Hey all I am new to this site. My 3.1 Grand Prix was overheating and I got suspicious that it might be a problem with the head. After having the head was inspected by a accurate engines they determined that it was one of the heads was bad. I had them cleaned and calibrated and also cleaned my upper and lower intakes. I got a new head gasket kit, water pump, thermostat, vacumn tubes etc.... I put it back together yesterday in the freezing cold and after getting it running again I got a stuck lifter type noise. Not quite sure if it is a bad plug or crossed wire and the temp guage still maxed out. I also replaced the temp sensors i am not quite sure what is happening with the temp whether it is electrical or not also my oil light never seems to go off..
any ideas
thanks for the input

Did you purge the air from the cooling system when you finished your repairs - air locks can cause the maxed out temp. gauge.

They are hydraulic lifters, and some noise from them is usual after a long time sitting.

After warming the engine for to operating temp it still made the noise. Althought the engine sat for about 3 weeks during the repair period.

What about determining if I have a faulty temp guage?

Does the gauge start low & increase until maxed, or does it pin immediatly ?

Has the air been purged ???

Any heat inside when the gauge is maxed ?

Yah the guage starts out low and then maxes out.


The air has been purged.

The heat is still rather faint.

From the symptoms, I don't suspect the gauge.

My money was on an airlock - seems like something is blocking the flow.

I ll give it another try,

Any tips on purging the air from the system would be helpful

thanks again

This came from one of the GM sites.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/kustomkid54/CaptureWiz002.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/kustomkid54/logo9.jpg

Your 3.1 liter should have an air bleader screw were the heater core pipe comes out of the top of the water pump (front of the motor passenger side.)

Wait for the system to build up pressure, with the rad cap on, then loosen the bleeder screw but do not remove it, wait until only a steady stream of coolant comes out, close the bleeder and repeat until all air has been purged.