Hello,
I recently (~3 weeks ago I think) bought a 1999 Camrao with the 3.8 and 114k on it. The previous owner put in a SLP or look alike cold air intake. Some time after buying it, I noticed the engine had started running over the 210 mark, which was odd because the same engine in my 97 Bonneville (previous car) ran around 180-190 or so. Checked coolant, and it was a little low, so I added some, and it was fine again. I checked it again after, and it was low again. added again.
So at this point, I think I need to get this checked out or fix it myself. Here are the symptoms:
-Leaking Coolant
-No spots on ground or at least visible anywhere on the engine (I may need to look harder)
-No egg smell from exhaust
-No large cloud of smoke on start up
-Fine when topped off, but gets to a point where I need to pull over to let the engine cool down (2x now)
-Smoke came out of oil fill tube when I uncapped it once, I assume from the heat, but today I checked it and there were white colored deposits on the inside of the fill cap

That's all I can think of now. Does anyopne have any idea what's going on? I really love driving this car, and need it to drive to and from work, 120 miles 2 times a week. So I also need to know if this is something I should stop driving for, or just keep filling up the radiator. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Brooks

 

I would be willing to bet your engine fan motor is blown -- if so replace the fan ASAP -- happened to me twice...

 

dude it might just be the radiator? get it checked out

 

White deposits on the inside of the radiator cap huh? And you had smoke come from it.....What does the oil on the dipstick look like? If there is ANYTHING other than oil on there, like deposits for example, you have a gasket leak between the intake manifold and the heads/block.

 

Agreed. I'd drain the oil while I'm at it and inspect it for any fluids other than oil.

 

I went to my garage, and had the guy look at it. He pressure tested the radiator, and nothing came out, which told him (and me) that it was definately a gasket. He said the level was too low for the fan to be the reason. I'll check the engine dipstick tomorrow. The guy did say to try some stop leak and a radiator flush prior to do any work on it. So I got them, and I'll give it a try this weekend. He did say that you DON'T have to pull the engine to do an intake gasket change, nor a head gasket change. So I may look into doing it myself.

Thanks for all the help so far everyone,
Brooks

 

I can do an oil change too while I'm at it. I forgot to say, is there any reason to NOT use that stop leak? It seems like it could mess things up.

 

I've been taught that stop leak makes a radiator repair extremely difficult if needed.

 

It depends -- if you use it more than once, you have a good chance of clogging your heater core, radiator and other cooling components...

Once clogged, the repairs get much more expensive...

 

The problem you have won't be fixed with stop leak. That stop leak is for holes in the radiator caused by bugs and such. You need to get a new gasket and put it in. Buy a Chiltons manual (prefered) or a haynes (not as good but if you know nothing it can be helpfull) and dig in, should take about a six pack and a couple of hours to change the gasket. When you get the kit make sure you get the lower intake manifold gasket and a tube of black rtv, when you put the rtv on dont be shy. It is designed to be used in hot motors with out breaking down. Good luck.