BlackLT1_TX

Well, on my way to college today I get 90% to the school, and I decide to pull into a gas station and pick up some smokes. Everything was fine on the way, 180* with the A/C on, been driving for 20 minutes. Get back into the car after I got my smokes and the gauge is heading up fast. I kill it and find that its got a good leak going, coming from the middle of the radiator down the fan shroud, onto the ground.

I have my mother who works at a police station nearby bring me what tools she could find (a flathead and some pliers), and I get the radiator out in the gas station parking lot. Sure enough, its the source of the leak.

I bring it back to where I live (20 mins away) in my moms car to my buddies radiator/muffler shop. He looks at the core and tells me that he could fix it, but that he wouldnt suggest it being that the rest of it doesnt look good. I figured that I only want to be stranded once, so I opted for a new one. O'Reillys and Autozone both couldnt get it to me today, and neither could give me a definitive answer of when I could get it. We found one of his wholesalers who had it for $180 and have it there by that afternoon. I ordered it and drove back to school for my last class (business calc) because we had a quiz in there.

After I get out of that class, I return to where I live, pick up the radiator, and back to the gas station that my car has been at all day. I put in the new radiator, purge the system, and I am on my way. After about 5 mins, I noticed my speedo and tach jumped around a few times under load, and I had also noticed this on the way to school this morning very slightly (that was before I found the leak). The engine doesnt seem to respond to what the gauges are doing.

I am figuring that its either the alternator was getting wet and causing some weird readings, or something around the coil got messed up. I just took a 10 minute drive and it didnt do it, but still, I want to figure it out.

Thanks,
James

All this driving at 3.19 a gallon. Thank god it didnt happen tomorrow

96LT1TX

im not sure where your leak was but if you got coolant on your opti you will feel some crazy things happen... I see its a 95, is that a vented or unvented opti?
when you come to a stoplight does it idle low in neutral? does it reve sporadically fast at weird timing? pull the plugs off the opti if this persists and make sure there is no coolant in the plugs... can get stuck in the boot I have found.

Z95m6

If your gauges are jumping around then its probably ignition switch related.

blaze309

That sucks, but atleast you caught it before it headed on up to 260.

BlackLT1_TX

It is a vented opti (95 was the switch). Nothing looked soaked at all, I mean, it didnt soak the waterpump housing, nor the throttle body. Most of the moisture was on the sway bar that I saw. I searched and found that it looks like most of these gauge problems end up being ignition switch related. I guess both of these issues came out the same day then. I know for a fact that it happend before I noticed the leak, and I really disagree with my buddy at the radiator shop, as he said that it must have been leaking for a while. I have NEVER seen a drop of anything under my car, and it is always parked in a garage. Not to mention that it has never overheated in 100+ degree weather the past few days with the A/C on in traffic, and I doubt it could do that if it were leaking.

Also, it doesnt idle low, feel low on power, just freaks out randomly, tends to be under load, like picking up speed in 6th at 60mph, it will jump to like 70, or go down in large (5mph) increments, then always goes back when I let off.

Any idea as to why I havent had any hard starting or anything? Anyway to test the switch?

Z95m6

The switch only cost $10 from your local autoparts store. If you tear your car apart you might as well just replace it.