new to cavaliers, overheat problem
 

Hi, I'm new not only to this forum, but to the cavalier as well. Because of the passing of my brother in law, my nephews car is now my responsibility as far as helping him maintain it. He has a 97 with a 2.2. The problem is the car runs hot. Not clear in the red but just about to go into the red. The water pump is six months old so I,m pretty certain that is not the trouble.When you remove the lid from the reservoir, after a few minutes it starts boiling water out. Also the cooling fan will not kick on. I checked the fuses ,relays etc and found nothing wrong there. So I think i will replace the thermostat and the temp sensor. Also give it a good flush. I have a couple questions, being a dodge truck man myself. Where is the temp sensor located , and how do you flush this system with no cap on the radiator itself? this car has to last him awhile so i want to make sure we get it right! Thanks and sorry so long a post.

Welcome Cavybyproxy,
No problem with long posts..the more info, the better. If the fan isn't coming on (with engine's hot) that's where you should start first. Does the car have A/C and does the fan come on when the A/C is turned on? Check for proper voltage at the plug-end that connects to the fan motor. That'll confirm the fuse and relay is good. If you're getting voltage (when the fan should be On) then that pretty much leaves just the fan motor.

I have not checked the a.c. yet but will do that as soon as nephew gets here. And thanks for the reply.

I have a 2002, and recently i was having the same problem, if i was ideling the car would get really hot. When my A/C was turned on as well, the rad fan wasnt turning on either. I had to replace my rad fan, and now it works. Hope that works for you...