming from the pump and splashing on the belts and it's going everywhere which threw me off. the 3.8 water pumps are the same as the ls1s?

Blacdout96 · 08-09-2010, 07:15 AM

waterpump, or front cover gasket seal went bad. Might as well drop in a cam while thats off

Have the car idle, and watch for leaks. if its fine, have some one revthe motor until you see coolant. when my heaterhoses went bad, the car could handle normal pressure, but when it got up to 3000rpm + the hoses moved and blew coolant out.

NastyEllEssWon · 08-09-2010, 09:53 AM

you wont actually be able to see the pisser hole with the bell pulley on it. put your hand under the backside of the bell and feel for wetness. either way im pretty certain its a water pump. the pumps are not the same as the ls1 but most water pump replacements are pretty straight forward. just make sure if you take any of the small pulleys off that you put them on the same way it came off....its possible to do it backwards and itll squeal like a mofo

MyFirstZ · 08-09-2010, 09:52 PM

That is your engine right there well, that is a 95-98 3.8l since it has that slanted TB, but anyway. Right above your crank shaft pulley is your water pump pulley, like he said the weep hole is on the bottom side of the pump probably covered by the pulley. Besides being covered it is only the size of a pea. You arent going to see it steadily coming out, it will be coming out in droplets. So if you clean it off (hose it down whatever) let it sit and dry. Run the engine bring it up tooperating temp so you know there is some pressure in the system then shut it off you can probably see it coming out then.

but based off what you are telling us it more then likely is the pump. Like i said if you clean it off then put pressure in the system you should be able to tell fairly quickly where the leak is.

madness410 · 08-09-2010, 10:04 PM

oh ok i see that helps alot. im going to bring it back to the place where i got it theyre warranty bumper to bumper is for a month so they'll do the work and ill just relax. thanks for the picture though, im going to try to find it before i go to work tomorrow to see what you are talking about and see if thats where the leak is coming from. thanks for the help again.

MyFirstZ · 08-09-2010, 10:15 PM

no problem.

Hell, you cannot beat warranty. It is not a big job at all if they try to pull one on you. I would say maximum 400 including coolant and that is still expensive.

madness410 · 08-10-2010, 09:55 PM

does that repair need a new water pump?

Tru2Chevy · 08-10-2010, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madness410

does that repair need a new water pump?

Yes, that is the repair. The weep hole is in the pump itself, when it starts spewing, you know the pump is toast.

- Justin

madness410 · 08-10-2010, 11:14 PM

ok. thats really weird when i bought it they said they installed a new one and it looked brand new...

madness410 · 08-10-2010, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyFirstZ

no problem.

Hell, you cannot beat warranty. It is not a big job at all if they try to pull one on you. I would say maximum 400 including coolant and that is still expensive.

id be pissed if they charged me at all. they said 50$ deductible which was cool with me and theyd fix it for free. id be more pissed because that would be a job i could do myself

madness410 · 08-10-2010, 11:40 PM

you cant really drive with the problem correct?

NastyEllEssWon · 08-11-2010, 03:42 AM

dont drive it with a bad pump