93 ga 4cyl sohc getting hot alot

Not completely overheating, but getting up to the line just before overheating mainly while idling. Any suggestions? And if the thermostat is mentioned, is it under the engine(I saw something in another thread)?

Thanks in advance!

could be the head gasket. you have enough coolant? if you just sit and idle will it accually overheat, or does it just stay right below the red line? your fans should kick in when it gets in the red. also some gauges are just off by a few degrees and may read high or low. good Luck

The fan should be kicking in around 210 or so, if you are getting to the redline when it idles, what does it do when you are driving it? If its running normal when driving you might have a partial blockage in the radiator as higher revs will put more pressure into the cooling system. You also might have air in the system as well, or a bad thermostat (have fun changing that one, 94-95 quads its really on the back bottom of the motor).

I recently replaced the lower radiator hose(it had many ends). It shows being full, and has no place to bleed it. My wife is the one who is telling me about it, so I need to drive it to answer your replies. I'll get back to you.

And thanks for the quick responses. Great people here. This is the only place on the net I go for car information.

The easiest way to bleed it is to let it idle with the pressure cap off, watch the temp gauge so you know when the thermostat is going to open. Keep an eye on the coolant level and be prepared to put some in. Another thing, if you can't seem to get the air out and it keeps getting hot, check your heater core for flow. It's one of GM's half baked designs, coolant goes from the water outlet through the heater core then to the thermostat, a design i'm not very impressed with. If your heater core clogs, no circulation to the thermostat.

Now thats a good tip. I'll try that.

You mentioned you just replaced the lower radiator hose, was it doing this before the change? If not i'd bet you have an air pocket in the motor somewhere, just got to run it out with the cap off the overflow.

Anyone else hate that you don't have a regular radiator cap? How do you pressure test it? lucky for me after my motor rebuild everything was ok, but it had me worried, I usually test them before I put coolant in.

You can test them. Pull the tank, plug 2 of the hoses, attach the third to an air source with a gauge, fill the tank cap it and slowly add pressure to it. It should start to push out water around 15psi.

Not completely overheating, but getting up to the line just before overheating mainly while idling. Any suggestions? And if the thermostat is mentioned, is it under the engine(I saw something in another thread)?

Thanks in advance!


I replaced my thermostat a few times in the last 2 years, the thermostat right next to the throttle body below the power steering pump...a real pain in the ass to get to because the breather assembly. but mine did that for awhile and then stopped....i just drove it for awhile and checked the fluid everyday. must have been air.