Engine overheats and heater blows cold air

[BodybyFisher]

http://cgi.ebay.com/...lsQ5fLiterature

$9.00 has everything even technical service bulitton with factory recales and fixes. colored diagrams and charts Seems like you can't go wrong for $9.00

Don't buy this junk, it will be like a Haynes book, pure junk, go look at the ebay ad, its generic junk... dont waste your money

[BodybyFisher]

Well I was at my neigbors working on the midget and got a phone call from my dad saying he found the problem to the cadillac. I got a little exited/curiouse he told me there was a guizer shooting under the hood from a crack on the rights side of the radiator at the top where it hangs from the frame.

I was then thinking no thats not the problem I had before it was never leaking from there haha. It is in its 30's out and im shure it was brittle and had a stress crack in it that gave way when he floored it pulling out of a bank in fear of getting killed by a school bus he said (Sarcasticly).

Meanwhile he tells me I have to drive it like a grandma and it will last. One of those do as I say not as I do haha.

Can this be fixed with some JB Weld maby if scuffed up and cleaned with brake cleaner? How much would it be to get another radiator? aftermarket? or scrap yard.

Thanks

This was expected when you replaced your cap, as I said in a prior thread, when you replaced the cap, expect a problem from another location, and here you are CRACK

This is why we repeatedly said to pressure test your cooling system, there were surely cracks that would have showed up seepage

This does NOT happen from FLOORING it. DO NOT DRIVE IT ANYMORE UNTIL THIS RADIATOR IS REPAIRED, it does NOT matter whether you "drive it like a grandpa" or NOT, it will heat up just the same AND if it looses coolant it looses coolant, it will NOT LAST

Don't shortcut this, find a new radiator, its going to run about $125 to $200 or find one at a scrap yard

If its cracked there are many many cracks, they crack over time from heat, cold, expansion and contraction, just replace it

Listen you are driving a Cadillac either repair it correctly or sell or junk it. I am not one who likes to see SLAM BANG, HALF ASSED repairs done by people who make statements like"if you drive it like a grandpa it will last", just fix it right and stop playing half assed games. PARK IT till you can afford the radiator, before you do MORE damage to this great car

[BodybyFisher]

By the way, someone knocked the Cadillac/GM radiator. Your car is not 10 years old, it has NOT been maintained correctly, that is for sure. Plastic end tanks age and the radiators that are CHEAP to replace need replacing every 8 years or do, PERIOD. They use plastic so as NOT to use brass or bronze that would interact with aluminum.

This happens to all cars, I was standing in my driveway, and my friends INFINITI was sitting there idling and the radiator end tank spontaineously blew out, water everywhere, steam and an exploding sound. This is NOT a GM thing, its a maintenance thing

[BodybyFisher]

One more thing, your horrid spelling seriously hurts your presentiation. Its either carelessness or you are really a bad speller, whatever it is..

Download this spell checker for Internet Explorer and spell check your posts before posting here, poor spelling really hurts you. Its one thing dealing with inexperience, shortcutting, its quite another dealing with inexperience AND every other word misspelled.

http://www.iespell.com/

[sprinter10]

OK I am just trying to figure out this problem I am sorry I miss spelled and most of it is mis typing on here didn't know it would throw everyone off. I never said I was going to drive it or even start it after It had this problem. That is just what my dad tells me in general about driving my cars. I put the new cap on and ran it for 2 hours never a leak anywhere even had it in my garage with it running and under it on a creeper. This might have been a stress crack but never cracked all the way through like this. I Am not planning on fixing it half fast. I am taking it out today and ordering that Full alunimum one with the alunimum tanks for $164 dollars that I posted on the last page after I posted the problem.

