100,000 miles, stock 3.4 liter. Relaced the thermostat which was stuck and it got hot again. The new thermostat also stuck! Took out the thermostat and left it out. Still runs hot! No leaks and no water in the oil. What else could it be? Someone told me if the cataytic convertor was stopped up it would run hot. Is this true? How would you check the cat? Any help woud be appreciated. Thanks, R.B.
Daughter's 2001 Impala overheating problem. Need help!
- Thread starter rb68rr
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Power flush, back flush (reverse flow), etc. I think KLHAMMETT might be onto something.
My dads 96 Impy SS had no heat. Odd with only 22K miles. Turned out the dexcool clogged up the heater core completely. Dealer flushed the **** out of the cooling system, installed a new heater core and it was fine.......
DexCool sucks
My dads 96 Impy SS had no heat. Odd with only 22K miles. Turned out the dexcool clogged up the heater core completely. Dealer flushed the **** out of the cooling system, installed a new heater core and it was fine.......
DexCool sucks
Water pump leaks when the internal seal goes bad,Ive seen pump impellers fall right off the pumps,they still spin fine from the outside,removal is hte only sure way to know.Look at the inpeller, each leg should have a bend on hte end of it,If it is flat.its no good
Check the flow while it is running, that should tell you if the propeller has fallen off or not. I guess you could also squeeze the top hose and see if you can feel the pressure running by... maybe squeeze or kink it enough to feel the surge of water when you let it go. You may also be able to see the flow with the radiator cap off and with it warm - NOT HOT...
Dunno how hard the water pump is to change... differs greatly from vehicle to vehicle... not familiar w/ the impala.
If you can feel the flow from the pump, have it backflushed.
Vic
Dunno how hard the water pump is to change... differs greatly from vehicle to vehicle... not familiar w/ the impala.
If you can feel the flow from the pump, have it backflushed.
Vic
lynch crew
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What you might wanna check is the front of the radiator for blockage.Check in between the radiator and condensor.If you have any dirt on the radiator(front side),it will restrict your airflow.Also make sure that the fans operate correctly.If they come on with the a/c they should be ok.Also check that the front air dam is not broken or misssing.I had a olds Intrigue that had some blockage in front of the radiator.I cleaned it out with some compressed air and it was ok.rb68rr said:
buickpower
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On a 3.4 its really not that big of a job, just did one a couple weeks ago on a 3.4 grand am. the pump inner part comes out, but the housing stays put. you basically have to take the belt off the pump and take out some bolts....the inner part comes out and you replace it with a new gasket, which should come with the pump. Take a look and you will see what i mean. and yes dexcool really blows.
I know you said you checked the fans but double check them again and the three control relays. 99% of the overheating problems I run into at work(NYPD fleet services, lots of Impala's)involves the colling fans and the electronics for them.
If it's not that I'd agree on the water pump, unfortunatly the design of the radiator does not permit you to easily see if there is flow but you can always crack the bleeder open and it should be a strong stream(when warm and thermostat is open). You should know this already from when you changed the thermostat and bled the system anyway.
HTH,
Steve
If it's not that I'd agree on the water pump, unfortunatly the design of the radiator does not permit you to easily see if there is flow but you can always crack the bleeder open and it should be a strong stream(when warm and thermostat is open). You should know this already from when you changed the thermostat and bled the system anyway.
HTH,
Steve
Have some one check for a blown head gasket using a exhaust gas bench. Or go to a parts store and buy a tool that uses some type of blue colored fluid to see if exhaust gasses are present in the cooling system. Was the radiator neck filled with a brown mud looking mess? That is Dexcool anti freeze that should have been replaced a very long time ago along with the radiator cap.
My water pump went out on one of my old cars which had the same problem as your daughter's car. Found out later, after taking the water pump off, that the propeller was in pieces. Luckily, it was all in big chunks so I found all of them. Took about 45 mins or so to change out in a driveway and she ran fine. It was on a Ford Countour w/ the 3.0L V-6 (damn Fords! 
). That would be my guess.
HTH,
). That would be my guess.HTH,
Does anybody know what the normal coolant temperature should be while cruising on the highway in 95 degree weather with the air on? My son-in-law is working on it and I don't remember him telling me what degree thermostat he put in it. Here's what he has done so far: Replaced the lower intake gasket (small leak), replaced the thermostat, took water pump off and checked the blades (ok), flushed radiator (don't know exactly how), gutted catalytic converter. He says it still gets up to around 220 degrees on the temperature gauge before he shuts it off. Could a radiator shop help with this problem if that is what it is? Can't imagine what else is left! Thanks for all the suggestions. R.B.
rb68rr said:
With you saying that, and no evidence of a bad head gasket somewhere, I would bet that the radiator is plugged up. I had a toyota with the 22r... could run all over town with the A/C on and never get warm... get on the freeway and it would just steadily climb till I pulled over. I looked in the radiator (down flow) and it looked fine, one day I got the idea to pull the top tank off and low and behold as soon as it got out of sight, it was completely plugged up. So I rodded it out myself and it worked great!
Good luck!
Vic
rb68rr said:
I bet you have a plastic tanked radiator. I would say replace it.
Mine was all copper/brass I heated it with a torch and blew all the liquid solder out. then I took a fin from a garden rake and flattened it out and used it to core each slot. Then I rinsed it all out and soldered it back up and painted it.
Came out like new.
OK, my son-in-law took the radiator to a radiator shop and had it rodded out. Shop said it was only 20% blocked. Put it back on with a new radiator cap and ran at normal temperature for about 20-30 minutes and then headed for the red while driving!! Nothing blocking air flow up front. WTF!!! R.B.
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