- #9 of 78
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Temp and crankshaft problems
by cchlu
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Nov 23, 2007 (6:17 pm)
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I have a 2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue, I have recently discovered that the temperature is running too cold and the crankshaft censor has an error causing the car to stall while at red lights and more recently while slowing down to a stop or while making a turn. Does anyone know the easiest way to fix these problems or how much a garage will charge?
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- #11 of 78
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water pump problems
by mike251
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Jan 07, 2008 (12:50 pm)
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I have a 2000 intrigue, I replaced the water pump and now there seems to be air trapped in the system. I took it to a shop and they could only find one bleed value next to the radiator. they bled it out and added more coolant but it is still over heating a bit and you can hear what sounds like air pockets popping near the back of the engine, almost as if it were popping in the dash!? Any help would be greatly appreciated. 
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- #12 of 78
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Re: water pump problems [mike251]
by pacino
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May 28, 2008 (7:18 pm)
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Replying to: mike251 (Jan 07, 2008 12:50 pm)
I have the same problem Mike. Did you get yours fixed. Please let me know
dino
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- #13 of 78
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Re: water pump problems [pacino]
by mike251
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May 29, 2008 (6:38 am)
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Replying to: pacino (May 28, 2008 7:18 pm)
yes we fixed the water pump. You must use OEM water pump and OEM thermostat. I had originally purchased a water pump and thermostat from auto zone. After 4days and lots of coolant and money, I purchased the OEM parts and followed the following directions we found online from another man that had the same problem. I am a mechanic and I could not believe this was the process for changing a water pump. There is only one bleed air value and it is in the top left corner of the radiator on my car. Also the reservoir for the extra coolant is part of the pressurized system so if there is any kind of leak or like ours the cap was coming apart in 2 pieces you need a new one of those too. After we fixed the car we were still noticing a spike in temp. and ever now and then there was coolant on the garage floor. It was coming from the reserve coolant tank, replace OEM tank and refilled the entire system AGAIN and we have had no problems since.
Refill directions are below
Good luck. 
CF Newbie
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 1
Vehicle Profile:
Year: 2001
Make: Oldsmobile
Model: INTRIGUE
Intrigue overheating problem solved!!
A little background: I have a 2001 Oldsmobile Intrigue with a 3.5 engine the water pump started to leak so I change it ,flushed the coolant system added new coolant and thats when the problem of overheating started.Prior to the new water pump there was no problem. I have the GM service manual so I followed the instructions to add coolant exactly and all the burping procedures this did not solve the overheating problem. Based on previous posts I did not want to start changing the thermotate,radiator etc,etc because they did not solve the problem, I suspected an air bubble so I decided to monitor the situation for a while and continually checking the bleed valve, after one month of driving I found the following:
1: The engine did not heat up as long as the revs were 2,000 rpm plus
2: When the temperature did get near the red line simply stopping the car and reving the engine dropped the needle to the midrange instantly
3: I found that driving at rpm's below 2,000 caused the overheat spike and when the revs went up the temperature gage came down, infact I could drive the car without overheating by shifting gears on the automatic transmission thereby keeping the revs up, THIS CONVINCED ME IT MUST BE AN AIR BUBBLE IN THE SYSTEM.
THE FIX:
I started from square one again which a few changes to the filling procedure:
1: drained the coolant you will get approximately 5 litres out of the pee cock(don't forget to open the rad bleed valve)
2:disconnect the top rad hose from the engine.
3:I cut the top heater hose(near the fire wall) and installed a "y" flushing adapter inline
4:I also connected a drain hose to the engine outlet (where I disconnected the top rad hose) I did this so as to not make a mess.
5:I connected a garden hose to the "y" flushing adapter I also used a ball cock valve to control the water flow.
6:I kept the cap on the surge tank.
7:turn on the water and watch the surge tank the water will start to rise you will be able to contol the level by regulating the flow from the hose. Regulate the flow so the water in the surge tank is about 3/4 full and just let the hose run keeping an eye on it so it does not over flow. Now turn your attention to the engine outflow.