[BodybyFisher]

OK I am just trying to figure out this problem I am sorry I miss spelled and most of it is mis typing on here didn't know it would throw everyone off. I never said I was going to drive it or even start it after It had this problem. That is just what my dad tells me in general about driving my cars. I put the new cap on and ran it for 2 hours never a leak anywhere even had it in my garage with it running and under it on a creeper. This might have been a stress crack but never cracked all the way through like this. I Am not planning on fixing it half fast. I am taking it out today and ordering that Full alunimum one with the alunimum tanks for $164 dollars that I posted on the last page after I posted the problem.

Please stop going head to head with me, you continue with your half assed crap, telling us about $9 service manual CDs when we say BUY A FSM! You IMPLIED that you were going to drive it because, you said, if you drive it like a grandpa it will last. Now maybe this is an extraineous comment that means something else but it was said by you and we can ONLY read what you say, that is why its important to stay on topic, stay brief and keep extraineous comments OUT of the discussion.

We said PRESSURE TEST IT OVER AND OVER. And I said, when you replaced your cap the NEXT weak link will show up. YOU WILL NOT SEE those cracks leak when the engine is HOT, the coolant vaporizes immediately out of side tank cracks, if you pressure test the engine COLD you will see seepage at those end tanks. YOU WERE WARNED, and you continue to not do this correctly, making the statement you ran it for 2 hours and looked with a creeper, assuming that doing that is a substitute for pressure testing.

You don't know what you don't know and when we say something we say it for a reason

DO NOT buy the FULL ALUMINUM one, its not necessary and not stock, buy an OEM replacement or OEM direct fit from an aftermarket supplier. Make sure it FITS and if it has an OIL cooler you buy the correct one. They have transmission fluid coolers and SOME have oil coolers, you must check the side tanks for fittings.

As far as the spelling issue, its not that we can't understand you, we can, but its BEST to present yourself in the best light possible, if you are careless with spelling you are going to do stupid *smurf* with your car like JB WELD, drive it with a leak, etc

[Cadillac Jim]

Actually I had my radiator bust a seal on the passenger side when a mechanic left a bolt out of the fender brace mount on that side. I always suspected that unibody twist allowed by the missing bolt on the brace caused it, or possibly was the last straw.

The wishbones and the design of the cross-member above the radiator are designed for each other as a unit along with the Northstar system. Since you don't hear about radiator leaks in cars with less than 100,000 miles on them, I suspect that everything hangs together pretty well in the structural flexing and tolerance of the radiator to it, when everything is buttoned up properly.

[BodybyFisher]

The end tanks do not get stressed, they hang on the sides in gaskets, there is no stress on the radiator from engine torque or the suspension

Repetitive heating and cooling and pressure cycles creates stress cracks over time, that came directly from AL CLINE from the NORTHSTAR DESIGN TEAM, either buy a new end tank and use the correct tools to replace it or buy a new radiator every 8 years or so

[sprinter10]

Ok to get this straightened out. My father always tells me the car will last if I drive it like grandma not with this problem before it had any problems. I know more than that. I persented it wrong and you took it wrong that is the problem with typing on internet pages. I just came in from woking on the car for lunch and have the top radiator brackets off, front brace off that holds the hood down radiator drained and right side top hose pulled. I noticed the left side of the radiator near the top has a solid line running to the radiator tank. Is that part of the trans cooler? Is it built into this radiator? It is very tight and will not break free I have some pb blaster soaking on it now. Is there any tricks for removing this?

I would take the one with the alunimum tank as an upgrade but should I just by the one with the plastic side tanks. Has anyone tried the alunimum one on here that has any examples on how it worked? good or bad?

Im sorry that I am trying to do everything I can myself and I was not able to borrow the took that fits this car to preshurize the system. I borrowed a tool to test the preasure but it was the smal radiator cap type not the big plastic ones that are on these cars. I don't have much time going back and forth from my parents house and without a license until Friday when i got to take the driving test so I wasn't able to bring the car anywhere to get preasure tested.

[BodybyFisher]

Understand that we are trying to help you here.

