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Sedans Oldsmobile Intrigue Oldsmobile Intrigue: Problems & Solutions 
1000 messages, Last post on Nov 03, 2006 at 2:43 PM
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I have a 98 (97,000 miles) that, over the past year or so, has developed a tendency to overheat easily. I've especially noticed this since I moved to Denver, where there are more hills and less air. If the temperature is 75 degress or higher, I can get the car to run up to the 3/4 mark on the gauge with a little mountain driving or some stop-and-go traffic (no air conditioning). Normally the gauge runs just under the half-way mark. The first time or two it happened (when I was unprepared) the fluid literally boiled in the overflow tank until it cooled down enough. I noticed this for the first time last year and one of the local service shops in Denver recommended flushing the radiator. This is technically not needed with the Dex-cool system until 150k, but I did it anyway. The problem remains. I've checked and double-checked the fluid level, and it seems fine. I use only the dex-cool anti-freeze with a 100% mixture. Has anyone else run into this issue or have any ideas on how to fix it? When the summer comes in full force, commuting becomes a game of watching the heat gauge and hoping for continuously moving traffic with no hills. Is there a natural tendency for cars to overheat in higher altitudes due to there being less air, and if so, is there anything I can do about it? |
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The first thing you should check is that the plastic lower-front spoiler is still intact. It is a piece of black plastic that runs across the bottom front of the car. This peice directs air into the radiator when the car is moving. Without it, hardly any air runs over the radiator. Thinner air would reduce the cooling effect, but the car should certainly be able to handle it. Have you ever replaced the thermostat? It could be intermittantly sticking, or not opening up fully. Also, make sure the engine belt is in good shape, and not slipping over the water pump (like if it were oily). Did you say you use 100% Dex-cool? If that is the case, empty it out and use a 50/50 mixture with clean water. Water is what does the actual cooling. Water transfers heat like nobody's business. The coolant (plus pressure) just helps change the boiling/freezing points of the water, prevents the water from corroding the engine and cooling system, and serves as a lubricant for the water pump. It doesn't really have any great heat transferring ability. If the coolant mix is the problem and you are going to flush it then you might do some other things as well. If you never changed the thermostat, then you should do this as a preventative measure. Same thing with the radiator cap. They aren't expensive, but can cause expensive repairs when they stop working (especially the thermostat). You might also want to change the hoses too. |
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jtoth, You could also install a lower temperature T-stat, as the OE one is 195 degrees F. There are several other choices, 180, 160 etc..Stant, Robertshaw and NAPA all make 'em. This will allow your engine to run cooler, without a lot of work...Good luck.. |
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If his car really is overheating, a lower-temp thermostat won't make much difference. It might make it take a little longer to overheat, but that's about it. When the engine is in the 200's and climbing, a 160 degree thermostat is just as open as a 195 degree one. Jtoth, how about an update on the situation? Did you fix it yet? What have you tried? Thanks. |
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| While true overheating may or maynot be a product of the thermostat temperature, going to a lower temp should help, as it will open sooner and thus never reach the higher temps....but if there is some other physical problem with the hardware, you are right a change in the temp will not help...I only suggested it to help, as it is a common item to change on performance cars. Besides, his problem may be the temp sender to the gauge and it isn't really overheating... | |
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However, if the engine can't cool properly and is going to run up to 220+ degrees, it won't stop at 160 because the thermostat opened earlier. The engine itself makes the heat, and it will make as much whatever the temp of the cooling system. If the cooling system can't vent off enought heat to keep up at 200 degrees (i.e. the temp climbs higher) then it certainly can't keep up at 160 degrees. At 160, it has much less efficiency as the difference in temperature between the coolant and the ambient air is much less than at 200 degrees. The hotter coolant can get rid of more heat than the cooler coolant. If there is a cooling problem, a lower temp thermostat will just delay the inevitable a bit. It won't fix it. The car won't heat up to 160 and then stop, yet if allowed to heat to 190 it would continue to the point of overheating. That doesn't make any sense. The only way the lower temp thermostat would help is if the current thermostat is defective. In this case the lower temp thermostat would help simply because it was a new thermostat. Lower temp thermostats are usually used for a performance gain by keeping the engine cooler when it would be possible to run cool (i.e. the only reason it warms up to 190 is because the thermostat makes it). They don't do anything when the conditions cause the engine to run hotter than the original thermostat. |
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| Your assessment of the function of a thermostat is somewhat misleading, first off, a thermostat is designed to open at a specific temperature, therefore keeping the coolant in the block within a specific range. A lower temp. thermostat will open sooner and thus, the lower temp. thermostat will cycle faster than a higher temp one...They do do something different than a OE one of a higher temp...open sooner....Get a clue....Also, most performance cars reduce the t-stat temp to allow timing advances and reduced chance of detontation. Besides, we haven't heard from the owner of the problem, and that is why we posted in the first place. | |
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So what's the range on a 160 degree thermostat? All it can affect is the bottom end of the temperature spectrum. It can't magically affect the range of temperatures... Interesting that you tell me to get a clue, but then you go off about timing advance and detonation. What does that have to do with overheating? Perhaps you should explain to me how a 160 thermostat will help a car with a 190 degree thermostat that runs at 220+ degrees, instead of just being rude. You are right, we don't know what is wrong with the guy's car that brought this up. Nor do we know how he resolved it (if he did). However, you advertised low-temp thermostats as a cure for overheating. They are not. They are useful for performance for a car that has adequate cooling capacity and can actually maintain a lower temperature. If a car is overheating, it rather obviously cannot maintain a lower temp... |
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Ok, Bud, here goes, First off, if anybody was rude, it was you...you need to read your posts, as they do seem that way to me...if you think that making a statement like I did is rude, you are too thin skinned for this forum...And my statements on the performance virtues of a lower thermostat are "going off"??? You are the one who is going off...I already tried to explain.....How do you know it is acutally at 220+ degrees? You don't!! If the gauge or the sender is faulty, he may not even have a overheating problem...And you don't even own an Intrigue.... |
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I have re-read my posts, and I don't see what was rude about them. They certainly weren't intended that way. I don't believe I said anything like "get a clue", nor did I refer to you as "Bud". And too thin-skinned for this forum? What, is this some forum of jerks? I'm also not sure what thin skin has to do with noticing the tone of your post. Also, I don't think the context of my statement about "going off" infers what you seem to think it does. I didn't mean "going off" like you were raging or venting. I meant you were going off on a tangent, on an unrelated point. If in fact the gauge or sender is faulty, a lower temp thermostat would not resolve that either. You made a point that jtoth should try a lower temp thermostat, and I simply opined that it probably wouldn't help his problem. My goal was only to offer some information to the gentleman that posted a cooling question. You certainly don't have to agree with my opinion, but I do believe I am entitled to offer it. Even if I don't own an Intrigue...
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