Buick regal over heating

[ESO6200]

Hello i have a buick regal 1996 v6 3.8l . SO my car tends to over heat really fast with the resivor still nearly full of coolant also my fans also turn on really late.. Ive came down to the conclusion that it might be te temperature sensor idk ehag else to do. Ive changed the thermostat about a momth ago. Please help. Any advice is greatly appriciated

[Ruley73]

Originally Posted by ESO6200

Hello i have a buick regal 1996 v6 3.8l . SO my car tends to over heat really fast with the resivor still nearly full of coolant also my fans also turn on really late.. Ive came down to the conclusion that it might be te temperature sensor idk ehag else to do. Ive changed the thermostat about a momth ago. Please help. Any advice is greatly appriciated

Did you ever replace the radiator cap? Have you checked coolant level in the radiator? The coolant reservoir is basically just an overflow tank so it doesn't matter how much coolant it has. You still need to check the coolant level in the radiator when the engine's cool.

The reservoir could be full but the radiator/cooling system could still be (very) low. If you have a bad cap that's not holding pressure, it could cause exactly that because coolant would boil out into the reservior.

Does the engine look/sound like it's overheating or are you just going by the gauge? If the temp sensor is bad, the gauge will be inaccurate. An easy indicator of a bad coolant temp sensor is when your temp gauge doesn't indicate the lowest/coolest reading when you first start the engine after it's been sitting overnight. With that said, the temp sensor could still be bad if these symptoms are not observed. Usually a DTC will be triggered, but not always.

[ESO6200]

Originally Posted by Ruley73

Did you ever replace the radiator cap? Have you checked coolant level in the radiator? The coolant reservoir is basically just an overflow tank so it doesn't matter how much coolant it has. You still need to check the coolant level in the radiator when the engine's cool.

The reservoir could be full but the radiator/cooling system could still be (very) low. If you have a bad cap that's not holding pressure, it could cause exactly that because coolant would boil out into the reservior.

Does the engine look/sound like it's overheating or are you just going by the gauge? If the temp sensor is bad, the gauge will be inaccurate. An easy indicator of a bad coolant temp sensor is when your temp gauge doesn't indicate the lowest/coolest reading when you first start the engine after it's been sitting overnight. With that said, the temp sensor could still be bad if these symptoms are not observed. Usually a DTC will be triggered, but not always.

Okay so ithe radiator as of now it doesnt have any coolant thats why istopped driving the car. I have now checked the cap but would that really be the problem? And as for the car when it marks really hot the car is extremely hot. Smoke starts to come out just a bit tho. But thats because theres like i said no wayer too cool it down. From what ive been told many years ago was that the sensors for buicks around my year tend to go bad and cause overheating withtin the cars .

[Ruley73]

Originally Posted by ESO6200

Okay so ithe radiator as of now it doesnt have any coolant thats why istopped driving the car. I have now checked the cap but would that really be the problem? And as for the car when it marks really hot the car is extremely hot. Smoke starts to come out just a bit tho. But thats because theres like i said no wayer too cool it down. From what ive been told many years ago was that the sensors for buicks around my year tend to go bad and cause overheating withtin the cars.

The only way to "check" the rediator cap is with a pressure tester. A visual inspection alone will not suffice. The cap does more than just keep the coolant in. It is designed to hold a certain amount of pressure (in your case 16 psi) which raises the boiling point of the coolant to a high enough temperature that it doesn't boil when the cooling system is functioning properly. Antifreeze also raises the boiling point some, so don't use anything less than a 50/50 mix (or greater than a 70% coolant/30% water mix).

Caps are cheap, so I'd just try replacing it, fill the radiator back up, and see what happens.

As far as bad sensors causing overheating...No sensor is going to cause the car to overheat unless it is really warm outside. A bad sensor doesn't stop the water pump from circulating coolant. It might prevent the fan from turning on, but your engine has to get hot enough for the fan to turn on in the first place. In my experience, this is difficult to do with most modern vehicles until the temps get into the upper 80s F.

[ESO6200]

Originally Posted by Ruley73

The only way to "check" the rediator cap is with a pressure tester. A visual inspection alone will not suffice. The cap does more than just keep the coolant in. It is designed to hold a certain amount of pressure (in your case 16 psi) which raises the boiling point of the coolant to a high enough temperature that it doesn't boil when the cooling system is functioning properly. Antifreeze also raises the boiling point some, so don't use anything less than a 50/50 mix (or greater than a 70% coolant/30% water mix).

Caps are cheap, so I'd just try replacing it, fill the radiator back up, and see what happens.

