1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera Logo

Related Topics:

Posted on May 29, 2009
Answered by a Fixya Expert

Trustworthy Expert Solutions

At Fixya.com, our trusted experts are meticulously vetted and possess extensive experience in their respective fields. Backed by a community of knowledgeable professionals, our platform ensures that the solutions provided are thoroughly researched and validated.

View Our Top Experts

1990 overheating in traffic reserve tank boils over

1990 olds cutlas ciera, overheating in traffic, coolant overflow tank boils over. Is this a sign the thermostat needs to be replaced? How difficult is it for owner to replace?

  • 1 more comment 
  • Jeffery Lewis
    Jeffery Lewis May 11, 2010

    you need to start the car and see if the cooling fans are running it sound like they are not Turn the a/c on this will make the cooling fan run with out getting the engine hot try this and get back to me

  • Anonymous May 11, 2010

    A bad thermostat usually causes overheating at all speeds.



    Have you checked to see if the radiator cooling fan(s) are working?

  • Anonymous Mar 17, 2014

    coolant tank boiling

×

2 Answers

Marvin

Level 3:

An expert who has achieved level 3 by getting 1000 points

Top Expert:

An expert who has finished #1 on the weekly Top 10 Fixya Experts Leaderboard.

Superstar:

An expert that got 20 achievements.

All-Star:

An expert that got 10 achievements.

  • Oldsmobile Master 85,242 Answers
  • Posted on May 29, 2009
Marvin
Oldsmobile Master
Level 3:

An expert who has achieved level 3 by getting 1000 points

Top Expert:

An expert who has finished #1 on the weekly Top 10 Fixya Experts Leaderboard.

Superstar:

An expert that got 20 achievements.

All-Star:

An expert that got 10 achievements.

Joined: Jun 20, 2008
Answers
85242
Questions
28
Helped
29030497
Points
266281

This is a sign the engine electric coooling fan is not working.

Anonymous

Level 3:

An expert who has achieved level 3 by getting 1000 points

All-Star:

An expert that got 10 achievements.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Brigadier General:

An expert that has over 10,000 points.

  • Master 3,533 Answers
  • Posted on May 29, 2009
Anonymous
Master
Level 3:

An expert who has achieved level 3 by getting 1000 points

All-Star:

An expert that got 10 achievements.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Brigadier General:

An expert that has over 10,000 points.

Joined: Dec 31, 2008
Answers
3533
Questions
1
Helped
1419941
Points
10516

Its the housing behind the upper radiator hose before you change it check to see if you have a crack in the bottom of the anti-freeze cooliant bottle also try this website www.alladtadiy.com to see if you can get more information also checkout this website www.autozone.com

Ad

Add Your Answer

×

Uploading: 0%

my-video-file.mp4

Complete. Click "Add" to insert your video. Add

×

Loading...
Loading...

Related Questions:

3helpful
4answers

What is causing antifreeze to come out overflow tank?

Could be a defective radiator cap, or a leaking head gasket.
0helpful
1answer

2002 freelander land rover coolant boiling in reserve tank

Hi there the common problem found with your car is one thermostat sizes and will not let the water pass threw this in turn will cause boiling in the head and overflow bottle .2nd have a look at water hoses around engine and radiator they leak a bit , if no leaks are found my guess thermostat
5helpful
2answers

Overheating coolant boiling out into reserve tank

you have a blown head gasket.. doesn't have to have coolant in the oil for a blown head gasket... if hoses are rock hard when running then you have exhaust leaking into the coolant via a blown head gasket...
0helpful
1answer

Add coolant to a 1996 lincoln

where do you put the coolant show me a pioctures
2helpful
1answer

The car was overheating i checked all hoses and replaced the thermostat the radiator it still is ovrheating and the water is boiling in the overflow tank

Answer could be a faulty thermostat,or it could be a sign that your head gasket is about to blow ,or last of all your timing could be out of sync.

