DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Car Problem Question

Quick question for the people that have experience working on cars.

About a month and a half to 2 months ago I was driving on the highway and my temperature guage started to go up, it was slowly creeping higher and higher.

So I got into the right lane to pull over and get off at exit and as I was doing it then it crept back down to its normal position, I drove home the rest of the way on the residential roads and it was fine and havent had a problem since.

Until this morning, the same thing happened, it happened on the back roads though as I was going up a hill, the guage started creeping higher and then fell back down and was normal for the rest of the ride.

I ve noticed this twice in about 2 months now.

Is this something that is normal or should I get it checked it right away?

Oh, I have a 99 Buick Century with about 94,000 miles on it.

Thanks ahead of time...

I'm not an auto mechanic but if you've never replaced the thermostat before that could very well be your problem.

You may have a pin hole at the top of your radiator, lost a little water and it may be getting air in it, by having air in the system it will not let the water flow normally.
There should be two bleeder valves...one low & one high.
make sure the car is full on water and bleed the low then the high. this could take several times.

Sounds like the thermostat or a clogged hose.

That too! also if your hose is weak...and im talking about his car hose When it heats up it can collapse.

I had a '94 Grand Am that did this very thing. It got to the point where every single time I would drive it, the temp would go into the red, then just as I was about to freak out, something somewhere would cut loose in there and the temp would come right back into normal range.... then it would repeat.

It could just be air in the cooling system that needs to be bled out... it might be vapor locking in there somewhere.


I replaced, at various times, the thermostat (more than once), the intake manifold gasket, the radiator, all hoses... everything except the block and the heater core..... and the problem at most went away for a few weeks. It progressively got worse and I have no doubt that when the thing finally died that among other things I had blown head gaskets/warped heads from all of the overheating and rapid cooling.

If I had to bet, my money would be on it being the Intake Manifold Gasket.

Either way, immediately get your cooling system flushed and pop a new thermostat in it.

Start with the thermostat, it's a $5 part and in most cars a 15-30 min install with standard tools. You may need to refill/top off the radiator after doing so, depends on the location of the thermostat housing.

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If I had to bet, my money would be on it being the Intake Manifold Gasket.

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wanna bet?

thats probably the most expensive fix of them all....and secondly if that were bad you would have water in your oil, or oil in your water, or either leaking out....they could also be leaking into a cylinder, and that would foul the plug for sure, that would mean the car is then running like crap....

since he described none of these symptoms...although he didn't check the oil, i doubt its that...

i would suspect a sticking thermostat...and change it out...there cheap, and just about anyone can do that...

i would check the coolant level in the radiator, and check its coolant/water content....too much/not enough anti-freeze can cause problems....

his water pump could be failing also, that would explain why when he slows down the temp goes back down...usually on the older cars at least, when they went, they started leaking out of a weap hole.....

radiator could be getting plugged up too....don't know if i would use one of those kits to flush it, i would have it done professionally....i had one flushed once, and they never got all the crap out, and long story short, i warped the heads on my truck....

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his water pump could be failing also, that would explain why when he slows down the temp goes back down...usually on the older cars at least, when they went, they started leaking out of a weap hole.....

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If your radiator fluid looks nasty you might want to go ahead and change the pump out as well,....they're not always that difficult to change out either.

Maybe put some anti-freeze in it? Are you leaking?

A couple of items, obvious and not obvious.

1) Check your coolant level and overflow expansion tank. Buy an antifreeze tester and determine the freezing point of the antifreeze. It should be between -20 to -30 F.

2) Change the thermostat. Normally they fail open, so it is a bit unusual to see one fail closed.

3) Flush the cooling system and change the antifreeze. A clogged cooling system will overheat. Do not put too much antifreeze in the mix, for Cleveland -20 to -30F (50/50 mix) should be fine. Antifreeze does not remove heat from the engine as efficiently as water.

If this continues.....

4) Have the radiator removed and cleaned properly by boiling or steam. Or get a new radiator.

5) Change the water pump on the engine. Sometimes the impellers are not as efficient as they should be.

Flush your radiator and change the thermostat, you can do it in your back yard for less than 30 bucks and in less than 20 mins.

Go to Honda of Mentor and trade it in for a Honda

I just remembered I had an 86 Cutlass that did the same thing. I did was 62 said but also changed out the hoses. At the age of the car and esp if you haven't replaced the hoses it's a good way to start.

Actually, my friends work on cars in Wickliffe, which I know you work there. If you don't like to work on cars PM me and I can get you a quote to have them flush/fill/thermostat/hoses. They are good friends of mine.