99 Grand Am SE 3.4L V6

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nyong23

:mad:Temp always go up to 220 225 when stop and go driving. it stay on 200 for typical driving on level street. but on climbing driving it go up to 210. :confused:it seem something wrong w/ cooling system. :eek:it always make me worry a lot when driving in slow/jam traffic or even local street w/ a lot stop light.
 
temps

You should try a flush and change the thermostat. Do you know if its been changed since 99 (fluid and t-stat)? its a good place to start. if the fluid has not been changed, it sometimes clogs up passages in your rad, causing poor cooling.
 
That actually is probably just about normal. The car should have a 195 thermastat in it stock, so it will ride above that normally. The fans probably don't even kick on untill 215 - 225 or so.

If it continues to bother you, pick up a 180 thermastat. That will drop the temps a little bit while driving, but during stop and go, it will still get that hot unless you can get the PCM to tell the fans to turn on at a lower temp.



I also agree on flushing the cooling system and adding in some new coolant.
 
that's way too high for normal temps
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How did you tell PCM to kick in sooner. I did flush it about 6 mos ago. hose broke last month, so repair shop change both hose and put new coolant on it, btw it require dex-cool only. i have no idea what's the diffs dex-cool and regular green coolant? So change t'stat won't help temp on stop and drive or driving in jam traffic?
 
the dex cool is supposed to be good for 5 years. If you do a flush of the system and the t-stat is original it makes sense to change it. you cannot tell the OCM to kick in sooner. you may also have blocked passages in the rad or water jackets. typically if you overheat in stop and go, the rad is a likely culprit.
 
Yes, let me re-phrase that comment about the PCM...

unless you have a tuner ( Hypertech, Jet etc... ) or have a custom PCM, you can't tell the fans to turn on at a lower temp.

If you do a coolant flush, many people will actually recommend that you get rid of the Dex Cool and go with another type of coolant. Many people like the Prestone Long Life. If you check out some other forums and know any mechanics, chances are that you will find there is a huge debate about Dex and it actually eating away intake gaskets.

what is the stop and go driving you are doing? do you mean stopping every city block and not going above 25 MPH or so? or is it just going through a city with some stop lights and hitting about 45 MPH or so between them?

The type of stop and go driving you do can have a big effect on what is "normal" for your car. if you are in a large city that has frequent traffic jams, then 225 would not be all that bad. However, if you are hitting 45 MPH and are still seeing 225, then you probably do have a problem.

another thing to really consider here is that your temp gage might not be accurate. I have heard of many cars that the temp gage is off by anywhere from 5 all the way to 30 degrees off of what the temp actually is.

I would say for you to get a coolant flush and a new thermostat either way. One thing for sure is that it won't hurt anything. Whether or not you put Dex back in is your choice.
 
Yeah it's going 220-225 on jam freeway or 25-35 city drive with a long stop at light, or heavy city traffic. i'm worried 'cos my hose did burst last month, when i drive interstate 5 on rush hour. i did flush coolant about 6 months ago. and change coolant with two hose last month. but the mechanic put dex-cool back. i forgot to mention my coolant reservoir stain. last time when i flush it my mechanic told me he cannot get rid of color stain in the reservoir, but i already forgot what color the stain is. how to check if i got block passage in the rad?
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now, the next thing to check would be to make sure that your cooling fan (s) are comming on.

also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to check out the front of the radiator or a/c condenser and make sure that there is no trash or anything blocking any airflow.

I wouldn't freak out about the mechanic putting Dex back in, just keep an eye on your coolant level. If you ever start to lose coolant and don't find any leaks, chances are that you have a lower intake gasket leaking. I just replaced the upper and lower intake gaskets on a friends Aztek with a 3.4 last year. Not an extremly hard job, but not exactly changing a tire if you know what I mean.

The stain in the coolant resevoir is probably nothing to really worry about either, most likely it was just your car's way of telling you that the coolant needed to be flushed.

I am not %100 sure on how to check for blocked passages in the radiator:confused:

One more question, does the car get this hot in the winter months also?
 
one giveaway for blocked passages would be to look in the filler neck and see if you see calcification or corrosion on the inside. If you see white/rust crud on the metal fins, then its likely the rad was not flushed in years and that the small passages could have their flow blocked or restricted, resulting in poor cooling efficiency.
 
what is calcification? i think i saw some residue in the reservoir cap, ast time i check coolant level. but i just flushed it around june 2007. that's how i found my reservoir stain, my mechanics show me when he took it off, and try to clean it up. but dex-cool color is reddish anyway. can give any picture about that small passage?
btw if i change my t'stat to 180, will the fan kick in sooner like 205?since it kick in around 225 with 195 t'stat.
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The fan won't kick in any sooner with a lower thermostat, the only way to get the fan to be on at a lower temp is through the PCM. That would involve custom tuning or a custom PCM.
 
How to find any place that can do PCM program to make fan kick in sooner? I couldn't find rad specialist around where i live from online search.
 
You would have to search on line for tuner programs such as Hypertech, or find a Grand Am specific forum and ask them if there is any places that can make a custom PCM for your car.

I would try and get a 180 thermostat first just to see if it makes any difference. It might not, but a 180 t-stat is generally recommended anyways with a custom PCM or tuner as they generally help in the performance area some as well.
 
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