hello fellas

02' SS

when i drive her the temperature needle stands up str8 and erect (is that the normal)
but when the a/c is turned on, it over heats like no tomorrow...but, when im in the highway with the a/c the temperature is great it even less than when im driving around with out an ac and the a/c is freezing cold...i cant enjoy it though if im on the street driving

any ideas on what it could be, i checked both fans..they work
took out my thermostat it made no difference
someone told me i need a radiator probably?

another thing is i need a new cluster i seen on car-parts.com
used junkyard site...i seen one with a good price but the mileage on it was 35k more than mine, will the mileage read the cluster ? if so i don't want to do that
thanks

 

First, to my knowledge a cluster swap requires a little more work then simple plug-in-play (but please, don't quote me on that, as I have not had to do my homework on it and could be wrong).

As for the temp, I don't typically ride with the A/C on (I like sun roof open and windows down 99% of the time). But, I think temp needle, street and highway, rides near the center mark (I think 200 or 220), it's usually a dash or two to the cooler side of the center mark.

Keep in mind, on city streets, any car is going to run warmer then on the highway (on the highway, there is CONSTANT air movement helping to cool the engine).

I think the best first think to do is ensure you have the proper amount of coolant in the car (if you are low on coolant, it may not cause an "overheat", but the car may run hotter as a result). If you keep loosing coolant, the next idea would be where.

FYI - I have a friend with a '98 Camaro running a 3800 v6. Her boyfriend, I and a couple others changed the headgaskets on her car as the final thought in a "running hot" problem (found the intake gaskets were bad, so it was not a waste of time). There was a LOT of diagnostics prior to ripping the heads off. End result, the gauge is not displaying the proper temp (the car is actually running fine). I don't recall how that was finally determined.....

 

I think you could have the cluster reprogrammed by the dealer to display the proper mileage. (how much it would cost, I have no idea).

Being you need a new cluster, its possible that you problem is just a bad cluster/ temp gauge.

Then again, its very common on the 3800 to have intake gasket issues. Its possible you have a leaking intake gasket that needs to be replaced.

 

well i checked the intake gasket just before i read this lol and it looks like a have a leak....thanks to these no good mechanics i took it to 3 different shops they all said radiator but now i see the reall issue is in the intake....but do u guys think the highway cooling plays a factor with the intake? and i came to realize all this got worse after i installed the k&n intake i dont see how tho...anyone now how much approx this kinda job cost? or a good site to buy the gasket im thinking about doing it on my own it looks like a nice lil job but its rite there on the top lol 2-3hrs tops?!!!
thanks fellas