Intrigue running hot? Or is it normal?

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tdglamann

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I've searched through this forum and there are a lot of overheat issues addressed but I have not found anything that matches my symptoms.

I have a 2000 Intrigue that seems to me is running hot with AC on and running at highway speeds although it never overheats. I got the car a couple years ago and the AC didn't work well so we never used it. This year I got the AC working and now it seems to run hot.

Outside temp has been running in the upper 90's to low 100's the last couple weeks. Without the AC on the guage sits at about the 1/2 way mark or a needle above. With the AC on the temp will climb to 3/4 or a couple needles above, but never overheats. With the heat on it does not seem to make any difference in the guage and it does blow HOT air. This doesn't seem to appear in stop and go driving, just when running at highway speeds.

I am 90% sure it's not a head gasket problem. There is no water in the oil and no sweet smell or white smoke from the exhaust. I have pressure tested the radiator to 15psi with no leak. I changed the radiator cap. Fluid looks clean and I don't think there are air pockets in the system.

Now to my question... Is this normal operating temperature? I hate to start parts changing if this is normal.

Any help is appreciated.
 
Does the electric radiator cooling fan run (when the a/c is on)? Is there debris in front of the radiator (or between the radiator and the a/c condenser)? Those are a couple of things to check.
 
Yes, both fans appear to operate as I think they should. I have not inspected the radiator cooling fins but I plan to hose down the radiator tonight. My next thought was flush the radiator or put in a new one. I've not had much success with flushing them.
 
An Intrigue with the water temp over halfway would indicate some kind of problem. I doubt the cooling fans would be the culprit, since there is plenty of airflow on the highway. Make sure your Mass Airflow is clean.

How many miles on it? It's somewhat normal for old cars to develop a gradual bias towards hot as they age. Agree the radiator might be scaling up, or the heater core.

You might be experiencing a combination of things that each lend a small part towards the problem. New oxygen sensor, new cat, and exhaust cleaning, may help out.
 
Disregard any advice that says modify the thermostat, even if it seems to work for others. These engines run perfectly fine when the engine is configured the way the engineers intended.

Your engine is overheating - normal is 1/8 inch below halfway, never above, certainly not 3/4 up the scale.

As far as an engine mechanical problem like O2 sensor, catalyst, exhaust - these would probably show up with a code, or at least with reduced engine performance. Any lights on? Getting low 20s MPG around town, near 30 on the highway? Runs smooth?

Any other electrical issues? Curious that it seems to coincide with AC - is it possible that extra electrical load is affecting temp display? Have you used a thermometer to check temp? If you have access to a scan tool that displays vehicle data, it will read the temp sensor and tell you what the temp sensor thinks the engine temp is.

My Intrigue did very similarly to yours - no smoke, no coolant in oil. Are you using ay coolant at all? I believe a block test or leak down test are really the only definitive ways to diagnose a blown head gasket, short of pulling a head (which I don't recommend). Have you pulled the plugs to look at them?

These cooling systems have enormous capacity. The added heat in the condensor probably pushed a marginal system over the edge.

All this assumes you have properly bled the system, and are getting good circulation through the cooling system.
 
krivasolds said:
These cooling systems have enormous capacity. The added heat in the condensor probably pushed a marginal system over the edge.
Click to expand...

Could also try loading the car with weight, drive it in "3" with the A/C off, see if it overheats easily. I have driven my car loaded up with tree trunk pieces at 55 MPH and 2200-2500 RPM for an hour with no problem. Find out if it's a heat-wicking capacity problem, or something specific to the A/C.
 
Sorry for not responding sooner. I haven't done anything to it with the holiday.

This is my 19 yr old daughters car and she did have a SES light on when she came home from college a couple months ago. It was an O2 sensor (I think bank 2). I cleared the light and it hasn't came back. I also have not checked the gas mileage, but I am keeping track and will check this tank. It has just under 163,000 miles on it.

I will run through some of these checks tonight if it stays cool enough. This heat is crazy.

Thanks for all of the input!
 
Well, I did the procedure to bleed air out of the system and it was full when I pulled the radiator bleed screw. I ran the car and every time I loosened the screw a stream of fluid came out. I'm pretty sure I am good with no air pockets in the system.

I checked gas mileage and I'm getting 26 MPG with mainly highway driving. I pulled the plugs and they looked good.

krivasolds said:
My Intrigue did very similarly to yours - no smoke, no coolant in oil. Are you using ay coolant at all? I believe a block test or leak down test are really the only definitive ways to diagnose a blown head gasket, short of pulling a head (which I don't recommend). Have you pulled the plugs to look at them?
Click to expand...

@krivasolds - did your trouble end up being a head gasket?

I may be losing coolant, but it is pretty slow. Last week when I first started messing with this I filled the coolant. Today it is about a 1/2 inch lower in the reservoir. I may try a new thermostat just because it's simple. Not sure what to try next...
 
Slow coolant leaks are common on the back of the engine from the water outlet crossover. You may smell coolant and not see any on the ground because it drips on the exhaust manifold and evaporates instantly.

My understanding is that head gasket failure should be very obvious if it's causing overheating and things are reaching an "end state". I'd still assume you've got some other cause, unless as krivasolds pointed out, the car undergoes a diagnostic test specifically for an onset of gasket problems.
 
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Last night I decided to clean the radiator. It's not easy to get to the front side of the radiator. Pulled the battery, air filter box, wishbone mount, fans and then I was able to lay the radiator back towards the motor. Man was it dirty. There was what appeared to be cat hair matted up in a circular fashion where the fan would be pulling thru the radiator. I back flushed the radiator and condenser with a sprayer on the garden hose then soaked it with Purple Power and rinsed good.

All I can figure out is that the fins on the condenser are less dense and allowed the fan to pull them on thru to the radiator. I don't have cats, but I got the car from my Mom and she used to feed any stray that came along.

I will post more after the outside temp comes back up later this week. This morning it was only 75 deg, but the car ran pretty cool. It was pretty steady at about a needle width below 1/2.

Thanks for all of the support. I will update again after I have a definitive answer as to whether it is fixed or not.
 
tdglamann said:
I will post more after the outside temp comes back up later this week. This morning it was only 75 deg, but the car ran pretty cool. It was pretty steady at about a needle width below 1/2.
Click to expand...

It would be so awesome if this fixed it. Gotta start with the basics.
 
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