Answer 2 from Inventus: It means your cooling system is funtioning properly. In a system having a coolant recovery tank, coolant in the radiator is always up to the brim, hot or cold. There is negligible or no air space. When coolant in the radiator expands sufficiently due to warming from the engine, it will squeeze past the pressure cap's bottom seal and flow into the recovery tank. (If no provision for such expansion was present, the expansion would rupture the radiator or your hoses.) Only coolant within the radiator is under pressure, and because of this pressure (together with the elevated boiling point that the "anti-freeze" permits), it normally does not boil. But once past the pressure cap's bottom seal, the overflow is at atmospheric pressure and therefore boils.
This boiling is usually unnoticed after a short, i.e., local, trip because the cooler coolant already in the recovery tank quenches it. But after some highway driving the influx of more hot overflow heats up all the coolant in the recovery tank to the (unpressurized, i.e., "natural") boiling point.
As the engine cools when shut off, the contracting coolant in the radiator sucks back coolant from the recovery tank. Fluid in the recovery tank should never be below the "full hot" or "full cold" marks, lest air be sucked in.
-- BETTER ANSWER ==
Your cooling fans are not turning on. It is not normal for your overflow tank to boil like that. It is true that your radiator is overflowing into the reserve tank, but that means yourr adiaotor is boiling. Check for blown fuses or relays for your cooling fans. IF theya re fine. run your engine for about 15 minutes and drive. When you temp level is at normal operating temp open your hood with the engine runing and see if your fans are on. If they are, then you may have a bad thermostat or a plugged radiator, or a bad water pump. If the fans are not on, get your cooling fan switch replaced if your car has one. Check your temp sending sensor
0helpful
1answer

Overheating changed thermostat but no change

Warm up the car and pay attention to the coolant reserve tank.
If you see bubbles raising up from the bottom of the reserve tank then you has exhaust leak at the head gasket,
=====
The shop method is a coolant system pressure test and hydrocarbon dye test.
1helpful
1answer

I have a 2001 chevy Malibu. Have problems with

Due to the complexity of the newer cars on the raod today!! what you are experiencing is Normal!!! since the coolant systems on the newer cars run at such a higher pressure and a high Rpm the reserve tank which has it's on drain hose for excessive overflow from the radiator allows the extra high pressure release from the radiator to back flow to the reserve tank and then out the reserve tank overflow hose on to the raod
0helpful
1answer

Overheating and boiling in the overflow reserve tank

replace radiator cap system depends on good pressure to keep from overheating
0helpful
1answer
1helpful
2answers

Overheating,reserve coolant tank boiling I have a 2000 Ford Taurus with the similar problem. I had my water pump replaced then this started.

Ford 2000 Taurus

To solve the problem you have the things to do in this order;

) When the engine is cold top off the radiator with fluid. (When the pump was replaced the fluid should have been also)
) Make sure the radiator fluid has anti-freeze in it. This is also anti boil also !
) Add fluid to the overflow reservoir.
) Make sure the drive belt was replaced on the water pump.
) With the engine running, you can add fluid to the radiator for the first minute or so. You want to get air pockets out.
) Replace radiator cap.
) Let car warm up. When it's hot you should get the radiator fan coming on.
) When it get hotter the air-conditioning fan may come on.
) If the fan does not come on, the heat sensor is probably bad.
) If all fans come on, and it overheats, you may have a bad thermostat. Trace the upper radiator hose to where it connects to the engine. That's where it located.

Do not operate the engine when it overheats, You will damage the head gaskets and cause radiator fluid to leak into the cylinders.
If you smell radiator fluid in the exhaust fumes, it may already be leaking.
Not finding what you are looking for?

408 views

Ask a Question

Usually answered in minutes!

Top Oldsmobile Experts

ZJ Limited
ZJ Limited

Level 3 Expert

17989 Answers

Ronny Bennett Sr.
Ronny Bennett Sr.

Level 3 Expert

6988 Answers

Thomas Perkins
Thomas Perkins

Level 3 Expert

15088 Answers

Are you an Oldsmobile Expert? Answer questions, earn points and help others

Answer questions

Manuals & User Guides

Loading...