Still overheating. HELP!!!!

[ihatemygrandamg]

Well right before I changed my lim gasket my car began to overheat. I would have to be easy on the throttle until the car got warmed up or the car would go up to 260* and run REALLY sluggish and my exhuast would get really loud. Then after a min it would go back to normal.

I flushed my coolant and changed my tstat, and it still overheated. I ran the car with no coolant cap, heater on 5, and and loosened the bleeder screw and let some coolant out to bleec it. Now do I have to crain the coolant completely and take out the valve screw to correctly bleed the system? I think it may just have an air pocket due to the car running really sluggish when this happens, but I also get a traction off light?

Could this be caused by something wrong with one of my sensors or something? I have an MMS pcm but never got a case learn due to not getting an ses light.
should I go ahead and get the case learn even after a few months?

And one more question. Is it possible to remove the lim without removing the rear valve cover? Only the top 2 bolts hold it to the lim,the other 2 are in the head.Im not doing the gasket again, just wanna get a ported lim and it would save me alot of time and work not having to do this.

Thanks for your time everyone
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[SappySE107]

I would check the coolant temp sensor and make sure it outputs the right resistance based on temp. My should have the specs under sensor descriptions.

To bleed the system, you should only have to fill it up and squeeze the radiator hoses to help pump it through some. Then with it running, fill it till it doesn't want any more. Then seal the system and open the highest bleeder screw. This should get the air out.

Hows your water pump? I find it odd that doing the flush and pulling the manifolds off and checking it out didn't clear up the problem.

Not sure on the PCM but that shouldn't be the cause of your coolant temp rising up so much. It could be a stuck thermostat...which does happen even new.

[ihatemygrandamg]

I thought about my waterpump but honestly I dont think thats it. Ill try to bleed to the system and if it still overheats then Ill change out the waterpump.

I had a 180* tstat, took it out and put my stocker back in,then put a new one in when I flushed my coolant. Still overheated with all of them.I was gonna get one of those fail-safe tstats that pop back open automatically but dont think its the tstat anymore.

[SappySE107]

Yeah, that doesn't sound like its the stat. Either you got air or your water pump is shot. Well, or your block is crap and your radiator is shot to hell. Hopefully bleeding it it fix it.

[ihatemygrandamg]

I just bought a new water pump offline, and Ill try bleeding tomorow hopefully. Ill see what happens.

[montess408]

your rad. could be pluged mine was this summer and it overheated i changed the rad . and no more overheating problem !!

[ihatemygrandamg]

Well I bled my system and still overheats. I also was an idiot and wasnt careful and broke the damn bleeder screw head off cause its so small. I may try to get a new coolant resevoir cap, and Im gonna replace the waterpump. If that still doesnt help then I guess Ill maybe look into another radiator.

[SHOoff]

Well right before I changed my lim gasket my car began to overheat. I would have to be easy on the throttle until the car got warmed up or the car would go up to 260* and run REALLY sluggish and my exhuast would get really loud. Then after a min it would go back to normal.

Perhaps when it overheated like that, it did something like warp the a head and blow a HG? The 2.2OHV is good at doing that.

[tractorman]

Your problem could be any number of things. If you overheated the engine because of that LIM gasket problem, then it could've blown a head gasket or cracked a head. For that matter, if you had dexcool in the system... then it's likely that your cooling system is also full of the dexcool sludge. I think you have multiple problems and you'll spend LOTS of money if you try to fix it by throwing parts at it.

If your engine has been up to 260 degrees more than once, then that engine is likely toast anyway. Your best bet is another engine AND radiator... or better yet get rid of the car.

[ihatemygrandamg]

Shit it does it every time I drive, but it still runs fine once it goes back down. Engine isnt toast. Its not from the gasket cause it started a few days before I changed the gasket. I also flushed the coolant and changed the tstat to get rid of any sludge.Yea it could be a tedious process trying to figure it out but Ill never give up on my car.

[tractorman]

I think I'm jumping the gun a bit by telling you to get rid of the car. I guess my main point is that throwing parts at the problem is a mighty expensive way to figure it out. I'll throw a few ideas around here and maybe it'll help you with a place to start.

The water pump is a very unlikely cause for your problem. The ONLY time I've ever seen a water pump cause an overheating situation was when the impeller had come loose from the shaft and wan't spinning- this was on a John Deere dozer. It's theoretically possible, but I've never heard of it happening on these v6's, and rarely on any automotive engine. It would be one of the last things I'd check.

