OT - Camaro LT1 cooling / durability question

A friend was checking out a '97 Camaro this week that had the water pump
leaking a lot. Apparently, it was really low on coolant, so that it wasn't
leaking when he looked.

I don't have the experience with the LT1 engine so I can't remember if these
are aluminum in the Camaro or not. His concern was not that the pump
leaked, as we seem to know how that goes with the C4 Corvettes, but as to
how susceptible the engine is to damage since he has no idea how long it has
been low on coolant, how long it is leaking, and so on.

He also thought the leaking pump did a number on the OptiSpark so was
surprised it was still running ok.

He said the coolant was brown and looked like there was a thickness to it.
Another guy with him was thinking oil, as there was an oil/grey appearance,
but then he thought it might be a lot of stop leak instead.

Any thoughts to pass onto him?

Tom, I think your friend should pass on this car quite frankly ; if
the seller isnt disclosing what the problem is with it , then, it is
not the kind of car that is wise to buy. There are tons of late 90's
Camaros for sale and his money would be better spent on something
'cleaner' than what hes presently considering.

It's an auction car. In those cases, there are no histories with them, so
you have to decide based on what you can determine. He is like me, not as
familiar with the LT1 as the old standard small block. If it were an '78
small block, there would be no hassle. even overheated severely, it will
run and either begin showing things like oil consumption (bad rings, scored
cylinders) pretty quickly, not run at all (obvious in an inspection), or run
until you are tired of it.

He is more interested in how to check the next one and how to determine
good/bad on that as opposed to this one. This one is gone.

"Dave in Lake Villa" > wrote in message
...
> Tom, I think your friend should pass on this car quite frankly ; if
> the seller isnt disclosing what the problem is with it , then, it is
> not the kind of car that is wise to buy. There are tons of late 90's
> Camaros for sale and his money would be better spent on something
> 'cleaner' than what hes presently considering.
>