97 SC1 over heating

OK so the other day my SC got to the red when running around town for the wife. I let it cool down and tossed some water in the system and drove home. I looked around and noticed water coming from the water pump. To make a long story short, I have replaced the water pump, radiator cap, thermostat, and radiator. My car still over heats.

The temp gauge tells me the temp fine. The fan kicks on but the radiator is not hot. The output hose (head to radiator) is hot but the radiator is cool. I have flushed the system so I know that is all flows nicely but it over heats.

A little note. I have had to replace the radiator a couple of times before. The car has 270K miles on it. Every time I have replaced the radiator or water pump, the car sucks in the water and coolant upon refilling it with no problems. Now it seems like only the reservoir gets filled. I have to let the air out of the system in order to get it to suck the water out of the reservoir.

I have tried every variation I can think of to make sure all flows well. I also have no heat in the car.

The car also over heated when there was no thermostat in it.

You've got an air pocket in there, no doubt. Try removing the thermostat again and pouring coolant directly into the engine through the upper hose. As much as you can then reattach and reinstall thermostat. Run the engine with the heater on and squeeze the hoses as you add more coolant. Squeeze hoses, rock the car...sometimes even jacking up the front end will help dislodge air pockets. Air pockets can just be difficult sometimes.

OK I will give that a shot. Thanks.

OK So I figured I would run the car with the radiator cap on and just losen the top hose a little so the air would come out. It did and I kept filling the system with water. Then the water started to come out so I tighten the hose clamp and filled the system with water. I took a drive and all seemed fine. I stopped and left the car running so I can make sure there is no more air pockets. Sure enough some air then water. So as I am about to drive away, the temp starts to go up. Next thing I know I am in the red. I let the car cool down and there is no air in the top hose yet plenty of water in the reservior. So since I removed the cap, the water in the reservior empties and starts to come out where I removed the top hose.

I drove the car for a good 15 20 minutes before it hit red. After it cooled and I put more water in the system, The car drove just under half way for the heat temp all the way home. That was even after sitting at a couple of lights. Now I did have the heater on full blast and it was hot.

I get home and there is water coming out of the cap. I also forgot to mention that the other day I tested the new thermostat in hot water. It did not open until 212* (water started to boil). Now my father-in-law says that this is the reason why the car is over heating is due to the stat not opening. Yet the car will run fine for a good 15 to 20 minutes before it shoots to the red. If the stat was faulty, wouldn't it stay shut so the car would never stay at one temp for so long? Could it be that the stat just opens for a while then fails and shuts?

Oh and a side thought. Why the hell did Saturn put the stat at the bottom and not the top?

So to close this thread....


It looks like I have a blown head gasket. I took it to a shop today and the guy said that with all the work I have done, it can only be the head gasket.