Suburban :: 1995 - Temp Gauge Going High And Dropping
Jan 4, 2012
Bad news kids... it's terminal. Took my 95 3/4 ton 4X4 6.5 diesel suburban in complaining of temp gauge going high and dropping, alternator... ball joint fears.... And I just got a call, it's got a cracked head. So this is how it ends. Husband aint never gonna fix it. I knew this day was coming. He said the temp gauge going high then dropping is some sort of coolant preasure build up and release. I seen it every morning for the last year. He said he took her up to 120 kms and it did exactly what I said. And he knows exactly what my problem is. It's true, Toni knows this truck. So any guesses how long I got? What will happen when it goes? When would you park it for good? My last over heat was a couple years ago when a belt blew off, big heat is the only thing that would have cracked a head right? So the crack might be that old. And it's sad news. Driving it since birth, 95.
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I recently purchased an 03 GLX wagon 4 motion from a dealer as is. It had 84,000 on it when I got it and needed a timing belt. The work was performed by a VW dealer and all has been well until today. I was on the highway, had been working the car pretty well for about an hour and i noticed that the temp gauge which is at 190 religiously is now dropped down as low as 120- 130.
I continued to drive, thinking maybe just a bad sensor/gauge considering I had no check engine light yet. I still have good heat but when I got home I noticed that the coolant reservoir was bubbling pretty fierce. Couldn't tell if it was boiling or if it was compression coming back in from perhaps a head gasket failure.
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So yesterday my truck decided to start giving me fits right after it finally got extra cold and snowy here! I noticed early on this fall that my water pump was leaking, so I replaced it. I also found that my truck only blew hot air while in motion, and cold air while it was stopped or at idle. At this point I replaced the thermostat and housing. I originally had the stock setup with the combined thermostat and housing. The new one is and updated GM version with the separate thermostat and housing assembly. Everything seemed to be ok until yesterday morning.
This is where my problem is now. Yesterday on my way to work, the message center said my coolant was too hot. The temp gauge showed the truck at about 250 degrees. My speed was only about 45mph and it was 6 degrees outside. I ended up parking the truck and looking at it after work. I found it was still doing the exact same thing. When I investigated further, I found that the upper radiator hose was hot, while the lower one coming out of the thermostat housing was cold.
At this point I figured that I had a bad thermostat, and bought a replacement. I tested the old one on my stove top in a pan of water and found that it did actually open at about 175 degrees, so I'm not so sure it was bad now. With the new thermostat installed, the engine is no longer overheating and the temp stays around 235 while driving. However, I am back to the heater blowing cold air at idle and while stopped, and warm air while driving. In addition, the rear heater now only blows cold air, it never warms up.
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One day, I was on the highway and my Pontiac's speed started dropping. I looked at the temperature gauge, and the temperature was really high. I flushed the coolant system, and changed the gasket. Also the mechanic said that the oil might be leaking after they changed the oil. I paid like $700 for something that has nothing to do with the problem (I paid for a spark plug, ignition wires, fuel filter, and an oxygen sensor). After they changed the oil, oil started leaking all over my driveway, which didn't happen before. It also looked like coolant was leaking out. None of this happened before I got my oil changed with these guys.
After I changed the gasket, the car was running smoothly. But today, the same thing happened again, and I don't know if it's the thermostat, or water pump, or oil leaking, or coolant. The mechanic always suggests to fix something that doesn't have to do with the problem. I don't have much money on hand, so I need to only fix what has to do with the temperature rising, and I need my car to run.
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I have a 95 s10 4.3L V6 auto with 92k miles.
This all started when one day on my way to work the temp gauge got to 260 then quickly fell. It has not gotten that hot since then.
When I start the truck cold and start driving, the gauge climbs to about 215-230 within 10 minutes of driving. Once the gauge hits what ever is the magic mark for the day it quickly falls (10 seconds or less) to about 170-180. Sometimes it will "cycle" up again to 200 or so then fall back to 170-180. Once it is done moving around it stays low and will not move much as I am driving.
I bought an IR thermometer and measured the temperature at various points in the cooling system. The top of the thermostat housing is about 195 or 200 right after it climbs and drops. If I drive for a while around town then check it, the housing reads hotter, about 220 max.
There does not seem to be enough temperature drop across the radiator, I have measured about 15 degrees difference max between the hoses and on some days only 10 degrees difference.
I have replaced the fan clutch (was bad or going bad), the thermostat, and the radiator cap.
After none of this fixed it, I took it to a mechanic who did a "block test" at my request and said it was fine. He thought what it was doing, climbing and falling was normal.
If I run it without the radiator cap on I do not see much if any flow when I look down into the radiator.
