2001 Intrigue overheating

My Intrigue was overheating and I was always putting coolant in and didn't see any leaks but if I shut the car off it would come out the overflow hose on the expansion tank... I thought the first thing to try was to remove the thremostat so I did and it looks like something was stuck in the thermostst so I figured I was all set. I filled the expansion tank and started the car and the water just stayed there, the tem gauge was up above normal but the hoses and radiator were cold but the expansion tank was steaming and bubbling up. Next thing I thought I would try is the water pump and just got if off and since it plastic I thought from the overheating it would be melted but the old pump looks jiust like the new pump. Could the pump look just like the new pump and still be bad.? If not the water pump what could it be.? Seems like there is no fluid flow. Right now I don't have a thermostat in so I just can't figure out why the coolant isn't flowing.

you might want to check the things related to head gasket failure.bottom side of oil fill cap and dipstick for milky gunk.steam from exhaust and a test of the coolants exhaust gas content.for your sake i hope it's not that but it should be checked.good luck.

Oil looks normal, no white smoke out the exaust.

I put the new pump in and put a gallon of water in and started it up, the water went down and put another gallon in and after running for about 20 minutes the temp gauge only went above the middle once and the fans came on the temp want back to middle. It took about 10 minutes for the top radiator hose to get hot, another 10 minutes for the radiator on that side to get hot but the radiator on the passenger side never got hot. The expansion tank stopped bubbling and steaming. When I shut the car off after 20 minutes it was making a gurgling noise kind of where the upper radiator hose attaches to the engine but didn't see any leaks or steam or anything unusual.

When I replace the thermostat next week and see no problems I will replace the water with coolant. I figure running a few days with only water won't kill it.

billcarson said:

you might want to check the things related to head gasket failure.bottom side of oil fill cap and dipstick for milky gunk.steam from exhaust and a test of the coolants exhaust gas content.for your sake i hope it's not that but it should be checked.good luck.

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these cars can be a pita to vent,especially with the t-stat in.you said it's out so it should be easier.i cut my heater hose,which is up high,and installed a pin style vent valve to assist in venting.sounds like you have an air pocket.remember these engines circulate water the opposite of most cars.that also makes them harder to vent.when i first bought the car in '07 it had coolant leak in the crossover tube.after the repair they used a special machine that creates a vacuum in the system and draws the coolant in.now i know why.they are able to get it filled to level with the first shot.

I noticed the upper hose got hot first, and I think on older cars the hot water come in from the bottom hose. Also seem like these water pumps don't pump as much water as older cars. I assume with this type system with the expansion tank that eventualy all the air will works it way out of the system. If not any idea how to get any air pockets out.? I get the thermostat next week and I want this to be the last time I put fluids in this system.

billcarson said:

these cars can be a pita to vent,especially with the t-stat in.you said it's out so it should be easier.i cut my heater hose,which is up high,and installed a pin style vent valve to assist in venting.sounds like you have an air pocket.remember these engines circulate water the opposite of most cars.that also makes them harder to vent.when i first bought the car in '07 it had coolant leak in the crossover tube.after the repair they used a special machine that creates a vacuum in the system and draws the coolant in.now i know why.they are able to get it filled to level with the first shot.

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if you search this topic a whole history of different methods were used and for me it was this vent you see in the photo and running with no t-stat that did the trick.from what i can see you need the full prime to the pump to be able to circulate water through the block.small weeps by the expansion tank have caused many a trigue owner grief when their cars would get air bound.another trick was to run the car for a short time with the expansion tank cap loose.if you are adding coolant occasionally you must find and fix the leak.you cannot overheat this car at this point in it's life.

The Definitive Bleeding Procedure

InTitusville said:

I assume with this type system with the expansion tank that eventualy all the air will works it way out of the system. If not any idea how to get any air pockets out.?

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I have two Intrigues with the 3.5l engine, both with over 200K miles. I have replaced radiators in both, have replaced a head gasket in one, and have removed the radiators in both several times. A properly bled, properly functioning engine does not overheat or consume water. Neither one of these engines runs over the half mark, ever, and I live where the summers get over 100 degrees.

Proper bleeding is essential. There is a right way and wrong way. This is the right way:

First, jack up the right front of the vehicle. This will allow gravity to work in your favor.



Next, remove the right headlamp. This gives access to the bleed outlet (vent).





Then, remove the bleed screw. It's located on the upper right rear of the radiator.





Fill the coolant reservoir with coolant / water mix until it runs out the bleed screw.

Close the bleed screw but do not tighten, then start the vehicle. Loosen the bleed screw slightly until bubbles come out of the vent.

Continue to run the engine until a stream comes out of the vent. Use a container to catch the overflow. Dispose of coolant responsibly.