8:You will probably see the water coming out in spurts or bubbles WHEN IT COMES OUT IN A CONTINEUS FLOW ALL THE AIRS OUT, you need the hose pressure toget the air out the water pump just cannot do it! Thats why this is such a common problem for the DIY guy.
9:also run the water until it is clean so as to get the right coolant mixture.
FILLING:
10: you will need to get 4.75 litres of anti freeze in the system for 50/50 mixture which can be a challenge.
11:shut the water off but do not disconnect, with the rad bleed open and the rad peecock closed add coolant thru top rad hose until it comes out of the bleed valve, you will probably get about 3 1/4 liters in the rad. close the bleed valve(I made a tool to open and close the bleeder. I ground 4 driving slots in a socket so I could use a ratchet wrench )
12: I added the balance of the antifreeze to the surge tank NOTE!!! the top rad hose is not connected to the engine so as you added antifreeze it will push out water this is what you want you need to add about 1 1/2 litre this way, you are adding a total of 4.75 litres of antifreeze to the system. CONNECT THE TOP RAD HOSE. the level in the surge tank will be below the cold level proceed as follows:
13:The garden hose should still be connected to the "y" flush adapter slowly add water to the system and watch the surge tank level when the fluid level reaches the cold level shut the water off and disconnect the hose. Seal the "y" adapter with the plug that comes with it:
14:ALL DONE run the engine a few cycles to mix the coolant and drive, drive ,drive,problem free.
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- #14 of 78
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Re: water pump problems [mike251]
by pacino
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May 29, 2008 (8:27 pm)
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Replying to: mike251 (May 29, 2008 6:38 am)
Thanks for the information Mike. Why do you have to use an OEM water pump and OEM thermostat and where do you get these parts from? I would realy appreciate a reply. thanks again
Dino
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- #15 of 78
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Re: water pump problems [pacino]
by mike251
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May 30, 2008 (5:37 am)
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Replying to: pacino (May 29, 2008 8:27 pm)
The coolant system in that car is a reverse flow system, because you will find the thermostat is near the bottom left coolant hose, instead of the top right where they typically are in other cars. The water pump I purchase from auto zone and the OEM parts that I ordered from a General Motors Dealership where different. There are little fan blades in the water pump and they did not look the same. The thermostat that we purchased from auto zone could not even be used because it was no where near the same as the one I pulled of the car! The thermostat that is on the car is one large piece that is all welded together, I had not seen a thermostat made that way before. There was also some holes on the OEM water pump that the other pump didnot have. When you order the parts from a dealership call a couple of them in your area if you can, we found some of them varied in price, but it will be more than you are used to paying if you were like us and shopped at auto zone.
Also just a side note in march the alternator went out on this car too, It is in the front bottom part of the engine, If that is starting to go for you I would do it all together, because you have to take the fan and radiator out to even get it off, it is huge! And of course I had to refill the coolant system AGAIN! This car is the biggest pain in my  I have ever had to fix.
Good Luck
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- #16 of 78
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Re: water pump problems [mike251]
by pacino
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May 30, 2008 (9:09 pm)
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Replying to: mike251 (May 30, 2008 5:37 am)
Thanks very much Mike. I'm still getting gurling in the heater core hose, when the car is idling, the temperature gauge is about half way with the heat off. When I turn the heat up, the temperature gauge jumps to around the 3/4 mark and it starts overheating. The only way the gauge comes down is when I rev up the engine. the radiator fans are working normally so I think I still have some air bubbles in the heater core. Which hose do I disconnect on the heater core to let the air out? Much appreciated if you can reply and tell me the procedure. Thanks again-hope to hear from you soon.
