TITLE: Interesting steep reverse 40 deg. rear tire burnout rear fat tires smoked a bit, & up 6 in. curb right side

I just had new push rods put in since the old ones were bent
Also, a coolant leak near the timing chain cover was sealed
A new water pump
A groummet a/k/a air breather connector was replaced


Car is a v-6 1993 Camaro 3.4 L. Auto. Trans. it went up a 40 degree embankment driveway structure that was flat, the rear tires smoked as the motor worked to get it up and over and onto the street.

Prior to that I drove over a 5 inch standard-size curb but I have fat tires, I looked under the right bottom but there was no sign of any breakage

At worst this bump is just a tad bad for the wheel alignment system even though a 4th gen. is a low vehicle positioned over the road so it's not bad for the drivetrain / chasis.

Anyway, letting go of the steering wheel after this caused no real bad or quick swaying which is a sign of a really messed up wheel alignment system.

It was strange that after 1 full day of driving on the surface roads there was almost no coolant, I must have put in 16 oz. worth into the coolant reservoir

Maybe the repair shop owner was too busy to add coolant or to top it off, or in this 80 degree heat it evaporated, he did wash my car for free while it was at his shop for 6 days. ?

There were no signs of leaking at the top front bottom after adding coolant or before I had these 2 incidents.

Car runs smooth, just maybe a little rusty at the ignition. I probably will had more quality fuel to her.

Is the above something a 1993 4th Gen. can endure?

I mean it's a muscle car even though a v-6 3.4 L. so it should be able to withstand going in reverse up a 40 degree driveway and have a burnout where the tires smoke and you can smell it, right?

This is what adds resistance or helps a Camaro muscle car's muscle grow.

This especially on a 137,500 mile 4th Gen. like I have should not cause any problems, it's getting its workout or exercise in other words.

Again the car runs smoothly at idle and on acceleration, so this is all normal for the aforesaid type of car

Any constructive comments concerns or questions are appreciated.

Hopefully, I haven't led much in the way of a need for questions.

Thanks, members

 

probley not very often for any 4th gen car ,sounds like your running good though ,babey the car as mush as possible though an try for another 100 grand

 

do sum skidz

 

thanks everyone.....the rims where the wheel meets the tires are ok....no visible dents.... will check tire pressure and keep it at 45 psi, if it isn't already still at that level. the thread on the rear wheels looked ok also.

 

Reverse is not designed in any car for hard acceleration. The transmission has to reverse it direction. For this to happen in normal driving the transmission almost doubles the pressure to the clutches. If clutches are even close to worn a good WOT in reverse can wipe them out. Don't do it in 23 year old car unless you have a spare 2k laying around.

I would check the ball joints and tie rod ends for play or just get an alignment. They can not align a car with play in the suspension. So if they can align it your good.

Coolant does not evaporate unless you are talking about decades.

There is nothing muscle about your drive train. It is a base V6. It has what GM thinks it needs to make it out of warranty and hopefully 100-150,000 miles. GM does not design cars to last 20+ years. which is why the value of these cars drops of so much after about 15 years. By definition they are not dependable.

IMO the Camaro was never a muscle car. Muscle cars were big full framed monsters that used pure muscle to go from stop light to stop light. The Camaro, Mustang and Challenger are pony cars. They are smaller cars that may or may not have large motors. Large engines in a pony cars was kind of a after thought. When first release pony cars where seen as toys. When Ford first pitched the Shelby GT to Carroll Shelby his comment was something like " you mean that Secretary's car"? .

 

Thanks, Gorn,

I'm both mildy worried and also intrigued by what you wrote,

The fact that my car runs smoothly after going in reverse at high speed is a good sign that nothing bad happened to the Trans. and thus does not need a $2,000 outlay for a repair I would think

 

Think of a automatic transmission as having a life meter like a character in a video game. The fact it still is going simply means it is not at Zero health yet. It does not mean it did not take damage. In transmission class we have a chart with expected transmission life on it. The main factor was how is the transmission used. If it tows, if its raced it will greatly reduced its life. If I remember right getting stuck in the snow had a life expectancy of only a few hours. The point is Automatic transmission start wearing out Day One. Their life is only predictable if you have known the car its whole life and if a seal does not blow out or a metal part breaks.

 

It's possible the mechanic didn't bleed all the air out of the cooling system, keep a watchful eye on the level to make sure.
When going backwards up a steep hill like that, vehicle weight transfer goes to the front of the car and the rear is as light as a feather. You could have been able to do a reverse burnout even if the engine was an anemic 4 cylinder. You didn't stress the trans out, physics was working in your favor.

 

Thanks, my auto repair friend said today when I was in the neighborhood on errands that he, too wouldn't worry about it.

If there's a pattern of doing it often and based on the vehicle's prior owner and how they used or abused the transm. as Gorn added ^ above, and if the mileage is in the 220 k range, yes I can understand how another one of what I did, a burnout even attemptin what's highly not recommended which is putting an auto. trans. in neutral adding water to the rear tires and then pushing on the gas and brake at the same time (to do a rear wheel smokeout burnout) could be Fatal. I've noticed someone did this just to look cool on a 1995 Camaro and the car immediately lost power and could not drive more than 20 mph. But not in my case, what a relief. Thanks.

 

thanks, Gorn,,, at worst, I lost a few hours off it's Trans. life.

Here in So. Calif. we can get a rebuilt or reman. trans. for $1,650

the guy with chickens and roosters on his lot near a junkyard can get a rebuilt trans. for $750 including labor and he's near the San diego, CA Tijuana Mexico border so his rent is cheap

but no way do I want to factor in my budget $2k for a blown trans.

Anyway, yes, it is largely based on how badly the transm. was used or abused and if the prior owner did what to it.

I would make the analogy of one's kidney's and let's say their health for a kidney donor transplantation.

sure you have 2 kidneys and can spare one to a relative in case of emergency

but the history of the kidney is important---

i.e., did the person with the kidney to spare use lots of hard drugs or hard liquor, or more importantly did he ingest lots of anabolic steroid pills (not injections) over his lifetime, such anabolic steroid Pills can wreak havoc on the liver and the kidneys.

thanx again