Hi all -
I just picked up a 72k-mile '03 GTP. It runs and drives great. The previous owner replaced a ton of parts in September of last year, including valve cover gaskets, oil pan gasket, coolant temp sender and thermostat. So, I have a couple of questions.
1) I smell oil. It's not leaving puddles, or even a drop on the ground. It's not enough to smoke either but I can smell it. Are valve covers a common place to leak? Or could it be somewhere else. Wherever it is, it must be leaking onto the hot exhaust.
2) According to the gauge, it's running cool. It's midway between 160 and 210, which I calculate to be around 185 degrees. I looked up the part number for the thermostat and it's 195. It gets a bit warmer if we let it idle for a long time in the driveway, and the fan kicks on like it should. The heat is hot enough. Coolant in the overflow tank is a bit low, but not alarmingly so. I plan to top it off later today - I'm letting it cool down now so I can make sure there's actually coolant in the radiator. I assume there is since I have heat. Is 195 the stock thermostat temp? Are the gauges accurate? Where should the needle be sitting?
Having owned a few GM products from the early-2000s, I'm not surprised by some of the other quirky things with it. Overall it's in awesome shape and actually rides nicer than my 2017 Charger.
Thanks!