dino
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- #17 of 78
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Re: water pump problems [pacino]
by mike251
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May 31, 2008 (10:41 am)
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Replying to: pacino (May 30, 2008 9:09 pm)
I can not stress how important it is for you to buy real GM parts for this car. Remember it is cadillac v6 engine and no part from auto zone or Napa are going to fix this problem. This style of engine uses a reverse flow coolant system another words its coolant flows from the top of the engine to the bottom. Most cars are the opposite. The thermostat is located were the bottom hose of the radiator goes into the bottom side of the engine it is held in by two bolts. When you pull it out you will see that the Thermostat is 4 to 6 inches long. It cost about 50 dollars when you by it threw GM dealership. The water pump is just to the left of it and cost about 140 dollars threw the GM dealership. The impeller on the GM water pump has to holes on it that help get rid of the air and help keep the pressure up. The reason you can rev the engine and cool the car is because you build enough pressure in the system to overcome the thermostat spring tension and then coolant runs threw the radiator. Here lies the problem buying the pumps from autozone and Napa their pumps do not build enough pressure in the system to overcome the spring tension on the thermostat sitting at idle. Even though it is called a thermostat it more of pressure valve than a thermostat it opens more on pump pressure. Also since it is pressure coolant system it is very important that the reservoir is in very good shape including the cap. I had to buy a new one from GM which was 100 dollars. Now to bleeding the coolant system. No where on the engine is there any bleeder ports. So when I got on the internet I found a guy who devised a bleeding system for this car which works very good. You have to go to auto zone to get the T fitting that helps flush the coolant system. You cut the hose in half and stick this T fitting in between the cut hose pieces and this T fitting is now permantly part of your coolant system. The hose you cut is the hose coming from the heater core and going into the top of the engine. You will need to goto K- Mart or Wal-Mart to get a fitting for your garden hose to hook into the the T fitting. I had to cut my garden hose to install the fitting to connect to the T fitting. A Ball type valve fitting for your garden hose works the best. Connect the garden hose to the T fitting but don't open up the valve on the garden hose fitting. Remove the top Radiator hose going into the top of the engine and leave the hose connected to the radiator. Drain the radiator completely which the drain for it is at the bottom of the radiator Turn and pull out. When radiator is completely drained push in radiator drain and turn. Turn on water hose and open valve you will get a steady stream of water coming from the top of the engine. Monitor the reservoir so that you do not overfill the reservoir. You can let the reservoir fill up about 3/4 but adjust your water flow going into engine if it gets to high. Make sure you get all the air out of the engine block where it comes out of top of the engine. You should get a steady stream of water out of the top of the engine when the air is out. Shut valve going into T fitting and do not disconnect the water hose. Fill the radiator with 50/50 premixed antifreeze coolant From the top of the radiator hose. Have someone hold the radiator hose while you open the radiator reservoir cap. Fill the reservoir with premixed antifreeze until you get a steady stream of premixed antifreeze coming from top of engine. Put the reservoir cap back on and let reservoir level go below the cool line about an inch. Then hurry and connect the top radiator hose back on to the top of the engine. Make sure the clamp is on the radiator hose going into the top of the engine. Turn the hose water on and you will see the level in the reservoir rise. Let it rise to to cold line then shut valve going into T fitting and disconnect water hose but be quick you have to put the cap on the T fitting to keep the air out the water will start to shoot out the T fitting get the cap on as fast as possible. Then you are finished bleeding. Good luck do not skip any steps or buy cheap parts it will just cause frustration in the end. The popping or gurgling sound is the water boiling and not air. Make sure you get the right parts other wise you will spend 40 hrs on fixing the car like I did. I spent double the money because I bought the parts from Autozone and no matter what you do or how well you bleed the system it will always overheat until you buy the parts from the dealership. No cheap way around fixing this car you have to use OEM part "original equipment manufacturer parts".
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- #18 of 78
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Re: water pump problems [mike251]
by dtownfb
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Jun 02, 2008 (6:16 pm)
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Replying to: mike251 (May 31, 2008 10:41 am)
try www.gmpartsdirect.com or www.rockauto.com for parts. They sell genuine GM parts for much less then the dealer.
Mike351: Thanks for sharing your ordeal. That will help a bunch of folks who are having overheating issues.
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