Right now I am thinking of doing the water pump and flushing the radiator this weekend.
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I have a 95 ford f350 when u run it with the heat on the truck temp gauge says its overheating the heat will go from nice and hot to ice cold as soon as the temp gauge goes up to the red. I replaced the thermostat also checked for coolant leak cant find any but truck has strong anti freeze smell and the radiator keeps going low on coolant.
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We have replaced the sensor twice now and it still pegs on high. Sometimes when we just start up the car, other times after we are driving.
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I replaced my battery. Once I connected my new battery, my fuel and temperature gauge started working strangely. They would either be high, then go low, then go back high. My interior lights, clock, and radio stopped working. Could it be a relay? I checked all the fuses with a test light and they all looked good.
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I have a 2002 Monte Carlo what recently had a new radiator, thermostat, intake manifold gaskets replaced. I was spewing coolant everywhere. Since the repairs with all new OEM parts, I still get the 'Hot Coolant Temp" warning on my dash. The temp gauge is pinned at 260 but minutes later drastically drop to under half way after which it seems to balance out at slightly under half way.
I also see the 'Low Coolant" as well even though I am full. All of this occurring while driving. I checked the oil and underneath the oil cap. No frothy or milkiness. Exhaust seems ok, no white smoke. The heat inside my car when i run it seems to go from warm to cold and back again. I'm praying it's not a cracked heard or blown head gaskets.
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A few days ago, the temp gauge in my 1995 Subaru Legacy went sky high in a matter of 2 minutes. I immediately stopped the car, let it cool down & checked the radiator. The reservoir was empty and radiator took about 1/2 gal of water (I figured water was fine since the weather is 90 degrees here right now). Suspecting a leak, I also added a bottle of that "Bar's Stop Leaks" stuff. I hesitantly started making my way home, about 16 miles away. The car was perfectly fine -- no overheating at all. Next day, I drove the car maybe 10 miles & again no problems. Yesterday, I went to a friend's house -- about 50 miles round trip. I assumed (I know, dangerous) that all was well ... until today. This morning I noticed a small puddle of antifreeze near driver's front tire. The reservoir was down by about 1/2 it's capacity BUT the radiator itself was almost full (if it took 3 oz. that was a lot). Now I figure there's a leak, but if there is then why wouldn't the system drain itself all the way? Is it unusual to have a leak that limits drainage?I am also tempted to add another bottle of stop leak but looking around this ...
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I was recently given my first Volvo. Its an 88 240dl. While driving my temp gauge climbs up to the red and sometimes hovers inside of it. It normally climbs up at stop signs and comes down on straight always then climbs right back up close to red. When the gauge was in the red i stopped the car and popped the hood open to see that the engine was not actually overly hot.
first i replaced coolant. nothing
then i replaced the thermostat. nothing
flushed radiator. nothing
Today i finally had enough and decided to switch out the water pump with a new one hoping that it would solve the problem seeing as it still had the factory one on. It did nothing. the gauge continues to climb up. I did replace one of the two senders in hope that it would fix the gauge reading but nothing.
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On my 97 X SOHC, I have a temp gauge that is rather erratic. It reads high even with the engine off and cold and rises when the engine is running to the point the "Check gauges" light illuminates. Then bounces to normal then back near red line. This cycle continues.
To evaluate this, I bought a scan tool and the ECT reads as expected, around ambient to start, gradual climb till the thermostat opens, then hovers there while the radiator does its thing. Heater works as expected. So I'm fairly confident that my X doesn't have a cooling issue.
What my questions are: Can I disconnect the temp sender so I'm not watching the gauge bounce around and then the Check Gauges light is available for other issues that arise?
Does the check gauge light also send a signal back to the PCM?
Can I do any damage to the truck or will the PCM throttle the power back and flash the Check Engine light if a real cooling issue materializes?
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I have a 2002 F-350 6.8L, 4x4, crew cab, 8' bed, SRW, trailer tow pkg. I purchased it new in the fall of 2001. The truck currently has 54,000 miles on it (only gets used when I need to tow/haul something). It's kept in the garage and is in near showroom condition.
Everything on the vehicle is 100% functional except the transmission temperature gauge. Even when the truck sits for weeks, the needle will move to mid scale as soon as the key is switched on - haven't even started the engine yet! Put the scanner on it - no codes stored.
I'm attempting to trouble-shoot the TFT (transmission fluid temperature) sensor. Found some documentation online on the 4R100 transmission. It shows an electrical connector on the solenoid body with pins for the thermistor (so I can measure its resistance). However, I can't find a connector anywhere on my transmission that even remotely resembles the diagram I found online.
Question 1: When you first get in your vehicle and turn the key, does your tranny temp gauge read "cold" just like the engine temp gauge?
