1994 Buick Regal... water issues

[Maw Weezie]

Hello, in advance, thanks for any help or comments received. I was told that I might need to check the temperature sending unit.
1. Where is it located?
2. Will it cause the car to over heat or leak water from the top side of the radiator?
3. Is it hard to fix?
4. How expensive is the part?

Background: sometimes the car will over heat while driving and sometimes it will not. not sure why it does or does not. Have had many gremlins with this car. but it is my love and it gets 27-30 mpg. uses appriox 1/2 qt oil between oil changes. the body is not bad for a free car. can not bring myself to get rid of it. would really love to get this problem fixed.

Thanks Maw Weezie

[maxwedge]

Welcome to AF, the temp sender is not the cause of overheating, it just reports the temp. What are the symptoms, gauge goes up, coolant boils back to the jar, need more info here as you are off track with your diagnosis.

[Maw Weezie]

Thanks again for your response. I was a bit confused when the mand told me about the sending unit. So you cleared that confusion.

The temperature goes high quickly. (i.e. in town driving) it seems to do ok on long trips as long as there is not alot of stop and start. Then once you have stopped, the water boils out. We have replace the thermostat. (that was what I thought might be the problem in the beginning)

Also there is another issue, the water is milky looking. We thought we were getting oil in the water, but can not find water in the oil. The car does not use a lot of oil or water. it may loose about 1-2 cups, but that is leaking out from the top of the radiator on the drivers side. We can see it spraying out but can not pinpoint the location. We think it may be coming from a slightly loose upper radiator hose. The clamp is in a difficult place to tighten, and it had been recently replaced.

[richtazz]

Welcome to AF.

You didn't mention what engine is in your car has. The 3.1 and 3.8 engines offered in your 94 Regal both have their own issues as to coolant loss/overheating issues.

[Maw Weezie]

I am sorry it is 3.8 L, 4 dr. if that matters.

[richtazz]

The leak at the radiator could be coming from the tank (they're plastic and are known to split with age), or the coolant level sensor (it's mounted in the pass side tank just under where the upper trans line attaches).

Have you checked to be sure the electric cooling fans are coming on as the car gets hot? The primary fan (drivers side) should come on between 220-230 degrees farenheit. The secondary fan (pass side) should come on at 230-235 or when the HVAC control is set to A/C MAX. If the fans don't come on, check the fan relays and the underside of the underhood fuse/relay center for corrosion.

[Maw Weezie]

I have not checked the fan relays, I know that the driver's side fan only runs when the car is on. The passenger side fan I can not tell you that it is ever on. I will check that.


The water leakage however, is on the driver's side of the radiator where the upper radiator hose is located. We are still attempting to tighten the hose clamp as that is the only other way we can think of to rule that out.

[richtazz]

On the drivers side, if it's not leaking from the hose, it's probably a cracked tank or the seal between the aluminum core and the plastic tank.