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LADY NEEDS HELP

L

LauraK13

I recently acquired a '81 TA with the 4.9 Turbo. In a conversation with a past owner, I was informed that the car will constantly overheat. Has anyone had or heard of this being a problem, and if so, what is a solution?
 
Well I dont know if these cars were plauged with this issue or not. I would look into the basics and see what you find. Inspect the rad for good condition.....make sure the cooling fins arent all bent over from road debris. The thermostat could be stuck also and wouldnt hurt to be changed anyway. The water pump and hoses would be the next thing I would look into. Does it run good other than the overheating?


Tys
 
this site is mainly about 89 Turbo Trans Ams but there are still a lot of people on here that can help with 80-81 Turbo TAs too. Mr.Turbota is probably one of the best 80-81 representatives on here and I'm sure he'll post with some help once he's back on since he's been into them for a long time. Another place that you might want to try looking at is www.transamcountry.com there's a lot of the earlier turbo trans am guys on that site and you could use it as another resource.
 
Duratys said:
Well I dont know if these cars were plauged with this issue or not. I would look into the basics and see what you find. Inspect the rad for good condition.....make sure the cooling fins arent all bent over from road debris. The thermostat could be stuck also and wouldnt hurt to be changed anyway. The water pump and hoses would be the next thing I would look into. Does it run good other than the overheating?


Tys
Click to expand...

Some good first steps there. My 81 runs pretty cold and will rarely get over 180 unless it's 90 degrees or warmer outside.

The thermostat and cap are easy fixes. Also inspect the fluid in the rad. Sometimes low mileage cars get oil changes done regularly but the coolant gets overlooked.
 
It shouldn't overheat, but they do run hot.
When you say overheat, over 220 degrees?
Water spilling out?
The needle in the red?
Besides what they told you above, I would also check the fan clutch.
Also, check the timing, the plugs, and the level of the oil and level of the water, as well as a mix of the two together (which would be a blown head gasket).
Hopefully you can fix it cheap.

:beach:
 
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