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Oldsmobile Intrigue Coolant System Problems

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Comments

  • jamesimjamesim Member Posts: 1
    hello
    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.
  • chuck24mchuck24m Member Posts: 6
    edited August 2012
    James, read message 103, this is the exact problem I had.

    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.
  • oldred1oldred1 Member Posts: 1
    Hey I have a INTRIGUE that is doing the same thing. It runs hot by the gauge but the eng does not seam to be hot. I can put my hand on the hoses and the rev bottle and they are not hot. Do you think this will fix my can as well
  • dmkiesdmkies Member Posts: 3
    when switching the heater hoses are you still able to get heat? or is this something you would want to avoid in a Minnesota winter
  • chuck24mchuck24m Member Posts: 6
    I got more heat than I had before reversing the hoses. Heater core doesn't care which way coolant is running. Been running with the hoses reversed for the last six months or so.
    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,
  • dmkiesdmkies Member Posts: 3
    I changed thermostat and have been bleeding the system but It still wants to run hot. down shifting brings temp down to normal but climbs again back in drive. the guy at autozone said he would not do that to his car because that loose crap from back flush will come back into the system what are your thoughts? I really need to get to the bottom of this
  • chuck24mchuck24m Member Posts: 6
    I've been running with the hoses reversed for the last six months, every once in while I skim a little junk off the top of the coolant in the plastic recovery tank with an old anti-freeze tester (old turkey baster will work), don't get very much.
    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.
  • dmkiesdmkies Member Posts: 3
    THREE HOURS OF BLEEDING AIR OUT AND STILL HAVE SAME PROBLEM I have noticed that when the fan motor kicks on the temp goes up? turn heat on temp goes up when bleeding air at 2000 rpm it holds steady soon as i close it up and start driving the temp goes up I guess I will give it a try cant drive it like this
  • dcanfielddcanfield Member Posts: 2
    just had my water pump replaced and the engine runs mid range on the dial but if I turn on heat the temp goes up. Makes no sense cause heat is taking heat from engine I talked to a mechanic and he said there could be a crack in the head gasket if therer is someone out there that has heard the same thing please shout out need to make a decision here about trading or fixing this
  • chuck24mchuck24m Member Posts: 6
    Sounds like you need to reverse the heater hoses, only cost about ten dollars for parts, won't hurt anything, been running mine reversed for close to a year now, runs cooler than ever! Throw in a bottle of RMI25 for about $15 and you'll be good to go.
  • sgibson2sgibson2 Member Posts: 1
    I ran into this same problem when I changed my water pump. If they replaced your water pump with an aftermarket water pump then the car will run hot. And your heater will not blow hot air at idle. When replacing the water pump make sure it is replaced with a genuine AC Delco water pump. After I replaced the aftermarket pump with the AC Delco pump the car ran fine.
  • ajerikovskyajerikovsky Member Posts: 1
    I have just recently replaced my thermostat, due to the temp riding at about 3/4 temp toward the red, but not overheating. When driving down highway or at decent speed temp goes down but rises when idle.

    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?
  • vinzsalvadorvinzsalvador Member Posts: 1
    Hey Guys, Honestly i'm not familiar with the coolant level and so I browsed the net and I found this article about Car's coolant level and I find it very helpful. Hope you enjoy it too. http://roberts.com.ph/blog/properly-...coolant-level/
  • ol2000intrigueol2000intrigue Member Posts: 1
    Know this is old but what I have found is this. It has to do with the Heater Core. If it gets slightly plugged it will cause the system to register as HOT. I have not been able to find where the temp sensor is on the car but after going thru everything I stepped back and looked at the problem. When over heating the biggest thing I noticed was that if I stuck my finger in the coolant jug it was hot but not to where it would be boiling according to the gauge. This told me that the Therm, Fan, WP, were all working like it should. Also noticed that if overheating I would get 'cold' air out of the vents when I had the temp all the way up. I decided to change my heater core, did a bleed and everything worked fine. This was about 3 years ago. My son now drives the car and it still overheats as I have pollutants in the system (hey it's old and been flushed times). I take of the heater hoses, flush the core, fill, bleed good to go. I am looking for filters to add to the system to keep the little bits of gunk out of the core.
  • blaydblayd Member Posts: 1
    OK, water pump, thermostat TWICE, radiator checked, block flow checked, by-passed the heater core, air bled, STILL overheating. Starting to look like it may be the head gaskets like everyone elses. What a POS.
  • ifiguredifigured Member Posts: 1
    I bought this 2001 intrigue 3.5 1yr ago for mom for a great price & could'nt complain. it was maintained poorly, by my older sister and me i guess, i looked under the hood in the past and pointed some obvious things that need to be fixed & those things were never taken care of. Reservoir had build up gunk when i saw it. i ended up taken ownership of the vehicle shortly after and what you think happenned? After a few months later i was cursed with this common problem i now know.....whyy mee LOL. My car is now overheating & going through the same like all you guys pretty much & saying "huh, what, why who & how". Just want to say buy a repair guide & do your research and do yourself a favor. Well i was asking for opinions from people who work at auto part stores example, "autozone" thinking they can help me & lets just say i would never do that again ill tell you that. Dont take advice from anyone you dont know ot trust & btw those guys just sit behind a computer and type and search for parts. This is the worse thing u can possibly do . I ended up spending over $100 on just anti freeze alone..and spent lots of money flushing the radiator, replacing thermo, waterpump and replacing radiator hoses cuz they had leaks from building pressure in the cooling system & not sure why. I Asked an employee at a autoparts store recommended Bars leak cuz my overheating issue with the 3.5. lets just pause their for a moment. Bars leak! i asked him what was it? so i went out & bought this crap cuz i was basically talked into buying something i did not need & added it for some dumb [non-permissible content removed] reason thinking this issue was a quick fix. IGnoring the previous signs of the this poorly maintained car by previous onwers and knowing the reservoir had black build in the past already was a terrible decision adding this [non-permissible content removed] to my dying car....So now my car is in pieces right now, basically because of this gunky stuff looking for clogged lines and replacing crossover pipe gaskets. I am working on it still and have not put it back together yet. When I replaced the water pump it was working fine for a week, then failed shortly after and started overheating again, i also had an episode on my way home, car was overheating and upper radiatior hosed had bursted open squirting antifreez everywhere i really dont know why but im determined to figure it out. any suggestions? please let me know thanks.
  • tonyrockztonyrockz Member Posts: 1
    Attention: 2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue over heating problems:
    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.
  • splibsplib Member Posts: 1
    99 intrigue, coolant light comes on when gauge reaches just over midway, then light goes out at idle, then comes on again, fluctuates like this on short trips, resivoir is full, cap on tight, water full in radiator, so...? gauge never gets higher than midway, checked next morning resivoir still full radiator full, no leaks under car,  oil dipstick no water, my guess is thermostat??? any body have this? mahalo for your help. aloha
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,146
    Which engine does your Intrigue have?

    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,

  • ChuanChuan Member Posts: 2
    2002 Oldsmobile GL Intrigue purchased for $800 with 53k original miles bought from a man on offer up who claimed it was his wife’s grandmothers vehicle band she had passed away. They couldn’t find the title for two years and sold it to me last weekend and they finally found the title in her old boxes.

    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
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