1992 Saturn SL2 overheats like a bitch, any suggestions

i drive a 1992 saturn sl2 twin cam. it has 106,000 miles, manual
transmission. the oil is changed regularly and all fluids are topped off.
however there is a problem with keeping the engine cool. whenever i idle
for more than 10 minutes, the tempurture gauge almost reaches the red.
also, when driving in anything below 3rd gear, such as in traffic, the
gauge almost hits red. i've been having to shut the car off at red lights
and drive with the heater on full blast to keep the engine cool. any
suggestions on what might be causing this?

thanks
jim

 

When the temperature gets up that high, the cooling fan should be running.
If not, and you have A/C, then check if it runs with the A/C on. If it does,
but doesn't come on when it's overheating, the coolant temperature sensor is
probably bad. If it doesn't run at any time, the fan motor or relay could be
shot.

 

(If there was ever a FAQ for this group, this question should definitley
be in it.)

It is normal for the S series to run between 1/2 and 3/4 on the gauge.
That being said:

-Is this a new phenomena for this vehicle?

-Do you know if the radiator fan is coming on? Nothing new, just a
summary of what many others have been saying recently: It should come on
somewhere around 3/4 on the gauge. If it isn't, try turning on the A/C
briefly - that should make the fan come on. If that doesn't make the
fan come on (regardless of the engine temp) then you may have a faulty
fan motor or faulty relay. If, however, the fan does come on, you might
want to check the coolant temp sensor.

Since you indicate that fluid levels are normal and you're not adding to
the resevoir bottle; if the fan is coming on as it should, but it isn't
helping I would tend toward something more drastic: something wrong with
the water pump, a pressure leak in the cooling system, or poor coolant
circulation possibly caused by a blockage.

-rj
98SL2

 

Oh, I forgot one other thing I saw recently - check around the radiator
for obstructions and debris such as plastic bags.

-rj
98SL2

 

First of all, I want to say what I say to everyone posting a similar
situation to your own.

In the old days, overheating meant that the pressure relief valve on the
cooling system cap popped, or hoses ruptured, and you were blowing steam.
THIS is overheating.

Your car is not really overheating. Normal operating range on the gauge is
half to 3/4. On hot days in slow traffic (or stopped/idling), my 94 SC2's
needle will sometimes go above 3/4 and close to the red. I don't worry -
eventually, the fan comes on when it's designed to and reduces the temp. If
it never comes on, then there is a problem there.

Others have left a lot of good advice and mentioned things to check in this
thread. You can also use google groups to do a search of past posts on this
newsgroup and you will find that this has been discussed a lot in the past.

FYI - I've run my 92 SC race car on the track for 20 minutes, very close to
redline much of that time, on a 95 degree day. Due to my own actions (I had
removed the airdam temporarily), my temp gauge was at the top of the red and
nearly pegged the whole time - even with the fan on. A cooldown lap was all
it took to bring it back down to 1/2. I didn't worry about it because these
engines are durable when it comes to temperature. It's just the owners who
aren't.


Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]

 

Let's write one!

Hmm... Topics:


1) About this NG
2) About Saturn
*History
*History of models
*Engine data
3) Common repairs/problems
*Alternators
*Overheating
*Transmission
*Head gaskets/cracks
*Sensors
*???
4) Other repairs
*Cleaning the throttle body
*Reading trouble codes - pre OBDII (with listing)
*???

Hmm, what else am I missing?

(Ok, who wants to write it and host it?)

 

I have the 91 version of your car. I have had the same problem for 3 years.
I have done all the above mentioned things. My mechanic found a bad pully
that he says could have caused the waterpump to slow down and cause
overheating. jshurack @excite.com

 

Had a similar problem, the fan should come on when it reaches 3/4. Mine
didn't, found a corroded connector under the engine bay fuse panel for the
fan relay. A little cleaning solved that one for me.

 

My only suggestion is next time - buy a QUALITY car that has more
than a stinking 36,000 mile warranty!

 

Yeah, my crappy 92 SC has only lasted 12 years and 140,000 miles so far!

 

140? I'm up to 228 and still running.

On the origional clutch even.

 

Wow, by the way, the other square thingy down there that looks like a brake
is for the clutch!

lol

 

Reminds me of my friend driving my car the other day. He's a native of
Poland. After first squeeeeezing into the driver's seat (funny in
itself - he's very tall), as we're driving along, he commented:

"These damn Capitalist autos have too many choices!!! There's THREE
pedals down there! In Poland, we had just ONE pedal and if we didn't
like it, tough!"

I couldn't stop laughing. I wanted to kill him after he confused the
clutch and brake, though :/