It seems to help to close and open the bleed screw multiple times to "build up pressure." You can also use a mighty Vac to pull a vacuum on the coolant reservoir. Top off as necessary.

Let the engine go through a couple of thermal cycles, then recheck and top off as needed.

Agreed that it does sound like you still have air in the system, and that is a great explanation by krivasolds on how to bleed it. Don't overlook the possibility that you have a leak in the tank as well though. It will slowly suck air into the system and you won't know where its coming from. I'm about to replace mine, I noticed the coolant coming from the overflow hose as well, but soon realized that it wasn't coming OUT of the hose it, was dripping down the side of it. The tank was leaking at the seam in the middle. GM Parts Direct had the best price but it took a week to get here.

I've seen some other comments about the overflow reservoir cracking, I think mine has a slow leak there as well and I plan to replace it and the water pump as my next swap-out. Just driving the car no more than I need to for now, and keeping the fluid topped. Air in the system creates too much mischief in an aluminum engine to let the coolant get low.

I also replaced the coolant overflow tank. IMO all of them will crack due to the design and material selection. I got my Delco part from Amazon. As I recall the fitting on the bottom had an o-ring that was not seated properly. I had to work it in place with a small screwdriver.

i still have my original tank but i had to epoxy repair the small vent return line neck at the top of the tank.i was not sure if epoxy would stick to that type of plastic, but it did.

Well, I replaced the tank and still have a leak. I started a new thread rather than hijack this one.

I don't know what to do now... I did the system bleed at discribed in an earlier post to try to get the air out of the system. I have the new T-stat but still have the old T-stat out and have a new water pump and the car still overheats and water comes out the expansion tank tube so I'm always putting more in. I don't see any leaks, no white smoke out the back and and the oil is normal color. It seem to run cooler at lower back-road speeds and overheats faster on the highway. I have a funny feeling someone is going to say the "gasket" word... I hope it's something other than that, PLEASE... I know it's not good to run with just water but I want to resolve this problem before I spend money on coolant.

Going through the whole thread again, and trying to diagnose without seeing the car; (and this is a guess) maybe sounds like a partially plugged radiator. Drain your coolant (and save it; it's still good if relatively new), do a reverse flush (capture what come out) and see if you've got a lot of sediment in the flushed fluid.

Ya know... I ws thinking earlier today that it may be the radiator. It takes a LONG time for the heat to transfer from the driver side of the radiator to the passanger side of the radiator. I remember back in the old days going with my father to the radiator shop and they would take the ends off the radiator and run rods through it then put the ends back on. When I open the drain cap on the top passanger side of the radiator water come pouring out but there could still be clogs inthe radiator.

C&C said:

Going through the whole thread again, and trying to diagnose without seeing the car; (and this is a guess) maybe sounds like a partially plugged radiator. Drain your coolant (and save it; it's still good if relatively new), do a reverse flush (capture what come out) and see if you've got a lot of sediment in the flushed fluid.

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If plugged/partially plugged, the gunk is more than likely going to be at the bottom.

I was speculating on one of the other threads about how long the radiator will last. I have read before that the old Dex-Cool was apt to sedimentize if air gets into the system, but the formula was revised several years ago so I don't think that is a problem today.

Maybe another possibility here is the heater core? Seems like that would clog before the radiator itself.

I've heard if you mix Dexcool with regular old coolant you get gel and that clogs the system but I think if the heater has a problem it shouldn't make a difference but we do get heat from the heater.

swagled said:

I was speculating on one of the other threads about how long the radiator will last. I have read before that the old Dex-Cool was apt to sedimentize if air gets into the system, but the formula was revised several years ago so I don't think that is a problem today.

Maybe another possibility here is the heater core? Seems like that would clog before the radiator itself.

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Still overheating. Seems worse on the highway than on the surface roads. I had a problem yesterday and released the expansion cap slowly and gets to a point where there is so much pressure and it finally gets to a point where the cap allows the steam pressure to come out the drain tube so this made me think that maybe the cap wasn't releasing the back pressure and that was the problem, bought a new cap and have a bit less pressure but still the same problem...

I said screw-it and took the radiator out and ran water through it and all seems fine, There is a little bit of a bow-i in the bottom center of the radiator but don't think thats the problem since the water I ran through it seem to flow fine. Tomorrow I plan to put the new T-stat in and then try something really stupid and hook up the radator and have it outside of the car and see if there are any hot spots and/or cold spots. I'm running out of ideas on this thing.... I'm at my witts end....

This was an interesting thread on overheating, if you agree with what AFAB1948 is saying:

http://www.gmperformancetuning.com/6-cylinder/14984-2001-oldsmobile-intrigue-3-5l.html