As far as bad sensors causing overheating...No sensor is going to cause the car to overheat unless it is really warm outside. A bad sensor doesn't stop the water pump from circulating coolant. It might prevent the fan from turning on, but your engine has to get hot enough for the fan to turn on in the first place. In my experience, this is difficult to do with most modern vehicles until the temps get into the upper 80s F.

Okay ill might as well replace the cap. And ill put coolant directly fo the radiator. And for the sensor yeah iknow it doesnt over heat the car but from what i understand is the sensor detects the bouling point for the car and engages the thermostat to let water flow. Imay be wrong so please correct me if i am . But ill do what you said today . BUT the main problem is no water ia getting through. Im sure of that because the car over heats extremely fast . Now i just want to narrow down why ir doesnt.

[aleekat]

Originally Posted by ESO6200

Okay ill might as well replace the cap. And ill put coolant directly fo the radiator. And for the sensor yeah iknow it doesnt over heat the car but from what i understand is the sensor detects the bouling point for the car and engages the thermostat to let water flow. Imay be wrong so please correct me if i am . But ill do what you said today . BUT the main problem is no water ia getting through. Im sure of that because the car over heats extremely fast . Now i just want to narrow down why ir doesnt.

The thermostadt and the sensor are independent of each other. The thermostadt is mechanically opened and closed. Nothing to do with the sensor. Thermostadt stucked closed will cause overheating.

[ESO6200]

Originally Posted by aleekat

The thermostadt and the sensor are independent of each other. The thermostadt is mechanically opened and closed. Nothing to do with the sensor. Thermostadt stucked closed will cause overheating.

Okay. Thanks for the clear up. But thing is i just switched the thermostat about a month ago.

[aleekat]

Seen them be bad out of the box. Do the other suggestions first.

[ESO6200]

Originally Posted by aleekat

Seen them be bad out of the box. Do the other suggestions first.

Will do.thanks. Ill get to it and get back to you. Any other simple suggestions?

[Tech II]

If, when you take the radiator cap off, and it is low in fluid, then you have a leak somewhere that is creating an "air pocket", WHICH WILL CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO OVERHEAT.... Have you checked for any possible external leaks with a pressure tester?

If there are none seen, and you are losing coolant, could have an upper plenum problem.....hole is created by the EGR tube passing thought the plenum, causing an internal leak....

[Ruley73]

Originally Posted by Tech II

If, when you take the radiator cap off, and it is low in fluid, then you have a leak somewhere that is creating an "air pocket", WHICH WILL CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO OVERHEAT.... Have you checked for any possible external leaks with a pressure tester?

If there are none seen, and you are losing coolant, could have an upper plenum problem.....hole is created by the EGR tube passing thought the plenum, causing an internal leak....

I agree that the infamous intake plenum failure is a possibility, but the car's almost twenty years old. I'd be surprised if it hasn't been replaced already, but it's definitely possible that it hasn't.

[ESO6200]

Originally Posted by Tech II

If, when you take the radiator cap off, and it is low in fluid, then you have a leak somewhere that is creating an "air pocket", WHICH WILL CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO OVERHEAT.... Have you checked for any possible external leaks with a pressure tester?

If there are none seen, and you are losing coolant, could have an upper plenum problem.....hole is created by the EGR tube passing thought the plenum, causing an internal leak....

Hello. As for your post. After inspecting te car while ON i noticed there was a leak right under the alternator that is a good enough leak to cause pressure lost and loose water. This hose connects to the heater ibelieve so i will be replacing that today . Thats te only external leak ive noticed.

[Ruley73]

Originally Posted by ESO6200

Hello. As for your post. After inspecting te car while ON i noticed there was a leak right under the alternator that is a good enough leak to cause pressure lost and loose water. This hose connects to the heater ibelieve so i will be replacing that today . Thats te only external leak ive noticed.

Most likely your (two) plastic coolant elbows have failed. This is also a very common problem with the 3800 Series II (and also the newer Series III). I'd strongly recommend that you replace them with the upgraded aluminum elbows from Dorman (p/n 47065HP).

I wouldn't drive the car like this because you'll lose coolant fast since they are near the water pump.

[ESO6200]

Originally Posted by Ruley73

Most likely your (two) plastic coolant elbows have failed. This is also a very common problem with the 3800 Series II (and also the newer Series III). I'd strongly recommend that you replace them with the upgraded aluminum elbows from Dorman (p/n 47065HP).

I wouldn't drive the car like this because you'll lose coolant fast since they are near the water pump.

There you go thats what iwas talking about! Theres two? Ionly seen 1. But yeah i already bought some as of yesterday.

[Ruley73]

Originally Posted by ESO6200

There you go thats what iwas talking about! Theres two? Ionly seen 1. But yeah i already bought some as of yesterday.

Yes, there are two of them. Don't install the plastic ones because they will fail again within a few years.