1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue overheated

MWOLEBEN

MEMBER
1999 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE
194,000 MILES

My '99 Olds overheated yesterday. The temperature guage was right in the middle and then when I came to a stop it shot up into the red and was smoking. I immediately parked it and cut the engine off. After allowing it to cool off for about 10 minutes I was able to unscrew the top to the reservoir, let it steam a little and then when I could remove the top added some antifreeze. It started up and the temperature came back down to just below midway. After about 10 minutes of running it shot up again when I was stopped at light. I pulled over and let it cool again, when I restarted it I took a chance and revved the engine and turned the heat on high. That seemed to settle it down. I then got more antifreeze and added it to the hot fill line. It seems to be running OK and no loss of antifreeze while it sits anyway. Do you think I did permanent damage?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,727 POSTS

Chances are you didn't CAUSE permanent damage but you may be seeing the result of a developing problem. I would start by having your mechanic perform a cylinder head gasket leakage test at the reservoir cap. That involves drawing air from the cooling system through a glass cylinder with two chambers partially-filled with a special dark blue liquid. If combustion gases are present the liquid will turn bright yellow.

A leaking head gasket will cause gradual loss of coolant and overheating. If the head gasket leak test is negative, look for some other cause of the coolant to be low. If you still have the red Dex-Cool antifreeze, the first suspect would be a corroded and leaking heater core. Also look for loose hose clamps and leaking hoses. A cooling system pressure test will help identify those.