Be concise and stay on topic and try to spell correctly. It is hard enough to try and diagnose problems from behind the keyboard without detailed info. You go off on a tangent and we read what we read. Again you are getting aggravated rather than taking a look at what you are doing and saying, ok yes, I am all over the place and not staying on topic, this is not a social networking site like Facebook and extraineous info only confuses the diagnosis. For instance, in the following you are talking about the radiator blowing when your dad floored it, THEN he tells you to drive it like a grandma and it will last with the MEANWHILE, like, you were going to continue driving it with that leak. We are not in your head, stay on topic

I was then thinking no thats not the problem I had before it was never leaking from there haha. It is in its 30's out and im shure it was brittle and had a stress crack in it that gave way when he floored it pulling out of a bank in fear of getting killed by a school bus he said (Sarcasticly).

Meanwhile he tells me I have to drive it like a grandma and it will last. One of those do as I say not as I do haha.

For instance, AGAIN, you have ignored what I said about OEM radiators and it GETS frustrating, AGAIN you are asking about ALUMINUM SIDE TANKS, what did I say in my prior post?

Do you know how those aluminum tanks will interact with DEXCOOL, the aluminun engine, how it will degrade, will it cause any acid conditions, electrolysis, imbalance in the chemistry. GM validates their engines based on certain criteria, why change that?

NO, no one has used that aluminum radiator and this is the first I have heard of those

I DID say USE OEM or and OEM DIRECT FIT aftermarket radiator with plastic side tanks, IT WILL OUTLIVE THAT CAR and your ownership of it FOR SURE,

For instance, www.rockauto.com sells a SPECTRA radiator w/o oil cooler for $116 and with oil cooler for $135 WHY REINVENT the WHEEL?

[sprinter10]

Ok I have taken everything off the radiator except for the one lower line on the left side that is threaded in with a 16mm head on it. It is completly rusted. I got the top one off after letting it sit a few hours soaking it a few times with pb blaster. Luckly the one that is left on the radiator is the smaller one and goes to the engine right below the thermostat. I tried breaking both of them loose and started to round off the side in the radiator and its not as rusted on the engine side got a good bite on it and pulled pretty hard but did not want to round it off so i just soaked it down and hopefully it should break loose tomorrow. I will order that radiator for $116

What would that lower solid line that threads into the radiator be called I want to purchase that one While Im at it to do it right.

[Cadillac Jim]

The Northstar has an oil cooler in one radiator tank and a transmission cooler in the other. I would use two box-end wrenches to get each fitting off, and, when you are done, on.

[BodybyFisher]

I am a bit confused are you talking left from in front of the car or left sitting in the drivers seat?

Do you have tubing going into the side tanks on both sides?

Is that line a solid steel line or a pressure hose?

[sprinter10]

Sorry Its the drivers side behind the tank its the lower solid steel line that I need to order. I was able to get the top one off after letting it soak with some pb and get a good grab on it with the wrench. Thanks for the 2 wrench idea Jims_97_ETC I will try that tomorrow after it sits tonight with the pb.

[BodybyFisher]

I dont know if you have one, but there is an INLINE flarenut wrench that works on those fittings, they are usually 6 point, see them here

http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-metric-double-end-flare-nut-wrench-set-99993.html

You will need to call www.gmotors.com and speak to them about that tubing, that is a dealer part, rockauto is not necessarily as good for that type of stuff, call gmotors

[sprinter10]

Yea I will have to get one of those wrenches I was surprised that everything cept comming up as metric I though it would be american since it is a cadillac but I guess not. I think I am going to stop by advanced auto parts tomorrow to get oil and filter and ask them about the oil coler line sometimes they can order things and have it in in 1 day. I got the rear coil pack from them in one day.

[JimD]

Sorry Its the drivers side behind the tank its the lower solid steel line that I need to order.

It "sounds like" you are describing the pressure plumbing from the transmission to the radiator end tank fitting. IF that is true, you do not need to order the line. All you need is the fitting in the end tank and you might not even need that part (I have trouble understanding the physics of how/why something would "rust" in a plastic end tank).

