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Hello!
So I have a 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue with about 190k miles. It currently has an overheating problem but first I’ll discuss some history:
-It had a previous overheating problem a few months ago that was accompanied by bubbling sounds. We diagnosed this as boiling coolant because the system was not pressurizing due to a leak in the reservoir. We fixed the reservoir leak and pressure tested it to find that the leak was repaired. The bubbling noises stopped and the car no longer overheated.
-The car was then underheating nearly all the time. We diagnosed this as a broken thermostat, probably killed by the overheating that was caused by the leak in the reservoir. We replaced the thermostat and bled/burped the system and now the car does not underheat.Now the car operates around the half-temp mark and stays very regular except in traffic or parked in the driveway. So it overheats when it is idling. You can rev up the engine in these cases and see the temp gauge fall back down, so it is dependent on RPM only and not on the actual traveling speed of the car. Also at this time the car supplies nice heat to the cabin.
Things to exclude:
The electric fans seem to be working fine and they switch on and off supplying a good deal of wind.
The system was bled/burped.
The system has a new thermostat.
The system does not leak based on a pressure test.
The system has enough coolant.
The system supplies good heat to the cabin.My guess is that there is a clog/general grossness inside the system someplace or that the water pump is starting to fail, what do you think?
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see if this helps.When the fans do come on.does the temp decrease?
also do you have a scanner to read live data to read engine coolant
temp? You could have a clogged radiator.The fans coming on doesn’t seem to affect the temp. I don’t have a live data reader but I may be able to rent one from an O’Reilly nearby.
If it’s a clogged radiator, could I clean it out like Eric does to the heater core in one of his videos or does the radiator need replacing?
Cooling fan, radiator, thermostat, water pump, head gasket. Fan comes on ok. Thermostat new ok. Radiator, water pump, head gasket. Does the heater work, gets hot fast enough? Can verify coolant flow in the engine water pump ok. Head gasket, radiator. Get harder to eliminate. Do the cooling fans throw hot air? Just kind of warm air would indicate low flow in the radiator. Head gasket seek a professional technician
[quote=”KRA2008″ post=57753]The fans coming on doesn’t seem to affect the temp. I don’t have a live data reader but I may be able to rent one from an O’Reilly nearby.
If it’s a clogged radiator, could I clean it out like Eric does to the heater core in one of his videos or does the radiator need replacing?[/quote]
What you could do is empty some of the coolant and look inside
for rust or calcium build up.You could try to clean it.If you go
that route.disconnect the top and lower radiator hoses. Try flushing
the radiator itself.Don’t want to push any junk further in the engine.
If you do find build up.cap off the bottom of the radiator with a plastic
bag and tape to seal the end.Then use clr to fill it and soak it.So I flushed out the whole system really well with hose water and plugged both ends of the radiator with it full of CLR. Then I rinsed all that out and gave it all new coolant. I also went ahead and replaced the reservoir tank that I mentioned having repaired the leak on because it turned out the repair wasn’t holding. I also went ahead and replaced the cap. I also noticed the coolant level sensor on the old tank was probably shot. Now everything is nice. Total cost $75.
I cleaned it out and now we’re great. I had a better time plugging the radiator ends though by wrapping a paper towel ball in plastic wrap and stuffing it in both ends like a cork.
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