Mystery overheating problem please help!

[Camaroingfool]

ok I have a mystery problem, that involves overheating. For the past month or so I have been having trouble with my engine running too hot, its not redlining, its halfway between 195 and redlining, it goes there and boils, and goes to the overflow tank and steams and overflows all over the battery and that area. so i did a radiator flush, got a new 18lbs radiator cap, and i made sure that my ratio of water to coolant was correct, also i bleeded off the air, but it still boils and runs too hott. Im not sure if its getting hot enough to turn on the fans, so i dont know if they work, i have a leak in my a/c lines so i cant turn on the ac to see if it works. I have replaced one of the coolant fan relays. could i need a new radiator, or waterpump, or is it something simple. please help I'm running out of patience and money:mad: . any ideas would be a great help.

[MAROA4L32]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

start by checking your theromostat it could be stuck closed

[Camaroingfool]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

well I just replaced my intake manifolds, so i replaced it with a 180, and had this problem and so i then put a new 195 back in it, and it didnt change anything. i mean it may be, but I've watched the temp gauge and seen it kick in

[MAROA4L32]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

idk then i had an over heating problem when i was running way above 260 i had to replace my water pump and thermostat have you replaced the water pump?

[Camaroingfool]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

no i havent, I was told it had been replaced not to long before i bought the car, like aobut 9000 miles ago, but my source was not totally truthful about other things on my car so i may have to. how hard of a job is that to do myself, and is there anyway to tell if it is the water pump for sure?

[MAROA4L32]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

is it a 3.4 or a 3.8?

[96greenmachine]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

water pumps usaully leak if there bad usaully a hole leaks

[slow6]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

water pumps usaully leak if there bad usaully a hole leaks

not always
the turbine fins or whatever can get corroded off like mine did
(depends on what you put in your cooling system)

[Camaroingfool]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

96 3.8, and i dont think I'm leaking anywhere, because it just steams and comes out of the overflow. I just went and bleeded out the air but yet again, and i unhooked the battery for about 30 minutes. thanks for your help guys, anything else you have to contribute would be great. its just hard to look cool when you pull up somewhere with all this steam comin from under the hood. plus its probably hell on my paint. btw i put the green antifreeze in. if that matters.

[MAROA4L32]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

well i cant really tell you anything else i have a 3.4 and taking my water pump off was a b**** 11 bolts and 1 of them was under a huge braket that wraps around the front

[NOS2006]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

Green antifreeze? I think the Dexcool we're supposed to use is orange... Or am I wrong?

[Camaroingfool]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

your right, but my car was rebuilt and he put green in it, so thats all thats ever been in it since, that may be the problem though it may be gunked up with dexcool sludge, if thats the case then i would prolly need a new radiator right? or would a highpressure flush do the job?

[Sunset01SS]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

I had similar problems with my 96 3.8L. Are you getting a SES light?
Here's what I would do going from my past experience:
1. Make sure your electric fans work. Someone who knows what they are doing can bypass the relay to turn the fans on. You can hotwire it so the fans run constantly. I ran my car for 3 months that way until I could address the real issue.
2. Get a really good radiator flush. There's probably a good bit of old Dexcool sludge in there. My Dexcool was junk and I now use conventional as well.
3. Check your coolant level often. My intake gasket was leaking so I had no visible leaks but that's where I was losing coolant.
4. If none of the above helps then replace the water pump. I had to do that too.

Hope this helps.

[Camaroingfool]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

well I know my fans work, because i actually took them off and ran a current through them and they both worked fine, in fact i almost lost a finger haha, but anyways... yes i am throughing a code and I've had it checked, it was a code for my EGR spindle? and for a oxygen sensor bank one sensor one(which is prolly from my lame tuner exhaust) and thats it. Also i just recently about 1000 miles ago replaced my intake gaskets, so i know there not leaking, at least they shouldnt be, i mean the only place i leak is when it overflows. I'm gonig to take it to a shop and get a high pressure radiator flush, and get the parts i need to make a manual fan switch. hopefully that will help, if not then i guess i'll replace the water pump.

[SpeedingFirebird]

Re: Mystery overheating problem please help!

does it overheat only at idle or when going down the road too? Definitely check to make sure your fans are kicking on. You said they work, but if the temp sensor is bad, then they won't turn on.

If it happens while going down the road, you might have a clogged radiator. If it's only at idle, I would start with the fans.