shadow Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I changed the car thermostat because sometimes when its real hot and I set in traffic the needle will move almost to the read zone and the check gauges light comes on. How high is normal for sitting in hot bumper to bumper weather? I hear the fan come on so I know the fan is good. Thanks Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 If you have a stock TGP with everything functioning correctly, it should never go above 220*. You either have air in your cooling system, or your fans aren't functioning.. or both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 If you have a stock TGP with everything functioning correctly, it should never go above 220*. You either have air in your cooling system, or your fans aren't functioning.. or both. Yeah mine stays at 220 most of the time but sitting in hot traffic and the AC on it hovers closer to the red than I would like. my fan seems to come on fine and even when i shut down the car sometimes it will stay on for a few minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krenzy Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Might be a dumb question, but is your coolant low? I'd start there, and if it is low, fill it up, and check for leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z34mightymachine Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Another thing that a lot of people forget to check also is the radiator cap which holds a certain amount of pressure. It's almost like a thermostat. If you have a 3.4 engine I had a little leak by the wheel well on the passenger front tire. There is a metal hose if you remove the front tire and the splash guard, mine had like 3 small holes. I replaced it and the problem was solved. The best way to check the coolant level is early in the morning before you start the car look underneath the car to make sure there is no coolant and open the coolant bottle cap to see if its low. Also when was the last time you changed your water pump? Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meltboy1 Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 he has the 3.1 turbo, but that coolant line may still be a problem as we have it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo v-sick Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 If you have a stock TGP with everything functioning correctly, it should never go above 220*. You either have air in your cooling system, or your fans aren't functioning.. or both. Yeah mine stays at 220 most of the time but sitting in hot traffic and the AC on it hovers closer to the red than I would like. my fan seems to come on fine and even when i shut down the car sometimes it will stay on for a few minutes. Keep in mind you have 2 fans on a TGP. The intercooler fan makes way more noise than the radiator fan. I would visually make sure the radiator fan is wotking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Yeah the main fan seems to be working fine. It came on when I put the AC on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted2bass Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Mine gets up to 220 pretty quickly if im sitting in traffic. It has never gotten higher, but im afraid of getting stuck in traffic gridlock and the car overheating cuz for some reason the fan will only come on when the car is off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted July 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 Even with the new Tstat its still seems to run warm when stuck in traffic. On the highway or at a brisk pace all is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krenzy Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 LOL add some more coolant...When one of my coolant line was loose, I was leaking and didn't notice at first, and the same stuff happened. I put in more coolant, and it went back down. Then I fixed the line and no more coolant adding has been necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboGTU Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 Your primary fan might be on its last limb. It might be working but it will not spin/ pull enough air to cool your engine down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 you can get your radiator serviced by any good radiator shop and it makes a huge difference in its performance. its not that much if you take it out and bring it down to them. then pick it up the next day or something. I usually do this every time I buy a used car unless it has a new rad in it already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted July 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 I changed the Tstat a week ago but no big change. I noticed the hose the goes to the tstat never feels lik it has liquid in it and the screw right above the Tstat housing does not leak even if I get the car hot and remove the screw???? I have an appt to get it flushed Wednesday. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 note: you can get your radiator serviced by any good radiator shop and it makes a huge difference in its performance. its not that much if you take it out and bring it down to them. then pick it up the next day or something. I usually do this every time I buy a used car unless it has a new rad in it already. does not = flush. I am talking about a steam purge and pressure test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted July 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 note: you can get your radiator serviced by any good radiator shop and it makes a huge difference in its performance. its not that much if you take it out and bring it down to them. then pick it up the next day or something. I usually do this every time I buy a used car unless it has a new rad in it already. does not = flush. I am talking about a steam purge and pressure test. I have no way of removing the radiator. I am gonna have to find a shop that can do it & not rip me off in the process thanks. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 oh they will. you could go down to harbor freight and get a set of metric sockets, a ratchet, and set of open end wrenches, and a box of 100 nitrile rubber gloves and that will only cost you what? $30? all you gotta do is take off a couple hoses and 2 tranny cooler lines, take off the upper metal plate, fan, and the plastic top piece unwedges out of there and you lift it out. edit: upper metal plate- I meant dog bone brackets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted July 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Would a bad water pump cause the problem I am having? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krenzy Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 Is your water pump leaking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted July 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 not that I can notice like there are sometimes drops under the car but no way does the leak look major and I have no low coolant light on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 corrosion builds up in the core of your radiator and insulates it from the inside. a flush will get some of it out but nothing like a good steam cleaning. if its bad enough they can rod it out. or re-core it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krenzy Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 If you have another car, drive that. Take out the radiator, take it to a shop, and usually in less than a day, they can have it back to you. Being that there are NO replacement radiators for our TGP's out there, this is your best bet before it gets worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted July 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 If you have another car, drive that. Take out the radiator, take it to a shop, and usually in less than a day, they can have it back to you. Being that there are NO replacement radiators for our TGP's out there, this is your best bet before it gets worse. Yeah I am just afraid if I take it apart I cant put it back together. I am just learning about cars and taking it slow. Th place says they can do a pressure test for $40.00 so I dont know. The water pump used to leak when I first bought the car but that problem seemed to go away??? I am new to the area so I will look for a radiator place tomorrow. I have a chilten and a OEM service manual I will read up on tonight. Again could it be the water pump is not pumping coolant therefore the car is running hot? Seems to be fine while driving but heat rises in sitting or stopped traffic only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow Posted July 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 When I first bought the car it had a leak in one of the hoses so I just had it fixed and added coolant. It was very low and the low coolant light glowed until the car was warmed up. Anyway I had to add like 1.5 gallons to fill it back up. Could air in the system cause coolant not to circulate? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutty Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 yes i would say its very possible to have an air pocket in it. Very easy to fix start the car open both bleeder screws with a flat head screwdriver and wait until coolant comes out steadily of both bleeder screw holes. Then your air pocket will be gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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