97 pontiac grand am overheating?

[john b]

she is over heating when idel, and she is useing water like a bottomless pit. looking at the car standing in front of it, left side, beside tire about 3 inches back is where the water seems to be leaking. possibly pump. any other ideas?

 

[alvarz]

i'm good at fixing cars. what you describe seems to be the water pump. It could be a hose. But you have to open your eyes and really look. You have an aluminum engine. They dont tell you this but overheating is the#1 reason why these cars wind up in the junk yard. So dont keep running it --get it fixed. And it is definitely not from the A/C--that guy is wrong/
you dont take emails so good luck to you.

 

[wde3477]

Is the vehicle actually losing coolant? If so, then I agree with 'alvarz' that the water pump or hose are prime suspects, but don't overlook the possibility of a heater core leak.

In humid areas, the A/C evaporator core does have a drain for the condensate run-off that will leave puddles of water on the ground - but, of course, the A/C would have to be running for this to happen. Wasn't clear in your post if the overheating was with the A/C on or off.

Does the radiator fan engage? It should be on whenever the A/C is on, or when the coolant reaches a temperature of about 223degF.

Also agree that aluminum heads and blocks do not react kindly to overheating - suggest to find out what is going on and to get fixed in short order.