I'm gonna have to take off the exhaust manifold in order to get the thermostat out. The ***** just keeps overheating.
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I'm gonna have to take off the exhaust manifold in order to get the thermostat out. The ***** just keeps overheating.
Not the entire manifold, just the crossover. Just a fair warning, those bolts are going to snap. Almost a guarantee... So I'd look for some replacements before you start pulling it off. Basically anything laying in the bottom of a tool box that will fit in the holes and has a nut.
https://youtu.be/uy-WefQFq-k?t=19 and dont ya know, they sell a bent wrench just for this pos job.
id be buying and bending a 13 mm wrench myself. cause 30 bucks aint gonna happen.
Yeah that's the thing. I can't spend money on the wrench. They make a wrench specifically for this but nowhere carries it and nobody knows what it is. So I'd have to order it online and then wait for it to get here but I'm not even entirely sure it'd work. So, what is the crossover? If it's the one on the drivers side, I already attempted to take it off and broke one of the bolts. The rest is stuck in the hole. I'm kinda afraid to try and take the other ones out. The heater core hose connector still needs fixed too because that is leaking really bad but there's not a way to get to it without taking the entire top end apart. There's gotta be an easier way to do these jobs.
If I use a 13mm distributor clamp wrench, would that work to get the thermostat off?
I can replace a 3.1 thermostat without removing the crossover. I am not saying it is a 5 minute job, but it can be done without special tools. Just a little patience.
Don't be afraid to break the crossover bolts, that's usually the only way to get them off. Just use a hammer and punch to pop the old bolt out, or drill it out if it refuses to budge. Just make sure you can get some kind of replacement bolts, so you can get it back on when you're done.
If you still want to keep the crossover on, a distributor clamp wrench would probably work pretty well.
And yes, the crossover is the pipe that crosses over the transmission right under the throttle body.
So I ended up taking off the crossover pipe and only breaking the head off of one bolt. I replaced the thermostat, and heater core hose connector, refilled my coolant, then bled the system. Drove okay but gauge fluctuated between 210 and 225. Then I noticed it was still leaking. It was leaking from a small hose that connects to the throttle body. Coolant was dripping onto the crossover pipe and getting hot causing it to make the car look like it's overheating. Gauge still went up high. I replaced the hose. Still overheats. Still leaks coolant from somewhere or somehow causes the engine to have smoke. What could this be? Comes from near the bottom of the throttle body. I know those hoses are not leaking so I'm not sure what it is. The heat works great. Car also seems to be lacking some power when driven and idles kinda rough. When I have my foot on the gas of brake, I can feel the engine running and it seems like it's running rough but isn't throwing a code or chugging. It also sounds slightly different when driving and idles at about 600 or so rpms. Neither of my cooling fans are currently working either which i assume is part of the problem. Only one was working up until yesterday and now neither of them work. So, what could be causing all of this? Is my grand prix done for? Or should I keep trying to fix it and spend hard earned money on it? Any help or advice would be much appreciated!
Did you do the water pump? The impeller blades rust into nothing.... See Below.
It sounds like it was a bad tstat, since now it stays in a temp range instead of overheating after a short drive. As for the leak, I get the feeling that little hose isn't supposed to have coolant going through it.
Did you replace the tstat housing gasket? If not, you're gonna kick yourself for it. If you did put a new gasket in there, I'd try tightening up the housing just a bit more, not hulk smash kinda tight, but make it difficult to get it back off. I'd replace the TB gasket while you're in there, as well as the water pump. The whole rough idle and lack of power could be a vacuum leak. And a new water pump is always a good idea when you're having overheating issues with a GM V6.
Honestly, you'll spend less fixing up this GP than you would on most other "reliable" vehicles... Parts are usually really cheap and there's still plenty in junkyards to pull the hard to find bits from.
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