A few months back, I was talking about doing a lot of cosmetic stuff to the Camaro. With exception of a pesky vacuum issue with the AC (which I had fixed), it was running great. Only 84k miles at this point, too. Now...trouble.

I've noticed over the past week that the car seems to be running hot with temps averaging about 235, or 3/4 up the gauge. Also, oil pressure seems to be reading a bit low, just at or slightly under 20. At first I was thinking it might just be something small like a thermostat, but now I'm not so sure. Oil pump, perhaps?

While I realize I'm truly an easy target because I am NOT mechanically smart by any stretch, I do think something's wrong. I've checked for leaks and had my mechanic check for them as well. There are none. The radiator and transmission have been serviced, just last week. There is also a very slight hitch in the transmission sometimes from a stop light.

I have changed the oil religiously in this car since I've owned it with 20k miles, always synthetic. All the fluids look normal.

If y'all have any ideas, they'd be appreciated. Wife and I have talked about getting a family car and trading this in because my other car is a Solstice GXP. I would like to avoid that, if possible. If it's going to be an expensive haul, however...

 

Oil pressure will go lower as engine temps go up. That's normal so don't sweat that part, and 20 isn't dangerous by any stretch. The issue you need to figure out is why the engine is getting so hot. Is the radiator fan kicking on? When does it get hottest, city driving or on the highway? If on the highway, look under the front of the car and make sure you can still see the air dam (spoiler) hanging down. It's set back from the nose of the car and directs air up and through the radiator when open road driving. The fan is for cooling in city driving. Also turn on the A/C and see if the auxiliary fan runs. You can use that for the time being to keep the engine cooler. Another thing to check or have checked is the thermostat, to make sure it's there and working correctly.

 

Thanks. I drove the car today through the city and on the freeway to see if there was a difference in the temps or drops in pressure. It doesn't seem to matter whether it's city driving or highway driving...temp remains about the same as does the pressure. The radiator fan does kick on quite a bit and I don't think it's the auxiliary fan from the AC unit because I haven't turned on the AC.

Last time I checked, the front air dam was there. Car was just up on a lift for the radiator and transmission flush. The front end is lowered about 1.5 inches from when I lowered the car all the way around, so it does scrape sometimes on driveways and bigger dips in the road.

As mentioned in my post, I thought thermostat initially as well, but the oil pressure threw me off a bit. I wish I was like a lot of y'all on here and had that mechanic gene. I see these build projects on here and I just throw up my hands and think, "If only!"

I am only curious if I should take it to my local dealer or back to my mechanic...or another mechanic. The guy I go to is honest, which is hard to find. I think he's just missed a thing or two over the time I've been going to him.

Again, thank you for the tips as they are appreciated.

 

did the rise in temp come before or after radiator service? what was done with the radiator service, flush or fluid change or just simple check? be a very good idea to change thermostat

 

This^

I'm thinking maybe you got yourself an air bubble in the system to be honest. When the temp goes up, does it just stay at 235? Or does it continually go up from there? Its possible your coolant temp sensor got knocked around and is just throwing your readings off also.

 

Craby, can't say for sure, but I want to say afterwards. It was a complete system flush. The radiator was pressure tested for leaks (none) and put on a rack to see if there was any leakage underneath (none).

Temp goes up to about 235 and stays right about that point. Maybe slightly above or slightly below, but always very, very close to that number. Oil pressure? Same thing, always at or very close to 20.

In any event, I will check the thermostat. Funny, I thought that at first as well, but second guessed myself because I am not a "gearhead." <---I say that with the utmost respect, by the way!

 

the flush may have knocked some crud lose and it has pluged the radiator, could be some crud came lose and effected the thermostat, could have air pocket.

 

Well, I take it in later this week, so I guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

OK, so I got it back from my mechanic today. He changed the thermostat, drove it extensively afterwards, and found the temps are now closer to 210, oil pressure above 20. I drove it home and found it to be about the same, so it appears to have been something mild.

So now the question becomes, "Do I keep her?" This...is my family car. The Solstice GXP is the "fun ride." If I do keep her, I think tires are next. If I decide again to try and sell, I would likely post here first. I'd rather see someone who really loves these cars get their chance to get their hands on one that doesn't need too much. Decisions, decisions.