quikcam

I got my first z saturday. I traded my 05 yamaha raptor 660 for a 94 z28 A4. I love it. I have a few questions. It doesn't feel like the torque converter is locking for overdrive. When I give it some gas to speed up the rpms move more than I think they should if it were in OD. That's at 60 mph. At 60 mph it turns around 2k rpms. It does shift into all 4 gears. If I drop it down to D the rpms increase. At what temp does the cooling fan turn on? At idle the temp will get almost to the redline before the fan will turn on. The oil pressure gauge fluctuates but never goes under 40lbs at cruising speed. The oil level is good. Could it be a sending unit? Thanks in advance.

That Camaro Guy

Welcome!

In OD going 60mph if you tap the gas, the RPMs should not move at all unless the car speeds up, a locking torque converter behaves like a manual transmission when the converter is locked.

Your temp gauge should never be near the red line, ever. There are two radiator fans, the fans should come on around 210 ish or any time the air conditioning is on. Try turning on your AC and see if the fans come on, possibly a dead fan or dead relay. There are two different temp sensors, one for the gauge on the side of the head and one for the computer on the front of the water pump. That front one tells the computer when to do a number of things, it's possible that one is toast also :dunno: Did you check your coolant level?

Oil pressure indication fluctuations are common with these cars, I wouldn't worry about it as long as you have oil in it.

Ekof96Z28

Fan temp is typically 200-220 I think. Shouldnt be anywhere near the red. Perhaps a bad fan switch or sender of some kind?

I'd try the sending unit. They tend to wear out with age.

Congrats on joining the F-body family. Hope you enjoy the car.

quikcam

Thanks for the responses. I haven't checked the coolant level but I'll make sure to do that in the morning. The a/c quit working about a month ago and i believe he told me that the 2nd fan won't come on at all. I'll check that too. What can I do to check the torque converter to see if it's locking?

That Camaro Guy

If your RPMs jump when you tap the gas while cruising above 45mph the torque converter is not locking up. The stock PCM is set to lock up the torque converter above 45mph if I remember correctly. Poor mpg on highway trips would be a result and your tranny could get hot from the slippage at higher speeds.

quikcam

What can be done to fix the overdrive problem I'm having? Could it be a shift solenoid gone bad or the torque converter has gone bad?

93FIRETURD

The cooling fans turn on at 226 and only if you are moving under 30 mph. You can pick up a new TCC Lockup Solenoid at your local NAPA for relatively cheap but you can test yours first by splicing into the wires and supplying power to it if the solenoid clicks it should be ok if not you know that is bad.

PS you will have to cut the wires to get the solenoid out to replace so cutting the wires won't hurt anything.

quikcam

Where is the lockup solenoid located? When I turned the A/C on I heard the fan turn on and the coolant level is good. So I guess I'll replace the temp sensor on the front of the engine and see if that works. One more question. What grade (octane) fuel should I be running. It didn't come with an owners manual so I can't look there. It is a stock engine.

93FIRETURD

The lockup solenoid is inside the tranny pan all you have to do is lift the car up take the bolts out of the pan and ther will be two 10mm bolts holding the solenoid in, it is at the front of the trans(engine side being the front) you will want to get a new trans filter and some fluid too but that is a very likely cause. 87 octane will do just fine for the car good luck.

94zgreenmachine

GM recommends 91 octane

SnakeSkinner28

No way would i use anything less then 91, you will hurt the cars performance by doing so.

93FIRETURD

Oops sorry i was under the impression that 87 would suffice, I honestley use 89 with decked heads and feel no difference in performance between 89 and 93 must be my rings sorry for the misinformation.

quikcam

Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and put 93 in it because I knew it wouldn't hurt. I guess I'll be running that from now on.