1997 Chevy Camaro Engine Stall

ORTEGATN

MEMBER
1997 CHEVROLET CAMARO
V8
2WD
MANUAL
97,000 MILES

I have just a 1997 camaro that I just purchased used. THe individual that I bought it from said it was missing the thermostat they could not tell me why. I was driving home for the first time last night and the car stalled out. I noticed that the Temparture gauge never got up to the proper temperature. I assume this is because of the missing thermastat. But at idle I noticed the temparature raised up to 180 degrees and while driving it droped dramatically, botoming out the gauge I beleive this is because of the air flow from the radiator. Also there was white smoke coming out of the heater vents fogging all of the windows. This I beleive is a leak in the heater core. But I am puzzled about the car stalling out. I have to drive down a hill with a 19% grade and on the way down is when it stalled. After a few minutes it would start again briefly and stall.

6 Replies

RACEFAN966

MECHANIC
5,029 POSTS

Ok first off you need to put in the correct thermostat (195 degree) and then we can do some testing. Also the smoke inside probably is the heater core so plan on replacing that too. We can't really do any testing with the thermostat missing as the sensors won't get to proper operating temp. Your mpg should be really low too because of the missing thermostat.

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Friday, November 20th, 2009 AT 10:24 AM

ORTEGATN

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4 POSTS

I have both the parts on order they should be here in a week. Thanks for your help

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Saturday, November 21st, 2009 AT 7:03 AM

RACEFAN966

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Ok once you get them in then see how it runs and if things still aren't normal then get back to me with what problems you are having and we will go from there.

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Saturday, November 21st, 2009 AT 8:41 AM

ORTEGATN

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I put in all of the new parts and there seems to be no problems with the cooling. But it is still stalling. If I try to start it right away it wont start. If I wait a for a while it will start like normal. I replaced to battery and the car runs is still stalling. It was a gel type battery when I replaced it the voltage gauge read 15 volts. It drops to 13 volts after running for about a half hour, this is about the time it will stall out. The car will restart right away since I replaced the battery.

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Monday, December 7th, 2009 AT 10:21 AM

RACEFAN966

MECHANIC
5,029 POSTS

Ok so tell me how old is the fuel filter? I would like you ohm the coolant temp sensor too if you would. Just simply unplug it and ohm it and do this when the car is cold. Then get back to me with the ohms and the air temp at the the time.