Engine temp

[gobanana]

I have a 2001 Cavalier with about 100,000 miles on it. The engine temp used to never go above 195, but now when I stop at a light it moves up to 205-210 (1 line above) or when I turn on the heater it moves up when I'm driving or stopped. Is this an indication of a problem? I take it long distances and am worried about getting stuck somewhere with big problems.

[toddgak]

Originally Posted by gobanana

I have a 2001 Cavalier with about 100,000 miles on it. The engine temp used to never go above 195, but now when I stop at a light it moves up to 205-210 (1 line above) or when I turn on the heater it moves up when I'm driving or stopped. Is this an indication of a problem? I take it long distances and am worried about getting stuck somewhere with big problems.

Your thermostat could be sticking in the closed postion, stopping the flow of coolant to your radiator. a quick test is to feel/squeeze your uppermost radiator hose when the engine reaches operating temp. If when you sqeeze it and it only feels like air, then a stuck closed thermostat is most likely your problem.

[gobanana]

thanks, i was thinking about changing the thermostat, is it hard to change? I'll try your suggestion first though to make sure.

[DS 7823]

I am also having problems with my 2000 cavalier. If you can not tell whether your thermostat is working with the method mentioned above. You can take the thermostat out and boil it in water...It will open up if it works. In the 2000 Cavalier the Thermostat housing is bolted in with two bolts. (Just put a catch pan under the car to catch the coolant.) The Thermostat housing is located near/under the alternator and connects 2 or 3 hoses. If you do decide to take the Thermostat out, after re-installing it the lines must be bled of air pockets. I have not gotten to this step yet, as I need to replace my waterpump first, but the simple method is outlined more in depth in one of the other forums... from what I gathered theres an aluminum pipe with a bleed/valve - just unscrew it a little when the waterpump kicks on then close it. Do this a couple times and you are done.

[noshun]

Originally Posted by gobanana

I have a 2001 Cavalier with about 100,000 miles on it. The engine temp used to never go above 195, but now when I stop at a light it moves up to 205-210 (1 line above) or when I turn on the heater it moves up when I'm driving or stopped. Is this an indication of a problem? I take it long distances and am worried about getting stuck somewhere with big problems.

Goes up with the heater on?!?!?! That would be insanely weird as te heater matrix works as a small radiator! Can you hear you rad fan cut-in at all. The switch for the fan may be shot. As your temp doesn't rise while driving and only when stationary it would lead me to believe it isn't your thermostat otherwise you'd be running hot more often, say at speeds around and under 30 mph. If you cannot hear the fan cut-in as the temp guage rises then it probably is the switch. This is a pretty east job. you just need a socket that will fit it and take the old out and new in it's place. Coolant will come out of it's hole though so do it when the car is cold. It also is a cheap job too. But obviously this will depens on your findings!