Both of those transmission cooler fittings are quick discoonect type with a hair pin type locking arrangement. You can remove the line by removing that hair pin lock to release the plumbing. The hair pin lock will be protected by a nylon collar that will slide out of the way.

Then you can remove the radiator and use the proper 6 point socket to remove the threaded fitting from the end tank.

[sprinter10]

The top fitting in the radiator did have that witch I did not know how to remove properly but I was able to break it loose with a normal open end wrench. The other lower one goes to the engine under the thermostate but is just a normal screw on fitting. I will go out and get some pictures now.

[funman]

I have the same problem i have 2000 DHS deville 110,000k when i bought it i ran fine until i noticed it was throwing cold air when the heater was just working fine first i checked the coolant and it was fine normal where it should be at half and then i ran it some more then it told me the air conditioner is off and was overheating even hotter so i went to autozone and got a radiator,waterpump,thermastat,some dexcool i filled the resavoir i reved it to 3000rpm added more dex cool it was fine for 30kilometers, then it started again overheating so i parked it until the next day the i repeaded the process reved it to 3000rpm my son poured dexcool in to half we went for a drive it lasted an hour in a half then the heater went cold again it runs fine i mean it has power if iT was the HG i dont think it would have ran that long without overheating im thinking it still has an air pocket i read somewhere that it has to overheat at least three times before it properly purges itself. If all else fails im going to purchase the block seal tester kit at napa and find out once and for all.Im praying its not the head gasket!

[BodybyFisher]

I have the same problem i have 2000 DHS deville 110,000k when i bought it i ran fine until i noticed it was throwing cold air when the heater was just working fine first i checked the coolant and it was fine normal where it should be at half and then i ran it some more then it told me the air conditioner is off and was overheating even hotter so i went to autozone and got a radiator,waterpump,thermastat,some dexcool i filled the resavoir i reved it to 3000rpm added more dex cool it was fine for 30kilometers, then it started again overheating so i parked it until the next day the i repeaded the process reved it to 3000rpm my son poured dexcool in to half we went for a drive it lasted an hour in a half then the heater went cold again it runs fine i mean it has power if iT was the HG i dont think it would have ran that long without overheating im thinking it still has an air pocket i read somewhere that it has to overheat at least three times before it properly purges itself. If all else fails im going to purchase the block seal tester kit at napa and find out once and for all.Im praying its not the head gasket!

Check your air purge line to make sure that it is clear

[funman]

how do i check the air purge line?

[BodybyFisher]

how do i check the air purge line?

On the top of the coolant tank there is a hose, not the one attached to the cap's overflow, there is another hose, if you follow that hose it goes across the engine and connects near the throttle body.

That line allows AIR to get out of the cooling system.

The first thing to do is to TEST to see if that line is flowing coolant

First, with the engine COOL, gently pull that hose off of the cooant tank without breaking off the nipple, let it hang down

Then go and start the engine, let it idle

Then go and look at that hose, it should have a steady flow of coolant

[sprinter10]

I just went back out in the garage and saw the fittings again and took apart the top one.

It does have the clip to take apart and man would that have been easier to take off the radiator if I knew what that was haha.

Unforunatly the bottom line is just a standard fitting with no clip like that.

It might have been replaced with an aftermarket or something maby? Its really rusted and not very strong I will borrow one of those wrenches tomorrow and try to break it free.

If I cant then i will try to take it off from the engine.

I will then just leave it on the radiator and get a new one.

[JimD]

....Unforunatly the bottom line is just a standard fitting with no clip like that.

My error. You are correct.

I suggest you apply PB Blaster every 3 or 4 hours for the next 24 hours and try again.

Use the proper tubing wrench on the fitting; that bottom line from the transmission (or transaxle for the purists) to the radiator end tank is going to be a dealer only item. And that is IF the GM parts supply system shows availability.

Good luck !!

[BodybyFisher]

I believe that the flarenut wrench, get a 6 point wrench will help a lot with this