Overheating! Please Help Me (I've been going crazy with this)

1995 3.4 v6

I posted once here before and I eventually had to take it to the shop and left it there with them for 3 months. Got it back three days ago and it is STILL overheating when it's sitting still.

Quick overview of what was done at the shop: New Radiator installed, new radiator fan installed, Heater core has been boiled out (it was clogged so I wasn't getting any heat), new water pump, new thermostat, timing belt changed, EGR valve changed, new plugs + wires, radiator flush run through the whole system, and some other smaller things.

The hose that runs from the heater core to the water pump (the 5/8 on one end and 3/4 on the other + you can't buy this at advanced or autozone) burst at one point in time and I had to use a temp cut-fit connector to fix it. Only thing I can think is that it's restricting the flow of the coolant. It only overheats when it's sitting still & the fan kicks on at 210 like it's suppose to... when this happens the temp goes down somewhat and then goes back up to 3/4... which i guess is around 240. When this happens I turn on the heat to bring it back down. Another interesting note is that when it gets up that high (about 210) the air conditioning comes out hot... not warm @ all.

So what do you guys think I should do? Take it to a dealership and let them change that hose with the temporary connector, of course. But what else? It seems to me everything I could have possibly changed has been changed with the exception of a new heater core.

What % coolant to water are you using?

Has the system been purged of all air?

Did they put a new Rad cap on?

BTW buy the hose at Autozone,they sell it by the foot and do it yourself,you have spent enough money at the stealership.

One more thing,can you hear the electric fan come on?

Maybe theres an off chance that the temperature switch/sensor has gone bad and its sending the wrong information to the pcm.

When the car is at normal operation take a feel at the top radiator hose, the one coming out of the water outlet. Is it hot? If not,you may have a stuck thermostat.

Check to make sure you have the right amount of coolant in there, even the right coolant for that matter.

Look around the back of the engine, on the sides of the heads, valve covers for any leaks which might be construed as coolant. Check your oil for foamy frothy like stuff which may also be construed as coolant.

Since all else has been replaced I cant really think of a reason why this is getting so hot. The one guy up top gave a good suggestion of making sure there is no air stuck in the system.

Good luck bro.

-Rex :D

Thanks for all your suggestions

The coolant is the right mixture 50/50 & the fan is coming on correctly when I turn the A/C on and at 210 degrees. I felt the radiator hose, it does feel warm after the car has been running for awhile. They actually did NOT put a new radiator cap on, I'll go pick one up from autozone. I didn't see any leaks after I had run it for awhile and parked it. I don't think he purged it of air, i'm not sure how to do this?

With the hose, it's the hose that runs from the heater core (crimped & not clamped) to the water pump. it's a pretty long hose and it's 5/8 on one end and 3/4 on the other. Autozone/Advanced both sell the hose above it, the 6" hose with the same dimensions on each end. Last year they sold the one I need but they discontinued it so I suppose I'm forced to go to the dealership.
I heard this dealership isn't too terrible on prices, so hopefully it won't be a bad experience.

Thanks for your help guys, any other suggestions?

I just wanted to say thanks for everybody who messaged me. Turns out my fan relay wasn't working correctly, I had to replace it. I took it to the dealer (spent $85) and they told me besides that there wasn't anything wrong. They checked the temp. by laser and said the top temp. it reached was 223 and the fan brought it back down. So, I'm glad that's hopefully over with. I'm still kind of perturbed because it never ran that high before it started having these problems. My car ran a consistent 190 or so. Maybe it's because I live in Augusta, GA now, haha.

But again, thanks for all your help!

Well now it's time to recharge the refrigerant, I'm doing this tomorrow morning but I have to admit I've never done it before. How can you tell if the compressor is running?

the ac compressor uses an electrical clutch controlled by a relay (how coincidental) in the same fuse box the gm guy put the fan relay in... if you look at the compressor while the ac is off you will see the inner part of the pulley spinning (where the belt actually is on). if you have someone turn on the ac, you will see the outer part (the part that faces the front of the car the most) start to spin if the clutch works, and if the relay works.

remember to always recharge using the low pressure service port.
dont put too much. too much is bad, and too little is bad too.

Good luck bro,

-Rex

Ok, help please!

I believe i put too much in too quickly, the clutch was spinning but then it kind of sputtered and stopped and it started to smoke a little, so I took some out. I checked the pressure then, it was full but not too full. The relay is working, the clutch is working but... still blowing hot air.

Think the compressor might be messed up? I checked all the fuses and they were all fine.

Ok, I checked it again, turned the A/C on full blast and the clutch isn't spinning at all. Could I have messed up the relay when I accidentally added too much and made the clutch stop spinning?
The belt is still spinning... but the clutch won't.