Hey, guys, I have this problem with my 74 Nova.. Every time I drive the car for about five minutes, the Temp engine light lights up and then the car starts to jerk a little.. At first I thought it might be my bottom radiator hose leaking, but it's not.. I thought it might be the thermostat... I'm not so sure what it could be.. I can still continue to drive it.. The light keeps popping up every now and then.. Last night when I as coming home the light flashed up again and then when I turned the car off I can see a little steam coming from the engine.. I'm sure I have an oil leak as well.. The coolant and water levels are fine, but I can't to the root of the problem.. Help would be kindly appreciated, guys.. Sorry if the description of the problem is a bit vague... Thanks!

I think my timing my be off as well.. Everytime I shut off the car the car starts to shake for about a good 20 seconds and then it dies out.. To top all of that I have to replace my rear driver side wheel studs.. It broke off.. I love the car, but I'm having a few minor problems.. I'm sure you all dealt with these problems before.. LOL! Thanks!

Adam

there's not a ton of info to go with here as far as diagnosis goes, so in all reality the best thing to do first is to get the timing issue taken care of ;) that would probably take care of the run-on situation... the temp light issue, if water level is good and it's not overheating could possible be the switch... hard to say though until you check actual temp of engine with a guage.


hope i helped in some small way, check these items out and report back with findings...


Johnny

Thanks Johnny, I will have to do that... I'll give you guys more info probably later on tonight after I get off of work.. Yes, I'm going to have to drive the car.. It's my only car right now:(... I should be fine though.. I will have to get that timing issue fix and the wheel stud, it's killing me guys... Thanks, Johnny!

Adam

Remove the pressure cap. If your car is over heating you should notice the fluid boiling out as you drive (which means it is undriveable). If the car is not over heating and the sending unit actually is defective the coolant should stay in he radiator as the temp will be below the boiling point of the coolant (plain water boils at 212° F at sea level, and a 50/50 mix should be good up to 240° F before it begins to boil).

If you have been driving around with the car surging and running on because of an overheating issue you may have some additional serious problems; more so than just the cooling system failure (could be a collapsed lower radiator hose, clogged radiator, a stuck closed thermostat (which would be my prime suspect), or issues with a defective thermal couple clutch fan, belts slipping, etc.).

Big Dave

Thanks guys I got the situation under control.. It was the thermostat.. Now I have to deal with a broken wheel stud.. Thanks guys again!

Adam