okay so the problem is that my moms 99 lumina is overheating during normal driving. what its doing is running the temp about 3/4 of the up the gauge and not producing any heat through the heater core. it will sit here for a small amount of time then suddenly drop to a normal temperature before climbing again slowly.
now i thought it was the thermostat so i replaced that and it was a major PITA! its just about impossible to get the housing off and on. that didnt change anything so i did the water pump next which was easy as can be but it didnt help.
the only other thing i can think of is that im not getting all of the air out of the system. so can someone give me a run down of the proper bleeding procedure?
so i need some help diagnosing the problem because im lost.
well i know for sure that the intake gasket isnt leaking. the car had both of the head gaskets replaced and intake mani gasket replaced about 2 years ago. :)
I found that my car goes hot/cold on the gauge when I don’t bleed the air out of the coolant after a coolant change. Does the system have a bleed valve somewhere on it and did you continue to fill the radiator with it open until coolant comes out of the bleeder? The Haynes manual for this particular car could be helpful here (visit the autoparts store and have a look?) - I am not that familiar with the 3.1. On my Firebird’s LT1 cooling system, there is a brass screw on neck/thermostat housing that you crack open while running the engine and filling through the radiator cap.
It it also possible that there is a blockage in the radiator, but I doubt it. Just another possibility.
i have a factory service manual and a haynes for the car. it does have a bleeder screw on the thermostat housing. i bleed it the exact way you and the manual described but its still doing the same thing. im going to try re-bleeding the system in the next day or so because its the only thing i can think of as the problem.
fill up the reservoir and let it run hot for a while. it will eventually get all the air out if you tried it with the bleeder. the guy i work with is having the same problem… he has gone thru everything that you did. (his is a 3.1 baretta) t-stat then water pump then he accidentilly broke the pet cock off the rad and replaced that. and fixed the selinoid on his fans.
didnt talk to him today to see if that worked for him. ill get back to you tomorrow
its definitely air in the cooling system. run the car with the heater on, shut it off, add more coolant once it cools back off in the radiator. keep the overflow bottle filled and within a week or so, the car should be back to normal
i tried exactly what you guys suggested to get the air out of the system. the car was running at a good temp. yesterday. i thought i finally chased this problem down and beat it.
well my mom just called me from work. the car overheated into the red on the temp. gauge so she stopped to let it cool off. she drove it the rest of the way to work with the gauge at 3/4 again. on her break she went to check the coolant in the radiator and to possible add some if need be. when she opened the hood there was coolant everywhere and her radiator was low.
im sick of this car, what the fuck is wrong with it? any ideas before we fork over the cash for a “real” mechanic? not that they will even know whats wrong with. i hate to let her take it to a shop but i think im all out of patience with it!
I have got bad thermostats from the parts store before. Take the thermostat out and run it like that for a while to eliminate that. Does it hold pressure at all in the cooling system? maybe something is fucked up in the heater core. :dunno:
I went through this with my sho. I got a bad thermostat from pep boys. fuckers
i tested the thermostat in some hot water before i installed it. it opened and seemed to work like it should. the cooling system is holding pressure to the best of my knowledge. i dont fuckin know. haha. im so frustrated over this!!
