hi. 98 chevy venture (held together with glue and duct tape) had eng lt come on-shot code fuel too rich(?)- has appeared to be running hot-guage will climb half way and i can smell a little bit like its running hot-checkd fluids-radiator level ok, ovrflw level ok-coolant itself looks ok just has that smell of overheating.. no obvious leaks around or under-(this may be possibly related) end of cold weather (april?) heard loud rattle when heater is off-if ac or def is on the sound goes away-so i run with the ac on, on low and the sound is gone- if everything is off or htr is on body or body/flr the sound is on-had serpentine belt replaced about same time in april but im pretty sure the sound was before- i have checked and listened and checked and cannot pinpoint where the sound might be coming from- as close as i can get would be around where the serp belt was replaced, but all looks good there.. (so.. hope this wasnt too blonde of a question) please share some advice... i am definately no mechanic, but i sure can try to muttle thru with alot of things... thanks so much for your time.... twyla

the rattle could be as simple as the a/c clutch plate too close to the a/c compreesor pulley and when the a/c is off it is being touch by the pulley just enough to cause the rattle sound.when you turn on the a/c the clutch is engaged and the rattle goes away. if the temp gauge is staying around the 1/4 mark on the highway and goes to the 1/2 mark or just a little above the 1/2 mark at a stop or while idling parked. this is normal for these vans.do you notice any steam coming up by the windshield wipers when stopped ? if so then one of the heater hoses has a pinhole in it as g.m. used onion wrap to keep the heater hoses from rubbing together.problem is when the thin onion wrap wears thru then the hoses rub together.

rockwood84 ... thank you for your post... ive been waiting like a teenager for a phone call for someone to reply.... i feel like your probably right on the ac rattle... so ill check that today.... if your up to it, a question re the temperature problem.... the rise and slight smell is relatively new (about 1mth now).. it never gets above a half... but she smells hot... (past experiences with previous vehicles over the years).. no steam or condensation on anything, i tried looking for a leak and didnt notice anything and the levels seem about the same... do you think i should just let it go and keep an eye on things... i mean it is a 98 with 170,000 on it... cant really afford to lose it right now... no dollars u know.... open to all suggestions..... thanks so much for your time..... twyla

if you not loosing any coolant and at idle or stopped at a redlight it does not go up much past 1/2 on the temp gauge[ if running a/c it will go in between 1/2 and 3/4 before the fans get it back to 1/2. one other thing that the smell could be is there is an "o" ring on the heater hose that goes back to the intake its hard to see it as its on the intake below the throttle body it will drip in the intake valley or down by the t-stat .if its a small drip then you won't notice the coolant lose and you will get the hot smell.take a flashlight and shine at the end of the intake valley behind the t-stat and see if you see any coolant.this could be what is causing the smell. if you don't see any coolant then i would just drive it.