97 Sunfire Cooling and RPM Issues

[bradk2585]

So a friend of mine is looking at getting rid of his 1997 Pontiac Sunfire. It has the 2.2 Liter with 199,720 miles on it. Fires right up. He says it "leaks" coolant over time. I told him I'd take a look at it and see what I thought.

I think it runs a little hot. I'm not sure where the "normal" range is on the temp gauge though, so i'm not completely sure. The temp symbol is covered by the needle, which is about right in the middle of the range. When he dropped the car off the other night it did not have very much coolant in it. I topped it off and drove the car around for a little while.

Problem #1: The fan does not kick on. It does if i turn the A/C on, but it will not run with the A/C on and according to the temp gauge it should run.

Problem #2: I don't know if this is where the overflow is or some sort of pressure release valve, but it lets of coolant "steam" or "leaks" coolant somewhere on or around the radiator on the drivers side near the upper hose connection.

Problem #3: I was revving it up in the parking lot to see if the fan would kick on when hot and it will only let me go to around 3800 RPM. This can't be normal.

If anyone would have some advise it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bradk2585]

So a friend of mine is looking at getting rid of his 1997 Pontiac Sunfire. It has the 2.2 Liter with 199,720 miles on it. Fires right up. He says it "leaks" coolant over time. I told him I'd take a look at it and see what I thought.

I think it runs a little hot. I'm not sure where the "normal" range is on the temp gauge though, so i'm not completely sure. The temp symbol is covered by the needle, which is about right in the middle of the range. When he dropped the car off the other night it did not have very much coolant in it. I topped it off and drove the car around for a little while.

Problem #1: The fan does not kick on. It does if i turn the A/C on, but it will not run with the A/C on and according to the temp gauge it should run.Can anyone tell me what turns the fan on at high temperature? I believe it should turn on around 230°

Problem #2: I don't know if this is where the overflow is or some sort of pressure release valve, but it lets of coolant "steam" or "leaks" coolant somewhere on or around the radiator on the drivers side near the upper hose connection.My mechanic tells me that there is no release valve or something here and it is most likely a crack in a line or in the radiator.

Problem #3: I was revving it up in the parking lot to see if the fan would kick on when hot and it will only let me go to around 3800 RPM. This can't be normal. I found out according to my mechanic that this is normal. It will rev limit when in park.

Any advise would be great.