I have a 97 camaro V6 3.8 series two, and i'm having a problem where my coolant is leaking someplace besides out onto the pavement and am having troubles figuring out where it is going. I had been meaning to replace the gaskets in the intake manifold to retain the problem but i kept on procrastinating about it. Well the other night I drove about 20 miles to go pick up a friend and as i put it into drive i started to hear a terrible sound as though i was driving a huge desiel engine truck. i thought it was no biggie then it did it again 10 times worse and my check gauges lite came on and i noticed that my temp guage was WAY past the red line. i mean the sound was like a bad CLANKING sound like a knockin sound..so the next mornin i went and discoverd that there was barly any coolant left so i put in water and drove it home and my engine was just missing it was as though a few cylinders wernt firing.. so i finally got the gaskets replaced today..is it too late? is there more damage that is probably made to my car? so far it runs fine and that noise is gone... anybody have any advice? reply asap

 

hopefully you didnt fry anything, but if you did get ready for some fun!, also, please dont multiple-post thanks!

 

jee thanks for the tip!

 

YEA SOUNDS LIKE YOU IN FOR SUME BIG BIG SPENDING ON MOTOR PARTS!!

 

These engines do not appreciate getting overheated and tend to warp the heads when it happens. See if the new gasket holds more than a few weeks. If it goes again or one the spark plugs gets fouled, you will probably need to rebuild the heads. You are lucky not to have cracked a piston or broken rings trying to compress water.

 

YES OVERHEATING IS A PROB. FOR LOTS OF CAMAROS THAT YEAR, MY FRIENDS KEPT OVERHEATING TIME AND TIME AGAIN. IT WILL DO MAJOR DAMAGE. AARON

 

Something to keep in mind. If the car loses water and you see no leaks, the water is going inside the engine, most likely through a blown head gasket. The engine will also overheat very quickly as the ehaust tries to take a short cut into the cooling system during the power stroke. It all depends on where the gasket is leaking. You also have a problem when you see a lot of steam out of the exaust when the engine is fully hot as all condensation iside the exhaust should have dried up by this time. Also look for oily mess in your coolant, and a slimy mess on your dipstick.

 

oooo that hurts my eyes to read. if its not worth it to you to spend the money to fix it, then selling it or junking it may be a "cheaper" solution.

 

what do you mean by "broken rings trying to compress water. " I dont understand. The pistond dont compress water. Many race cars only use water. It is no different from antifreeze except that it has a higher freezing point.

Why was the coolant leaking. You still have not fixed that. I would also suggest taking it to a shop and have them look at it. you dont want to miss out on some major preventable problem. the few hundred will be worth it.

 

Matt, this is not my engine that is being discussed in this thread, if it was mine it would have been fixed a long time ago. But what I was trying to explain on how driving with a bad head gasket can do serious damage to an engine. And yes, as you pointed out pistons do not compress water. You cam apply all the pressure you want to a liquid, but for all practical purposes, you cannot compress it.

Liquids are not compressible, that is, no matter how much pressure you apply, the volume won't change. Now, if enough liquid gets into the combustion chamber due to a bad head gasket or some other reason, such as driving into a deep puddle and sucking up water into the engine, you get a condition knowns as hydrolok. When the the comprssion stroke comes around, the piston will try to compress the liquid insde the combustion chamber, and since the liquid is not compressible and has no where to go, then something is going to give. Usually the weakest part, such as piston, rings, conncting rods, sometimes even the cylinder walls.