Question2: Does my truck have the 4R100 transmission? How can I verify that?
Question3: Looking for documentation on what connector and which pins are for the thermistor?
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I have a 1990 suburban that has had a rebuilt x-mission about 50,000 miles ago. At this time when I drive there is a hesitation, split second, when running on flat road. It happens when going up a hill, too.My mechanic said change the: plug wires, then the plugs and rotor. No difference.
I think the thing is dropping out of OD for a split second and then going back in. If I drive in 3rd, I don't think it is happening. Isn't there a relay or solenoid that controls this function?
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I have a 2006 Jeep Liberty 3.7L that has a temperature gauge on the dash that reads an overheat when driving. The oil looks normal, there is no white smoke, no bubbling from reservoir. I have replaced the following:
Radiator
Thermostat
Water Pump
Coolant Temperature Sensor
Coolant Reservoir Tank
I am not leaking any coolant and the reservoir level has been fine. I have let the vehicle idle for 20+minutes, with no overheat. When I drive it around, the temperature gauge will read an overheat. When I stop the car and pop the hood, the engine is not overheated and both rubber hoses to/from radiator are flowing the coolant. The only thing that will bring the gauge down is turning on the heater full blast. Could this be the gauge itself being bad? Could it be a short in a wire somewhere? I had thought maybe a head gasket, but have no symptoms of a head gasket.
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For reasons I can't figure, the Temp gauge on the wife's Explorer is shooting from normal to high in just seconds. Then, it drops back to normal. When I looked at it this afternoon, I noted 2 things.
1) There was no sign of a coolant leak or overheating.
2) There wasn't ANY coolant in the tank!!!!!!!
The truck has evidently been running fine while this is going on.
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02 6.8 4x4 excursion. When I start the truck cold, the trans temp gauge immediately moves to "running" temp. Not really sure how this happens, I'd figure that if the xducer was trash it would ride all the way high or all the way low. What's happening here? I'd sure like a functional gauge...
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I have a 2004 Grand Prix and it is displaying the symptoms of overheating but the temp gauge is not going above normal operating temp. I replaced the thermostat twice, and after driving for about 10-20 mins coolant comes out of the overflow. I'm at a loss, I'm thinking temp sensor(?) But I don't want to keep throwing unnecessary money into it. The fans work fine, the heater blows as it should.
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I have a 2012 Crew cab Silverado 5.3 V8 with the towing package. When I pull my travel trailer (approx. 5000 lbs), the water temp stays 1/2 guage and the tranny temp is 170-190, however, on steep hills the water temp guage goes 2/3 to 3/4 guage for a short time and the tranny temp reaches 200-210 degrees. Is the elevated water and tranny temps okay or should I try to reduce them back to the normal range. What is the max temp I should keep the tranny at?
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I have recently purchased a c70 t5 which supposedly had been remapped. Anyway this weekend I changed the ICarScan unit and pipework, replaced the turbo vacuum lines and it has had a full service oil,plugs,rotor arm and cap etc. Prior to this it would occasionally pull aggressively and other times not. Now it boost all the time and feels good, however I noticed the boost gauge is now hitting almost 1.5 bar and dropping to about 0.9 bar. What could be causing this. In addition to the above work I removed the nasty badly modified inlet pipe and fitted an original between the air box and turbo. Which connection go where so I can ensure I am correct.
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Just traded in a 2012 Nissan Sentra SR on a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and have a question about the gas mileage.
My Sentra always read 28+ MPG, but it was a known issue that the reading was almost exactly 3 MPG off; thus, I was hitting about 25 MPG most of the time. I could typically get by for a week and a half, sometimes two on a single tank (which was about 11 gallons).
I took the Santa Fe home on Thursday night, filled up from the dealer and reading a range of 384 MTE. As of tonight (Saturday), my fuel meter is reading two notches over the halfway mark and the range has dropped to 232 MTE. I haven't driven anywhere near 150 miles since Thursday, FYI.
The MPG on the Santa Fe started t a measly 12 MPG when I left the lot, most likely due to sitting and idling and lots of stop-and-go driving on test drives. I've since managed to get it up to 22.2 MPG (and feel confident it should eventually read about 25 MPG, about the same as my Sentra). Even though the MPG reading is going up, I feel like I'm going to be filling up the tank again without hitting a full week of driving (and this is a bigger tank than the Sentra). I'm not getting the difference. Is there an issue that I'm missing here? After checking in with the dealer that the previous owners used for service to ensure there were no red flags, they did tell me that it had an active bulletin for a software update. I've read in other places here that this update can have some effect on the MPG. Any thought on if these things are connected?
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