A plugged radiator will cause an overheat mainly when it's hot outside and/or the engine is under a heavy load. Since it's cool out and you're just driving around (not towing a boat or driving up a pass in the rockies, I assume?), then the radiator isn't likely to be your problem.

Are you absolutely sure that the air is bled out of the system? I don't remember which style of tank that grand am has- does it have a pressurized tank with bleeder hose running from the top of the radiator to the fill tank, AND another one the T-stat housing to the fill tank? That's how my Corsica is set up. Make sure that the hoses and fittings are open- it's easy to get an air bubble if that hose or fitting is stopped up (quite possible with this dex-cool crap). If you have the more conventional type of overflow system with the pressure cap on the radiator and a non-pressurized overflow, then these hoses aren't really an issue- 'cause they're not there. In either case, you should be able to fill up the cooling sytem with the car running- as much as it'll take in a few minutes of running. Then drive it some, get it warmed up. Bleed the air out of the bleeder a couple times and you should be good to go.

I broke that little bleeder screw on my Corsica a few years ago. A 1/8" NPT draincock fit right in there and made a good replacement (not so easy to break). Any parts store should have one.

Here's where my suggestions get ugly: 260 degrees is dangerously hot- enough to ruin your engine. If your temp gets over 225 or so, you should shut the engine down. You'll be lucky if you don't have major engine damage already. You mentioned that the car overheated BEFORE you put the LIM gaskets on. Like I mentioned before- overheating a car THAT much can crack a head or block... or blow a head gasket. Here's some checks to make:

Check for coolant in the oil. This is ususally caused by the LIM gaskets on these engines, but if you're still getting coolant in the oil with new LIM gaskets, then I'd be suspecting a head or a head gasket.

Also, are you getting combustion pressure into your cooling system? This can make an engine overheat real quick as it puts bubbles in the cooling system (which keeps the water pump from pumping right), and it can push coolant out of the radiator. A blown head gasket, cracked head, or cracked block can cause it. Before you start the car, check and make sure there's no pressure in the cooling system- remove the cap and reinstall it to make sure. Then start the car and feel the radiator hoses. If the cooling system pressures up right away, then you've got BIG problems. It should't pressure up until the engine is well on its way to warming up.

Also, if you suspect that you have a cracked head or blown head gasket, you can pull out each spark plug and have a look. If you're getting much coolant into a cylinder, it'll wash everything clean. If one plug is significantly cleaner then the rest, then that will give you an idea of which cylinder head to pull. I wouldn't use this as THE indication of whether or not you're getting coolant in a cylinder (cause it's a real judgement call when you're just looking at spark plugs), but it's a good trick to use if you're trying to decide which head to pull first.

[tractorman]

Maybe a stupid question, but is your fan coming on?

Also, when it starts to get hot (maybe 220 degrees- for tha love of gawd don't let it get to 260 again), check grab a hold of the radiator hoses while it's idling. If the top hose is hotter than hates and the bottom is cool, then that means that coolant isn't flowing properly (let me know if that's the case). If they're both hot (and your fan is running and it's fairly cool outside), then that doesn't tell us much.

[ihatemygrandamg]

Well I replaced my water pump, and it hasnt gone away. Sometimes it actually seems worse. But since I broke the head off the bleeder screw I couldnt bleed the air out properly. It does seem to have symptoms off an air bubble when it overheats, like loss of power and really loud exhuast and such. It always heats up to operating temp fine, then around 200* it will jump up and come back down after a min. I dont know how a traction off light could be related though but it always comes up when it overheats.And my cooling fans are fine.

I hate to say it but maybe Ill take it to a dealer to get a diagnosis then go from there. So far I flushed my coolant,changed my tstat,water pump,and bled coolant how I thought your supposed to do it.

[ihatemygrandamg]

This may be stupid but what could I use to get that little bleeder screw out? That thing is soo damn small.

[tractorman]

Take that whole thing out- not just that little screw. Screw the 1/8" pipe thread part out of the heater hose pipe adapter (note: "1/8 inch pipe thread" is closer to 3/8" OD- has to do with an antiquated standard for pipe threads. Take my word for it- I'm not talking about just removing that littlebitty screw). Go to a parts store where the folks know what they're doing (not autozone/o'reillys/advance), and ask for a 1/8" draincock. It'll have tapered threads that appear to be about 3/8" in outer diameter. It'll make a good replacement that won't break. You really need to fix this and make sure the air is bled out properly before you drop a bunch of money at a dealer.