overheating question

[MattM450]

when i first bought my car, i had problems with overheating, and it turns out that I had to replace a bad water pump and fix a coolant leak, and had the coolant flushed (1995 3.4l, the green stuff.) that was about 3 months ago, and the car has ran fine since with no overheating problems. i have a stock thermostat also, btw.

but today, while doing an photo assignment for my class, i was driving on a very bumpy road about 5mph the whole time for about 20 minutes while periodically stopping my car to get out and take pictures, so it would sit in park for a few minutes at a time while i took the pictures. near the end of the road, i got back in the car, and my engine temperature was almost in the red danger zone, above 3/4 of the way. it never goes this high and doesnt usually pass the 3/4 mark. after a few minutes of driving with the heat on full blast, the temperature instantly went down under halfway in a matter of 10 seconds overall. it fluctuated a little after that, but never passed the 3/4 mark again, although coming close. after about 10 minutes, it seemed steady around halfway on the temp meter.

what im wondering is, is this normal? after all, the car was sitting for minutes at a time and i was driving very slow, so is it normal for the car to sometimes heat up that much on occasion? or is this something i should worry about? i know its not really normal when the temperature is almost in the red zone...

i checked the water level in my radiator and i could only fit about 1/4 of a gallon jug of water in there before it overflowed

thanks in advance for any help.

[BobbyZ72]

i dont think it being 1/4 of a gallon low on water would make it over heat, but it should not have been low to begin with. It sounds to me like the fans are not comming on. The car is sitting with no air movement across the coil. Also check the coil, make sure its clean, use a water hose with a good nozzle and wash it if needed.

[cam98aro]

what kind of water pump did you get installed?

I know for a fact that you should not use the green stuff on the stock pump, or you will ruin it (my friend is a mechanic, and has to replace them every day from people changing from dexcoolto the green stuff)

edit* your car didnt come stock with dexcool, did it? I dont know what year they started putting it in, so if it didnt, then just ignore my post.

[98Camaro3.8]

Originally posted by victimizati0n:
edit* your car didnt come stock with dexcool, did it? I dont know what year they started putting it in, so if it didnt, then just ignore my post.

Right, 3.4s didn't come with dexcool. ;)

Originally posted by victimizati0n:

I know for a fact that you should not use the green stuff on the stock pump, or you will ruin it (my friend is a mechanic, and has to replace them every day from people changing from dexcoolto the green stuff)

[img]graemlins/bs.gif[/img]
There's no problem with switching if done correctly. The water pump doesn't give a damn what color the fluid is.

[cam98aro]

Originally posted by victimizati0n:

I know for a fact that you should not use the green stuff on the stock pump, or you will ruin it (my friend is a mechanic, and has to replace them every day from people changing from dexcoolto the green stuff)

[img]graemlins/bs.gif[/img]
There's no problem with switching if done correctly. The water pump doesn't give a damn what color the fluid is. [/QB][/QUOTE]

nope, doesnt care what color it is, but it cares what was in the "ingredients"

[98Camaro3.8]

If you flush the system completely before switching to green, it'll be perfectly fine. The problems occur when you mix the 2, like if you don't get all of the dexcool out before refilling.

[BobbyZ72]

I have 97 camaro and 95 silverado, both came with dexcool, both have had dexcool turn to mud and eat out intake manifold gaskets. I switched the truck over to green 5 years ago, and the camaro about 4 months ago, i have had no problems at all. DEXCOOL SUCKS.

[cam98aro]

Originally posted by 98Camaro3.8:
If you flush the system completely before switching to green, it'll be perfectly fine. The problems occur when you mix the 2, like if you don't get all of the dexcool out before refilling.

dummo, but after hearing my friend tell me the horror stories, when i change my anti. im going to use dexcool... never had a problem with it.

[MattM450]

its green now its always been green and the pump works fine with the green