Hi everyone. My son has purchased 96 sunfire. He seems to have an overheating problem. We have made sure the fan comes on. We have replaced the thermostat, the cooling sensor on the engine, and the relay for the fan. When the car warms up the gauge can go all the way up to the last white line, right next to the yellow and red on the gauge but doesn't seem to go past this point. Is the car close to overheating or is this normal for this vehicle? I am used to seeing a gauge reading somewhere in the center when all is well and have never seen a gauge reads this high before.
96 sunfire temp gauge high?
- Thread starter derson69
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rochnoure
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Is it the 2.2 or 2.4L? What about the coolant level, low, high, normal? You will need to make sure the coolant system is bled. Air trapped in can cause what you have described.
Too Fast
New member
+1 on possible air pocket in the cooling system. Yes the gauge should read near the middle.
Also, if you have made sure there is no air pocket, then another thing could be a head gasket issue.
Does the heater blow hot air?
Also, if you have made sure there is no air pocket, then another thing could be a head gasket issue.
Does the heater blow hot air?
the best way to asses this is with a digital pyrometer. if the block, thermostat housing, oil pan, top tank of the radiator are all under 200 and probably around 170-180 your fine. the temp gauge reads resistance in a sensor. possible wire or sensor is reading excessive resistance causing it to read high. you need to verify the operating temp of the above mentioned. also do it with the a/c off so not to confuse condenser fan operation with radiator cooling function. hope this helps
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Baldan Dugly
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Instructions
1.Lift the vehicle hood and support it with the hood prop rod. Allow the engine to cool completely before proceeding.
2.Turn the coolant pressure cap a quarter turn, and wait for the hissing noise to dissipate. Remove the coolant pressure cap.
3.Locate the air bleeder valve on the heater return hose on the left side of the engine.
Some people recommend turning your temp control knob to full hot.
4.Turn the air bleeder valve counterclockwise with the line wrench. Slowly pour fresh DEXCOOL coolant into the neck for the coolant pressure cap. When a steady stream of coolant pours from the bleeder valve. Close bleeder valve.
5.Top off the cooling system to the "Full" mark with the fresh DEXCOOL coolant. Install the coolant tank cap.
This is the correct way, but not the way I did it. I installed a flush kit, and filled the system as much as it would take. I then ran the engine at idle with the cap off and the flush cap off also. When I saw that there were no more bubbles generated in the coolant tank I shut the engine off and put the caps on. This can be dangerous as it can spray boiling coolant out of the coolant tank. I was desperate and performed the procedure with another trained mechanic. My bleeder was broken. See pics below.
Pic of original bleeder. It is located on the metal pipe in the center of the pic. Older models may have another bleeder on the thermostat housing.
Pics of flush kit.
1.Lift the vehicle hood and support it with the hood prop rod. Allow the engine to cool completely before proceeding.
2.Turn the coolant pressure cap a quarter turn, and wait for the hissing noise to dissipate. Remove the coolant pressure cap.
3.Locate the air bleeder valve on the heater return hose on the left side of the engine.
Some people recommend turning your temp control knob to full hot.
4.Turn the air bleeder valve counterclockwise with the line wrench. Slowly pour fresh DEXCOOL coolant into the neck for the coolant pressure cap. When a steady stream of coolant pours from the bleeder valve. Close bleeder valve.
5.Top off the cooling system to the "Full" mark with the fresh DEXCOOL coolant. Install the coolant tank cap.
This is the correct way, but not the way I did it. I installed a flush kit, and filled the system as much as it would take. I then ran the engine at idle with the cap off and the flush cap off also. When I saw that there were no more bubbles generated in the coolant tank I shut the engine off and put the caps on. This can be dangerous as it can spray boiling coolant out of the coolant tank. I was desperate and performed the procedure with another trained mechanic. My bleeder was broken. See pics below.
Pic of original bleeder. It is located on the metal pipe in the center of the pic. Older models may have another bleeder on the thermostat housing.
Pics of flush kit.
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