stalling and overheating

[dimpledweather]

Hi,

I have a 1999 pontiac grand am 2.4l engine. For some time now when I'm driving and a speed over 30 mph and come to a stop or slow down my car stalls. I put it in park and it cranks back up. As of yesterday it is now overheating when im at a red light or a drive through idling. It does this with or without the ac being on. When i'm driving the temp goes back to 200 and stays there as long as im driving. I checked the coolant and its full. I checked to see if the fans are running and they are. Any suggestion on both issues?

 

[melsg5]

Look in the oil filler cap for a brownish substance, if you have that you may have a blown head gasket. Did you check the coolant level when the engine was cold? Have you pressure tested the cooling system when cold? If the fans are running at idle and the car is still overheating you may need to clean and flush the cooling system.

 

[dimpledweather]

ok checked everything you mention. I checked the coolant again and it was low, so fixed the running hot. also found out where it was leaking and replaced the clamp on the hose going into my firewall. no brown stuff in the oil cap. But the going dead has gotten worse. Last night i was driving doing about 45mph while depressing the gas pedal the car lost power. all the lights on the dash came on. i was still coasting along on the street. I was able to switch lanes and pull over. I stopped the car put it in park and it crenked right up. any suggestions. Is this electrical or fuel related?

 

[melsg5]

have you changed your air and fuel filter on a regular basis. more than 100k on the plugs change them. I assume no check engine light? have you tried cleaning the throttle body and the idle air control valve?

______________________________

 

[dimpledweather]

i changed the air filter at the end of may, i have never changed the fuel filter and i changed the plugs in 2010. i just reached 200,000 miles on the car. i have not put a 100,000 since last spark plug change. No engine light. Should i change the plugs anyway. It vibrates really bad when i'm at a light. May the plug wires too? How can i tell if its the fuel filter. Also i have never put any fuel injector cleaner in it.

 

[melsg5]

If you have more than 30k on fuel filter, change it. A bottle of injector cleaner wont hurt. With 200k on it you may want to do a compression test. Checking the plugs to see if one of them is not firing would be a good idea.

 

[dimpledweather]

ok, I will start with those things to see if i can clear the problem up. thanks a lot for your help!