Replaced the thermostat which was in backwards. New coolant. No dice.

Driving it back home tonight, it was at about 230*. Twice, I would get a huge whiph of coolant the the thermometer would show a reading of 195* and even lower than that. I have no doubt in my mind that there's some clog or something along those lines in the coolant system. My guess is it's gotta be the radiator, especially seeing how it appears this thing has been in some sort of accident at one point.


-Markus
2002 Yellow Cavalier LS Sport *SOLD*
2000 White Cavalier Sedan
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I would try flushing the cooling system a time or two just to see if any junk comes out. I would suspect that a clog could be a problem but a good flush could solve the problem.

Check all of your hoses and make sure they are all correct. The shop that replaced my motor for some dumb reason flipped flopped a couple of hose locations and that caused some small issues with causing it to heat up quickly when sitting still. Also check for kinked hoses.

What about the water pump? They arent to expensive (I paid 25 for mine 2 years ago) and even though its a small pain to change it might be worth a shot since you have replaced other items in the cooling system as well. The fins on it could be worn out and not pushing coolant like it should.

Also blow the radiator fins out at a car wash or something. It is possible that there is a bunch of junk in there causing a lack of air flow.

Something the last person posted brought another idea to mind. When was the last time your hoses were changed? I have seen where as hoses age, they soften up. When the thermostat opens up, the vacuum the water pump puts on the lower hose causes it to collapse. Try replacing all of your hoses all together. And check the lower hose for a spring like coil that prevents it from collapsing. If it doesn't have one, see if you can't find a hose that does. That will help prevent further issues with hose collapse should that be the case.

And for the flow through the radiator. I know a lot of people keep jitting on htis one, but I don't think that would be the issue unless there has been a lot of sealer put into the engine. However, based on your previous post about the head gasket discoveries, I wouldn't put it past the previous owner. I would recommend pulling the radiator all together and having it checked at a radiator shop. The can perform all the necessary checks to make sure it has good flow and good heat transfer properties, as well as not having any leaks. I do agree with blowing out the fins. Howedver, you will want to do this from the inside of the engine compartment, pushing the crap forward and out of the path of air flow. Blowing it through from the front and into the engine compartment can just lodge it in there deeper creating a bigger problem.

Keep us posted at what you find.



Some people have brain storms, others light drizzles. And then there are those that have droughts.

Well my OHV is a few years older than yours (96) but I will try to answer this. If you didn't have a shop check the head surface to make sure its level (i.e. you just eyeballed it or used a carpenter's square), then it probably isn't truly level and the head gasket won't seal. Don't ask me how I know that.

My temp gauge reads from C to H; I don't have an actual temp readout on it, but the electric fan won't kick on until its nearly into the H range. From what I know, this is normal.

The coolant smell you mentioned makes me think that maybe you have a problem with your heater core. If you can find a U shaped hose or piece of metal, you can bypass it & see if that helps. I wouldn't just block both hoses off as then you wouldn't have the coolant flow through the engine.

I would take the radiator houses loose & flush some water back & forth to see if you have a good flow (after you drain the coolant of course). And drain the radiator out too & flush it out good. You can catch it in a pan & see what you got in there.

That's all my poor old brain can think of at the moment. If I think of something later, I'll add it. Good luck.