My 2004 overheated coming back saturday night only mile and a half from home. Looked like a bad water pump. Had it towed to the shop. Found out it was the elbow hose that leads from the radiator to the engine. It got so hot it blew the head gasket, ruined the engine. Only 111,000 miles. Mechanic said its a poor design has plastic on both ends and they cracked. Only hope my extended warrenty has it covered. Anybody had this happen to them? This sucks.

 

So the whole time that was what was wrong? A leaky or rotten hose? Man I'd sell it. Idk unless I could get a brand new engine for it and I don't mean rebuilt or remanufactured. I love Monte's but its not a classic car like a Camaro or Corvette it's a front wheel drive v6. At some point you have to decide how much cash your willing to pump into something that really isn't the most badass car to begin with Camaro, Vette etc...

 

That's a common issue on these 3800 motors...

Its not blown/ruined....

Its a matter of replaceing the elbows and replaceing (while its apart anyway) replace the upper and lower intake gaskets.(there plastic).. flush and fill along with a cpl oil changes and walla! Your back in business... those elbows generally fail somewhere between 80 to 140,000 miles (That's normal)... Its a design flaw by GM... and should be covered by your extended warranty... Im guessing you knew the motor had a leak(cooling system) and ran it low on coolant... or couldn't find where the leak was...and didn't keep the level at operational..

Either way... It should be back up and running in no time.

 

It's impossible to make that call without inspection and testing. Low/No coolant, high ambient temp and load on the engine will all promote warping. I have rebuilt numerous heads that warped because coolant was lost while driving. It only takes one hot spot to warp the head. Any time you lose coolant there is the possibility of engine damage.

 

Mike that's so very true....

When mine blew..I was on the freeway....so I got off stopped at Advance auto..picked up a cpl gallons of anti freeze and made it home....The next day....went to start it and it was hydro locked.... tore it down....pumped all the fluids out ...(anti freeze and oil) ... changed out all the upper/lower intake gaskets...elbows.... flushed the cooling system....added fresh coolant.... along with oil and filter.... and Walla! Its been trouble free since! A few days later I went to my regular oil change joint and did my usual 3 month 3000 mile oil change.... That was almost 2 yrs ago that I had that issue and I still have no problems.... That happened with 111,000 miles on it... Im at 165,000 now and its still a non issue....
So, anythings possible... besides.... He has an extended warranty...
So he should be fine!
Thanks for your input!

 

You're talking about the plastic side tanks on the radiator??? Good luck finding a modern car without plastic side tanks. Most cars run those these days.

But to be honest, my experience with GM factory radiators is that as long as you flush the coolant, they last a long time. In all the ones I have ever seen fail, it develops a crack in the side tank (normally the upper left/driver side).

From my knowledge of overheats, it sounds like the most costly damage could have been avoided by watching your temp gauge (pending it was working). If the water pump seized the belt should have made lots of noise and the temp would rise. If the pump was leaking, you would loose coolant and loss of coolant equals higher operating temps.

My advice to people is LEARN what your car should operate at so you can hopefully detect a failure ahead of time.

 

Come on, you can't call a car a "classic" just because it's a Camaro, Mustang, etc. Any vehicle can be a classic someday if it makes it to that point. A 2013 Camaro is NOT a classic just because it's a Camaro.

 

I had this exactly happen to me except when mine overheated it didnt blow my head gasket. In fact the motor was perfectly fine after adding water and replacig the elbow. This was a 3.8 in a 97 camaro. Dont have it anymore but its still running.

 

Even better i make it a routine to check all my fluids. It shouldve been leaking and i wouldve noticed my coolant getting low. Also my SS pops on a light when the coolant gets low as well.

 

Its not necessarily a certain body type that makes a "Classic" car?
Any vehicle 15 yrs and up is considered a "Classic". Regardless of Make or Model.... Someone needs to get there facts straight about what makes a vehicle a "Classic".