1995 grand am over heating

[jayson0768]

Just bought a used 1995 grand am. its a 3100 v6 automatic. my check engine light keeps comming on so I hook it up to an engine tester and the engine tester will not read anything. I was told it was the cars computer but I dont know where to look for it at. The car gets to 220 degrees and most likely hotter but I always turn on the heater to help it cool down. Does anyone out there have any ideas to help me fix this problem?

 

[chr0mius]

First off, are you sure the car is over heating? It's possible that the gauge on your cluster is wrong (some are off by over 20 degrees). I'd start by checking for air in the coolant system and making sure everything is flowing properly.

 

[chiefpontiac]

You could have a plugged radiator, especially if over the past 13 years it was never flushed. The coolant could still look good but the internals of eth core in modern aluminum radiators turn to mush from what is technically called "bloom", similar to rust and also similar to same type of decay in acid plate batteries. You could also have a stuck thermostat combined with the above.

If you are handy and have a couple days to let the car sit - remove the radiator and have it cleaned and tested. I'm not a big fan of the machines that hook up to flush the entire system because they can be hard on brittle gaskets that might otherwise be okay. However you could have deposits in teh engine that reduce flow and result in spot heating which can lead to other more serioius problems with heads.

Even if you are not handy, any reputable garage can perform a flush and fill for you and dispose of teh used coolant for you.

 

[capnvonbaron]

220 sounds like its plenty within the realm of normal operation if you're stuck in traffic on a hot day. As long as it stays around 200 or 210 during normal driving, you don't have a problem. Now, if it ever starts flirting with the red zone, then I might get worried. I think thats closer to 275 or so on my '02 GA GT.