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The ECM (engine control module) switches the coolant fan relay on and off. If the coolant is hot and the vehicle is travelling at 40mph or slower, the fan will come on. If the vehicle then travels at 50mph, the ECM should switch the fan OFF! The reasoning being that there is now enough airflow through the radiator.
Somehow in my opinion, the ECM is not getting information from the VSS (vehicle speed sensor). But this would also affect your gear changes if you had an automatic. I doubt if this will help but try it. Swap the heater fan relay with the coolant fan relay. On my 99 Cavalier they have the same part number. Just check before you swap and see if they are the same on yours.
There is a long shot that something is wrong with the relay. Meanwhile I'll think about it some more.
99 4 door ls
And 97cav, you might have a hydraulic valve lifter there that's sticking. That could give you your knocking sound that goes when you rev the engine. I use Mobil1 10W-30W and my engine runs very quietly. Maybe you should try it.
Engine/Transom/Other: 2.2/Automatic/Air
Miles: 38k
About a week ago the A/I started to act up on me ( I could hear the fan or compressor star going on and off and could hear a loud click as it went on and off). Around the same time the low coolant light started to go red (This would happen if I made a sharp turn and I thought it was mostly because the turn was moving the coolant around to one side)
Anyway a couple of days ago I noticed the temperature dial going almost to the red. My commute is against tragic so I am almost never get stuck. But the last couple of days I was sent to another location where I was stuck in traffic, and seeing the dial on the red was scary. I stopped at an auto parts and bought some of the orange coolant and filled it up with the 50/50 mixture. This did not fix the problem as my dial went to the red again yesterday and today while going to lunch the car not only over heated but the coolant overflowed after coming back.
What could this be?
I told him to go ahead. Do you guys think it was a fair price?
Does the car seem to stumble a little or even jack-rabbit as you're slowing down (like leaving a manual tranny in top gear)? That would be a sticking TCC solenoid on the tranny.
High-speed rumbling is from out-of-balance wheels but goes away when slowing down (so unlikely).
The fan is only needed when going slow or when stopped. At good speed, the fan is normally off because the air rush is plenty to cool the radiator. If the fan died, then you'd only overheat when going slow or stopped.
A stuck thermostat will overheat you no matter what speed you're at. The thing about thermostats is that they're one of the cheapest part on your car. Usually when the coolant hoses are changed every five years, the thermostat is changed too.
My '89 Cavalier overheated when the heater core's plastic pipes broke. This killed the water pump and warped the head block. I knew the head was warped because the water jackets no longer mated and coolant oozed out from the head gasket as well as got into the cylinders -- got white smoke out of the exhaust. I learned that day that coolant in the cylinders will make your engine run very poorly.
Replaced the water pump and remachined the head block. Amazingly, the engine runs just fine (230k miles and rustily going).
Final note when a car is overheating -- if you're losing coolant too, you have a leak in the system, meaning the car's normal method of pulling needed coolant from the overflow reservoir won't work well if at all. Make sure the car is completely cool then add directly into the radiator (if you have a cap -- the newer cars don't).
Thanks
Al
Like a good car owner, it had oil changes every 3000 miles, and a tune up at around 55000.
The car has been in three different shops in the past month and no one has any idea how to fix it. About every five days, I will pull into a parking spot, park the car, and go inside somewhere for about 30 minutes. I come back out, the car starts beautifully, shift to reverse, back out, shift into drive, and press on the gas, where the car will promptly stall with the engine light, the oil light, and the battery light flashing on. It will keep re starting and keep stalling. If you are patient enough to wait three hours, you can start it and drive home. Unfortunately, work is not as patient. They kind of like seeing my there, instead of taking a three hour lunch.
Everything has been checked. The engine, battery, alternator, transmissions, coils, coil housing, spark plugs, oil, filters, carburetor everything. Like I said, I have this fine vehicle that is still currently in a shop that I have not driven success for more than 5 days at a time.
I never had a single problem with this car until it hit 75,000 miles. Cars are built to last longer than this. At the same time, I can't afford to continually be stranded.
Has anyone else ever dealt with this problem?
Vacuum leak at the gasket btween intake manifold and throttle body[where the fuel injection attaches to the engine I think.]
Were the spark plug wires replaced? sometimes they go bad as well. I love mine, I hope this helps but to me it sounds like the fuel pump is not keeping the system pressurized and it doesn't keep enough after it's been started to restart it. I have also heard the same problem related on one of the Car Q&A shows and the fuel pump was suggested as a source of the problem as well.Have them check it to see if it's losing pressure in the system.
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
My wife blew her head gasket at 30,500 miles in a 1998 Acura (Honda) Integra, manufacturing defect, repaired under warranty. Head gaskets are a common problem with 2.2L Cavaliers, several years (92, 93, 96) have had recalls for it, although all 2.2's can experience it, like the 2.2L in my Mom's '95 Buick Century, which never got hot, just started leaking around the outside of the head and was caught before the coolant level went down much.