intrigue overheating!

intriguehatesme · 04-27-2009, 06:40 PM

i cant figure out whats causing my intrigue to overheat. when i first got the car a few months ago if you were sitting with the heat on it would start to overheat but when you turned the heat off it would automatically cool down. now it overheats randomly, from what i can tell the water pump is working fine so i thought it was the thermo. i removed it to see if it would stop the problem and it didnt and i havent put it back in yet. im not losing water anywhere that i can see.

the car will drive fine for a day or 2 then decide it wants to overheat. it builds up a lot of pressure, seems like its more then it should build up to the point where all the hoses are so hard you cant squeeze them. if i open the resevoir and release the pressure the car will automatically cool down and is driveable again.

does anyone know what i should try to solve the problem or how to further troubleshoot so i can get this fixed? this is starting to get annoying. thanks!!!

dtownfb · 04-27-2009, 07:46 PM

First, what model year Intrigue do you have, what engine and miles? Has the coolant ever been changed?

I would make sure the coolant level is where it should be. It seems like you have a blockage in the cooling system. I have read about blockages in the heater core.

intriguehatesme · 04-27-2009, 08:31 PM

sorry, i have a 2001 with a 3.5 and around 130,000 on the clock. ive flushed the system and saw no blockages. i even unhooked the 2 hoses coming from the firewall and ran water and blew thru them to make sure the heater core wasnt blocked.

right now theres water in the system instead of coolant because i didnt want to waste $30 on dex-cool and the problem wasnt fixed.

droyalone · 04-28-2009, 06:44 PM

I had that problem a few years ago. I first flushed the fluid and got it all clean, still ran hot; then I changed the thermostat, still ran hot; then the waterpump, it got better, but still would get high; finally I just changed the radiator. Problem solved. There was gunk in the radiator that I couldn't flush out. I flushed it out twice, but I could not get all of the gunk out. It was just time for a new radiator I guess. Though it took changing out the entire coolant system. It didn't run hot anymore. With a set of extra eyes, it wasn't a bad project.

intriguehatesme · 04-28-2009, 06:54 PM

changing the radiator sounds easier then doing the head gaskets like people are telling me is the problem. i dont think its the head gaskets tho because there is no smoke, only a lil on the first start of the day but when it warms up there isnt any. and theres no water or coolant in the oil or it isnt burning oil.....this car has me confused.

EDIT: how do i tell if theres trash in the radiator? ive flushed it about 2-3 times now. and i love visiting warner robins, if the car wasnt giving me so many problems i would most likely drive down there in about 2 weeks instead of fly!

intriguehatesme · 04-29-2009, 03:33 PM

somebody please tell me something! some way to troubleshoot or some things to try. today the overheating got worse and this is really starting to piss me off!!! i hope im not going to have to just change out the whole coolant system. i hate this car!!!

LittleHoov · 04-29-2009, 05:51 PM

What exactly did you do to the water pump to determine that its working fine?

Water pump problems are not completely uncommon in the 3.5 I can think of a couple cases off the top of my head. The guy who had his pump fail in the middle of a road trip springs to mind.

Could be that your WP blades are shot to heck, or something like that.

Right now RockAuto has a limited supply of water pumps for 29.99 plus shipping.

If you want to order from RockAuto go to the last page of this thread:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/370308/ There you will find a discount code, its not much, but its better than nothing.

Im curious to know how you ran it without the thermostat in it as well, as its all one piece, and the thermostat itself didnt appear removable, but I could be mistaken.

If youre refusing to take it too a mechanic, then you dont have much of a choice but to start replacing things. People have had problems in the past with WPs, much moreso than radiators, couple that with the fact it was still overheating with the thermostat completely removed, sounds like a dying water pump to me.

At the very least you could pull your existing water pump off and see what it looks like, directions dont look terribly difficult, and its not like you have any coolant to lose since you filled up with water.

droyalone · 04-29-2009, 09:30 PM

I agree with LittleHoov. The water pump isn't expensive and it's better to shoot for those areas first. Me and my brother changed it in a matter of an hour. Mainly due to the tight fit of the engine. And trust me, I'm no mechanic, but with an extra set of eyes, we were able to nip it in the bud.

The gunk/sluggish material in my radiator was noticed on the radiator cap the most. I got some of it out after flushing it, but after I changed it out, we found a lot was still left in it.

droyalone · 04-29-2009, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intriguehatesme

changing the radiator sounds easier then doing the head gaskets like people are telling me is the problem. i dont think its the head gaskets tho because there is no smoke, only a lil on the first start of the day but when it warms up there isnt any. and theres no water or coolant in the oil or it isnt burning oil.....this car has me confused.

EDIT: how do i tell if theres trash in the radiator? ive flushed it about 2-3 times now. and i love visiting warner robins, if the car wasnt giving me so many problems i would most likely drive down there in about 2 weeks instead of fly!

It's great here, just hot as Hades!

intriguehatesme · 04-29-2009, 09:58 PM

someone looked at it for me and said the water pump was moving water fine. i dont know how they determined that but ill just take the water pump off tomorrow and see what the inside looks like and post a picture, hopefully this is the problem and its not anything more serious!

and yea it is great in warner robins, weather is better then detroits and liquor is cheaper lol. i love the scenery out there!

EDIT: anything else i should look for when i remove the water pump?

intriguehatesme · 06-05-2009, 12:20 AM

do i HAVE to use dexcool or regular coolant in my intrigue or can i use water?

Ruley73 · 06-05-2009, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intriguehatesme

do i HAVE to use dexcool or regular coolant in my intrigue or can i use water?

You could use regular green anti-freeze in it, but I would highly recommend NOT using the green stuff because the 3.5L is an all aluminum engine. I would just use the universal Prestone or Peak stuff. It's still an extended-life coolant but not as "bad" as Dexcool. All the bad talk against Dexcool is all hype IMO and it works just fine. The regular green stuff will build up electrolytes fairly quick if you leave it in there much longer than 50K miles or 3 years. Those electolytes really like to eat aluminum.

intriguehatesme · 06-05-2009, 11:17 AM

thanks ruley73, but what im really trying to ask is could it be the fact that im running water in my coolant system be the reason my car is overheating?

droyalone · 06-05-2009, 12:03 PM

Have you tried to change out the thermostat? Inexpensive troubleshooting suggestion.

Ruley73 · 06-05-2009, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intriguehatesme

thanks ruley73, but what im really trying to ask is could it be the fact that im running water in my coolant system be the reason my car is overheating?

If you are running just straight water in there right now that is definitely why it is overheating. Antifreeze lowers the freezing point, but also raises the boiling point. I would also have your coolant cap pressure tested or just replace it (cheap ~$5). The pressure the cap holds also raises the boiling point.

Water in liquid form can only reach 212*F under no pressure at sea level. However, steam (obviously this is vaporized water) can get as hot as the enviroment permits.

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