I have a 96 cavalier ls with a 2.4L. The car has been running just above 195 for the last 4 months. Today I found a big puddle of antifreeze leaking from both sides in front of the car. Turns out the radiator was bad so i changed it. The car ran for about five minutes and then began overheating again. Come to find out that the termostat was stuck closed so i changed that. However the car stills runs right above 195. when I get on the highway the car runs right below 195, but when the car is parked n left running the neddle goes to the line right before the red area. Is this normal? Also how hard is it to change the termostat on a 2.4 the shop told me it takes like 3 hours and charged me $225 does this sound correct. Please help me!




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my 2.4 always ran right above or right below half way, depending on driving conditions. if your is always running right below the red line, you've got a problem. unfortunately for you, i don't have an answer to the problem. you've already changed the two more important components. if it was still leaking i'd have a few things for you to check (hoses, gaskets) but you said you fixed the leak and now its just overheating. all i know is that right below the redline isn't normal. has it always ran right there?





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It's normal for one reason. Sitting still = no air. It will overheat. If it overheat while rolling then you have a problem.



Gilles
2.3 Ho

X2







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Mfk-223 wrote:It's normal for one reason. Sitting still = no air. It will overheat. If it overheat while rolling then you have a problem.

^^ no car should overheat when sitting still. The temp will go up, but the car shouldn't overheat. I'm thinking you just phrased that wrong. But if the car is just sitting still and running it will heat up until the fans kick in than the temp should start to fall.

First check the air bleeder lines to make sure they're not plugged. There's one on the back side of the engine bay that runs to the water neck, and another that runs to the radiator. If they're plugged you'll have air trapped in the system.

If they're not, that sounds like a head gasket.

purplhaze wrote:

Mfk-223 wrote:It's normal for one reason. Sitting still = no air. It will overheat. If it overheat while rolling then you have a problem.

^^ no car should overheat when sitting still. The temp will go up, but the car shouldn't overheat. I'm thinking you just phrased that wrong. But if the car is just sitting still and running it will heat up until the fans kick in than the temp should start to fall.

You trusdt the radiator fan?? hahaha, yeah right.

Still the same thing. Seem you never seen enough to know what I'm talking about. Gauges are not accurate and you can't tell for sure if the temp it that high. Any car will get really hot. It will overheat if the fan doesn't kick in witch happen alot of times. Also, some engines are dead by the time the fan kick in. The fan will kick in around 205-210 witch is too hot. Too hot = overheat.



Gilles
2.3 Ho

Strangely enough I thought my car was overheating the first time I plugged in the scangauge to the OBD port. The dash gauge always read 195 and never any higher, the needle tended to jump as if it were stuck. The scangauge temp read 193-198 depending on how hard I was pushing it on the road, and sitting idling in traffic anywhere from 198-204 then the fan kicked in and it drops back to 198 or so.

Still, even if you don't trust the rad fan , do you even hear the fan come on when you get to the 205+ range? Are you sure the new thermostat isn't part of a bad batch and stuck as well? Are you sure the thermostat isn't in backwards? Check the upper radiator hose to see if its hot once the car has fully warmed up, if not then it could be stuck shut also.

To change the tstat a shop has to drain some coolant, disconnect a hose around the tstat to get to it, a few bolts on a cover and pop it out, put the new one in (the side with the spring always faces the engine), put everything back together and refill coolant. There might be an extra brace or heat shield they have to remove to get to it for a 2.4L. The only thing is if you do it yourself you have to take the used coolant to a garage or gas station nearby that can dispose of it..toxic @!#$, kills squirrels really easy.