Cooling Problem on '91 Lumina

[Guest]

After taking a long trip this past weekend, I noticed that my engine temperature has risen ~45 degrees during normal driving (on a reasonably cool day). I cannot give exact numbers because the temperature guage is poorly labeled, but without a doubt the car is running hotter (maybe 190 degrees) than it should (about 150 degrees). The "red" temperature zone appears to start around 230 degrees.

 

The coolent level is normal, and I last had the system flushed & refilled about 2 1/2 years ago. I suspect that either the water pump or thermostat is going bad.

 

Questions: 1) Should I flush the coolent system as a test (perhaps coolent is losing it's affectiveness)? 2) Does it seem likely that either the water pump or thermostat might be the cause of the temperature increase?

 

If you have any insights or suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. As a note, the car has never "liked" hot weather, and the temperature would often rise to about 200 degrees if stuck in slow traffic on a hot day (say 85 to 90 degrees). But, it would always return to normal operating temperature once underway.

[Jeorge]

well I can not really help you.

 

My car Runs at 210~220deg all the time.

 

But I would Recomend Flushing the system I do mine every 24 months. and mix it 50/50 because I dont use the car in the winter.

 

I would also get a new Thermostate and Radiator cap to. that would help it out.

 

also look when you Drain it to see what your Radiator looks like inside for Corrosion.

[luminator94]

I had the same exact problem as your experiencing on my 94 Lumina Euro w/3.1L. I started out with the cheapest repair, the thermostat, to no avail. Then I replaced the coolant temp sensor, the fan switch, and the fan switch relay. I flushed the whole system and put in new fluid to. I the middle of all this, my water pump did fail on me. I put in the new one, expecting to find this was the problem. Still didn't fix anything. I finally gave up and took my car to the nearest Chevy dealership to let them deal with it. 300 dollars later I was told that my gauge on the dash is whats wrong. The gauge runs 35 degrees hotter than what the engine actually is. So my temp light comes on all the time, but it isn't really overheating. I was told in order to fix the gauge, it would require replacing the Instrument Panel @ 400 bucks. I didn't have it replaced. So maybe this is a common problem with the IPC (instrument panel cluster). Also, you commented on your thermostat. The stock thermostat on the 3.1L is 197 degrees, so it doesn't sound like its your thermostat. Best of luck, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

Aaron

[Guest TurboSedan]

aq

[Guest TurboSedan]

aq

[greenprix]

If you don't want to pay the big bucks for the new sensor, you can just unplug the bad one to get the light to go off. It's on the passenger side of the radiator, and it looks like a little blakc box on the side of the tank.

 

Hope this helps!

[Guest TurboSedan]

qa

[Gearhead43]

Try filling the radiator from the Coolant cap on the radiator itself when cool, not the Coolant bottle. Check the to see if the water pump is not leaking at the bottom at the weep hole, this would be a sign that the water pump is bad. Install a 180 T-stat. The coolant light problem could also be on the IC panel cluster... a bad solder connection omn the PC board may cause the light to give a false level indication.

[Guest TurboSedan]

qa

[1trucavalier]

well my car was/is running hot and I replaced the wp (still hot), thermo (still hot), sensor (still hot), tensioner (still hot) (YES THIS WILL CAUSE YOUR ENGINE TO RUN HOT), radiator cap (YES THIS WILL CAUSE YOUR ENGINE TO RUN HOT). I have the car taken apart now awaiting the heater core. I did though purchase the radiator cap with vent on it. When I let it run to operating temp then pulled the vent several times to shock/force the cooling system instead of the normal constant flow. I later went back and checked the radiator when cool and saw small chunks of dirt/silt etc... floating in the top (no it wasn't oil from blown HG). I suggest a flush before you start buying parts or get a shop to flush it under pressure cause it might just be clogged! also heater core rows are very tiny so the slightest bit of blockage will impede proper coolant flow.

[Guest]

i have a 1992 Z34 that is very temperature tempermental, during the winter nothing will seal right so it won't start, during the summer it starts but in traffic temp rises at a rate that you can follow with your eyes (usually it goes up while i'm driving n' i don't notice) i run normally on the highway, cruise on at 80 or so, dead center between 100 and 260 which i would guess to be about 170 or so...in traffic it rises to the next dash (which i would guess to be around 210) and keeps rising, it's 10 years old and never had the radiator flushed i don't think, i'm thinkin i gunna start with that, because in the summer, in traffic, i put the A/C (the temp controller thingy) on vent and put the fan all the way on, temp bar all way to hot, and roll windows down, venting temp from engine to cabin, sure it makes ya sweat, but it saves your baby!