over heating

:banghead: Ok Hi every One I have a 2000 intrigue,what a way to start off the year ! over heating and broke a brake line in the driveway! My temp gauge hit the bell and the idiot lite came on mmmmmmmm! my first thought was thermostat no $40.00 later no it didnt work,it still gets hot! could it be water pump,radiator. any ideas ?

thanks Bob

obviously if it were the water pump you can see if flowing or not in the resivour or radiator(if it has a cap).

Same with the radiator being clogged, does your coolant look like swamp water with foamy action?

Have you done a pressure test on the cooling system?

You might try a flush with some cleaners like preston flush.

ok thank you for the suggestions, very helpful

I have heard a broken Catalytic Converter can cause some over heating issues. Someone else on here might want to verify this for me. Just another thought.

Sounds like a thermostat, but if you have replaced it, I'm not sure. Could there be air in the system? Water pump would be leaking bad or you should hear it if it were worn out.

Let us know if you figure it out. We would love to hear.

ok all thanks for the input. today I discovered the lower radiator hose is cold upper is hot,plenty of heat in the car??? This is killin me iam startin to think radiator clogged???

This is pump 99.99%. Could be just pump belt on some engines, not sure about yours.

ok all thanks for the input. today I discovered the lower radiator hose is cold upper is hot,plenty of heat in the car??? This is killin me iam startin to think radiator clogged???

Was this after a 15-20 min warm up,
or just a couple minutes?

If it didnt have time to warm completly ,
then the thermostat probly didnt have time to open and circulate through the lower hose.

The heater core gets the quick heat from the recirculator tube that by passes the thermostat/engine.

If your waterpumps bad then it should be dripping from the weep holes in the bottom. Or it would be making a squeeling noise.

So when you put in the thermostat did you put in correctly?

has this overheating issue ever happened before? -and did it only happen in the wintertime? Does your car get hotter in the Winter than the Summer on the temp guage?

Subject:
Higher Than Normal Temperature Gauge Reading or Overheat Condition in Cold Weather (Install Enhanced Thermostat)
Models:
2001 Oldsmobile Aurora
1999-2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue
with 3.5 L Engine (VIN H - RPO LX5)
Condition

Some customers may comment that their vehicle displays a higher than normal temperature gauge reading or may overheat in cold weather. This will generally occur while idling or driving slowly in traffic during colder weather, usually less than 0°C (32°F), with the heater control set to maximum heat and fan speed. If all published diagnosis from the appropriate applicable service manual has been performed without success then an enhanced thermostat may need to be installed.

Cause

The engine thermostat may not provide adequate coolant flow.

Correction

Perform all published diagnostics from the appropriate Service Manual and any repairs that may be indicated. If these have been performed without success, then an enhanced thermostat should be installed. A thermostat with improved coolant flow has been developed for the 3.5 L engine applications listed above. For complete detailed instructions on the proper installation of this thermostat, refer to the appropriate applicable GM Service Manual.

the new thermostat is part #12570248

thanks everyone one for the input,I grabbed that hose after driving home from work 20 minutes or so

panzer dragoon, thankx for that TSB.

I would say get one of those Enhanced Thermostat :thumbsup:

whenever it gets cold I wait to see if the Intrigue over-heating issue comes up. = Very bizarre because you would think your car would be overheating in the summer.

When I changed out my 5-6 yr old Dex-Cool to universal my car ran noticeably cooler = was getting close to the 1/2 temp mark. -Now I'm way under it.

I believe the new thermostat is only for 3.5L s that are marginally overheating (1/2-3/4 mark). If your car is getting hotter than that something is drastically wrong = thermostat does not work at all or something else.

I would disconnect the battery overnight in order to reset the computer that runs the car. Maybe the timing is off because of a freak electrical surge.

Take out the thermostat and put it in a pot full of water on the stove. As the water gets to boiling, the thermostat should open.

Are you getting hot air from the heater?

Another possibility is that aluminium scale inside the engine water jacket is preventing the coolant from doing it job, i.e., the coolant can't circulate properly inside the engine. Solution: back flush the system.

Another possibility is that the engine was not properly vented and air is trapped inside the engine water jacket.

this over heating problem just started week ago. just out of the clear blue sky. It just got hot! went al the way in the red and the idiot light came on. I put a new thermostat/w housing in. before replacing the stat. I checked the hoses to see if the engine was cool enuff to work on. This is when I noticed the hose on the drivers side was Hot! and the one on the passenger side was cool so I just replaced the stat thinking this was the problem. The hose on the passenger side off of the stat housing to the radiator was still cool and this was after driving home from work 15 minute ride at highway speeds.Where is this so called bleeder nut bolt? maybe I'll try that before changing the pump.

this over heating problem just started week ago. just out of the clear blue sky. It just got hot! went al the way in the red and the idiot light came on. I put a new thermostat/w housing in. before replacing the stat. I checked the hoses to see if the engine was cool enuff to work on. This is when I noticed the hose on the drivers side was Hot! and the one on the passenger side was cool so I just replaced the stat thinking this was the problem. The hose on the passenger side off of the stat housing to the radiator was still cool and this was after driving home from work 15 minute ride at highway speeds.Where is this so called bleeder nut bolt? maybe I'll try that before changing the pump.Well I've come to find out after all the money wasted for water pump thermostat,and flushing, I have a bad head gasket. Thanks to all who contributed....Bob

Well I've come to find out after all the money wasted for water pump thermostat,and flushing, I have a bad head gasket. Thanks to all who contributed....Bob

Once the engine seriously overheats, the head gasket bolts pull up out of the aluminium block. I guess we will never know what caused the original overheating to occur.

Sorry to hear about it.

Many headaches later,for anyone interested after taking the car to a repair shop.The shop did a compression test shop found one low cylinder rear bank. They replaced the head gaskets brought the compression back to specs.But it still over heated during the drive home! Back to the shop again,they replaced the thermostat with the enhanced thermostat! $161.00 from the local gm dealer. I got er home tonite temp stayed below half way Iam keeping fingers crossed.

http://www.timesert.com/html/gm.html

there are complete headbolt rethread kits for these aluminum GM engines.

NorthStar kit
http://www.timesert.com/images/kits/manufacturer/NorthStar01.jpg

hey everyone,one week out of the shop after the replacement thermostat the inhanced thermostat was the ticket. temp stays in the normal range. although the head gasket replacement was costly it was worth every penny! Iam going on a road trip soon will let you all know how it runs. Thanks again to all who put their 2 cents worth in. Bob

when they open up a dexcool system to oxygen the dexcool is ruined. -Did you change out all the coolant to universal? The universal coolants are not as picky with oxygen contamination =much better when you have an older car that needs to be worked on.

The last Intrigue was in 2002: Change out the coolant and go universal (5yrs). Probably the best preventative maintence you can do on your Intrigue.