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Comments
have a 2000 intrigue with 70000 miles
overheats but when i speed the engine at neutral or park
the temp drops very fast.
mechanic changed the thermosta...he wants to start replacing the pump then
the radiator....very scared.
any ideas.
Reverse the heater hoses and drive it for 1000 miles or so and your problems will be solved !!
By the way until you do this you can control the overheating by droping the trans into a lower gear to keep the rpms above 2000, this will quickly bring the temp down to normal range.
Temp needle started creeping up a little. about two months ago, (slightly past half way). I added a bottle of RMI 25 cooling system treatment (available on Amazon for about $15.00) and its been holding steady since then,
The first time I reversed the hoses it was only for a short time, it worked for awhile, then it started to run warm, so I just decided to reverse the hoses and left them that way, since I added the RMI 25 it hasn't gone past the half way mark.
At the time, I also had my oil changed the tech did not mention anything about my oil being bad indicating a blown head gasket. Any thoughts as to what may be the cause?
With past experience on other car mainly my Saturn, temp sensors are what come to mind. but any other solutions are welcome.
question #2: Is it necessary to perform a coolant flush, even after a thermostat has been replaced?
If you are having over heating problems with your intrigue, before you go changing Thermostat, water Pump, Radiator. reservoir water tank, check this first. Turn the car on and see if there is any water coming out of the back muffler pipe. If it's morning and humid outside you might see a little, so let it run about a minute. Next check and see if any water is mixed in the oil. If any of these are visible, you have a blown head gasket. If not, next:
Fill the reservoir tank up with either water or coolant. make sure the car is cool so you dont have any burn accidents. When it's full, put the cap back on and have someone turn the engine on. While you watch the reservoir tank, have the person inside accelerate the engine. Look and see if the reservoir tank bubbles while it's cold. If you have constant bubbles coming out, then your head gasket is blown and escaping gasses are causing the bubbles, thats why your engine if over heating. many mechanics don't know this about this type of car and will have you changing all kinds of other thing.
If it's the 3.8 L, the problem could be several thiings. If I understand, the gauge never goes above midpoint and that is where it normally has pointed when engine is at full operating temperature.
First is the engine actually filled with coolant. The 3.8 engine may need burping to get all the air out if something was done like a coolant change or if it's leaking internally. The heater may hold air. The method was to have the engine fully warmed after driving it, rev engine to 2500 for 10 seconds or so, let it idle a time, then rev again with 4 more cycles. That should burp the air out of the heater. I also parked my car with the radiator uphill and the heater lower to do this. It can be done anywhere you find an upgrade.
There should be a bleeder screw on top of the thermostat housing that can be opened slowly to bleed air that gets trapped there on the 3800 applications with which I'm familiar. Do after car has cooled so pressure is reduced in system. Use a towel to protect against any spurting of hot antifreeze.
The coolant indicator light may use a different sensor than the coolant temperature gauge. I'd have to see circuit diagrams to determine that.
What you DID NOT SAY that might have pointed to other problems, is that after shutting down, there were noises like burbling or bumping from the engine indicating it truly is overheated.
What you DID NOT SAY is that you were losing coolant indicating a possible internal seep in the upper or lower intake manifolds that occurs roughly at 125000 miles.
If you take care of your own engine, I'd recommend ordering an oil sample bottle from Blackstone labs and capturing a few ounces of engine oil at the next oil change or use a fine \rubber tube to suction some up through the dipstick tube and pay $25 or so to have it analyzed. As long as the oil has a couple thousand miles on it is good. If there is any seeping internally, it shows in the oil. I got a phone call when I sent oil from my 2003 in just to see how the synthetic I was using was doing. Instead, I got a phone call telling me I had a low rate seep, ;probably the lower gaskets under the lower intake manifold, and I should change oil frequently to avoid buildup to a level that could damage bearings until I could have the engine repaired.
If you have the Shortstar 3.5L engine, I have no experience with those.
Good luck.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
How it’s overheating? It you let it sit at idle for it and
Car overheats when left at idle in about 20 minutes or so and when driven I can drive for about 15 minutes before it climbs above normal range to the red light coming on, I’ve never let it get past that never actually overheated under my care.
I was told it was thermostat and I went to auto zone and purchased it replaced and still overheats
I’m reading that you must use OEM thermostat and water pump.
They were doing something after replacing the thermostat where they had me run at 2k rpm and turn heat on but the heat never fully came oh and then it was just blowing cold actually even when set to 90f.
Different mechanic I brought it too says water pump looks replaced almost like the previous owner replaced it and didn’t have luck fixing the overheating like me but from the information I’ve gathered we both screwed up and used autozone parts where are not identical(correct me or wrong I don’t know anything about this car )
Should I try replacing my oem thermostat ? Or water pump? What can I tell my regular mechanic that is quirky to this cars coolant system to fix ?
OEM parts ?
Reverse heater hoses ? (Could that help me ?)
Before the car overheats it runs like a dream it shifts smooth, coolant and oil change light is on
No visible leaks outside
Flush radiator? (What do I tell mechanic to do )
Heater core ?
I’m lost here and would appreciate all help that $800 for this car was all I had but I have money to repair this vehicle because at 50k something miles it’s a dream to drive even the leather isn’t cracked it’s like new