1998 Cadillac DeVille Logo
Posted on Jul 05, 2010
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Can a worn out coolant cap cause overheating - 1998 Cadillac DeVille

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Mark Carrington

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  • Expert 192 Answers
  • Posted on Jul 09, 2010
Mark Carrington
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There is no radiator cap on the Northstar engine.
The only cap is on the surge tank (or expansion tank) and is pressurized.

So the answer is Yes, a faulty surge tank cap will result in the loss of coolant and therefore lead to overheating.

The most common overheating problem with the Northstar engine is a blocked purge line(small hose).The purge line is designed to purge air out of the cooling system.
There is a small diameter hose coming from near the top of the coolant tank (not the cap) ,this is the purge line.
With the engine idling,pull the purge line from the tank,if there is no coolant flow from this small hose,it is blocked and this will cause overheating.
If the hose is clear, check for blockage at the nipple on the tank.Or trace the hose back until you find the blockage.
The hose goes in to the engine to a crossover and comes out the other side close to the thermostat housing,the blockage may be there.

Rinoo Kumari

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  • Posted on Jul 05, 2010
Rinoo Kumari
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If by "coolant cap" you mean the radiator cap then yes. This cap is supposed to be pressure release valve besides capping the opening. It maintains a certain pressure in the coolant system. When there is not enough pressure maintained inside the coolant system, circulation is hampered and thus overheating is caused. So, please replace with the correct one as you had earlier. While if you mean the cap on the coolant reservoir, then that has no connection with the coolant circulation and thus overheating.

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  • Expert 47 Answers
  • Posted on Jul 05, 2010
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No. A faulty cap can not cause overheating.

3 Related Answers

Anonymous

  • 30 Answers
  • Posted on Nov 24, 2009

SOURCE: what can cause overheating in a 2000 pontiac sunfire

Replace the thermostat. It will be fine after that. I know thats what everyone says anytime there is an overheating problem but in this case with the way the system works and it has been working fine up to this point, it's gonna be the thermostat.

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Anonymous

  • 48 Answers
  • Posted on Oct 01, 2010

SOURCE: Overheating what could be the causes? Trying to

if it looks like mayonnaise either on the oil cap or radiator cap you will have a blown head gasket. don't run it or bigger problems will occur.

Anonymous

  • 414 Answers
  • Posted on Jun 21, 2011

SOURCE: Can a worn coolant reservoir cap cause a 2002

I would check to see if the hose has fallen off the reservior container, if this occurs the
engine will vent coolant and get an air pocket and run hot. (This happened recently on
my S-10 pickup) The hose had fallen behind the battery and did not appear out of place.
I would also suspect the thermostat sticking as a secondary culprit if no air pocket exists
in the engine block. The reservior tank holds liquid to be drawn back into the engine as
it heats up and cools down and should never be completely empty. Hope this is helpful.

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Car Overheating? Why your Car Overheats & How to Fix It

www.vikingspeedshop.com/car-overheating-fix-prevent-future/

Rating: 4.2 - ‎51 votes
Oct 30, 2015 - The biggest cause of this is a faulty thermostat that is stuck closed. ... If the radiator cap were to be at fault you most likely would see steam from boiling coolant. My car only overheats when I accelerate hard or drive hard!

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www.enkivillage.com/why-is-my-car-overheating.html
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Car overheats and Air blows hot at idle?

http://howtobyme.blogspot.com/2011/11/car-overheats-and-air-blows-hot-at-idle.html
------------


CAR OVERHEATING


There are many possibilities for car overheating.

Faulty thermostat clogged radiator/plugged radiator, radiator hose worn out. Coolant running low. Low coolant pressure. Faulty temperate sensor.



I suggest you to go through the troubleshooting details mentioned in the link below:-----


All types of car overheating problems and troubleshooting?

http://technoanswers.blogspot.com/2011/11/all-types-of-car-overheating-problems.html

----------

These will help.

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Hello and welcome to FixYa! If you have overheating problem, it can lead to multipleissues. You may be running on low coolant that's why the vehicle overheats. Ifthat's the case, please add coolant and make sure that it sits on the rightlevel, too much coolant can cause overheating too for coolant will overflow. The vehicle may have a faulty or worn out radiator blowermotor that's why it overheats. If that's the case then you will need a blowermotor replacement to resolve the issue. If the radiator is clogged with dirt and rusts this issueoccurs too. The coolant doesn't flow normally on the cooling system if it'sclogged. If that's the case, I strongly suggest that you have the radiatorflushed to drain out dirt and rusts. If you think that the radiator served youenough then it's better to have it replaced. Please do check the radiator hoses, If you have worn outhoses it can cause coolant leakage which can result to overheating. A tiny holeis good enough for the vehicle to overheat. A faulty thermostat sensor can cause the issue too. If youhave worn out thermostat, the fan may not trigger that's why the fan won't workwhen under stressed conditions. A blown radiator blower fuse can cause thisissue too so I suggest that you check the radiator blower fuse and replace itwhen necessary. What causes the radiator blower fan fuse to blow? It's becauseof a failing radiator blower motor, If that's the case have the radiator blowerfan motor replaced. If the fluid in radiator doesn't circulate then it meansthat you have a blown head gasket or a faulty water pump. I suggest that you gofor the water pump replacement first specially if you think that it's near theend of it's service life. Usually, water pops out the radiator when engine isreved (a sign of faulty water pump and possible blown head gasket). Hope you find this information helpful enough and thank youfor using FixYa! Have a good one!
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Hello and welcome to FixYa!


If you have overheating problem, it can lead to multiple issues. You may be running on low coolant that's why the vehicle overheats. If that's the case, please add coolant and make sure that it sits on the right level, too much coolant can cause overheating too for coolant will overflow.


The vehicle may have a faulty or worn out radiator blower motor that's why it overheats. If that's the case then you will need a blower motor replacement to resolve the issue.


If the radiator is clogged with dirt and rusts this issue occurs too. The coolant doesn't flow normally on the cooling system if it's clogged. If that's the case, I strongly suggest that you have the radiator flushed to drain out dirt and rusts. If you think that the radiator served you enough then it's better to have it replaced.


Please do check the radiator hoses, If you have worn out hoses it can cause coolant leakage which can result to overheating. A tiny hole is good enough for the vehicle to overheat.


A faulty thermostat sensor can cause the issue too. If you have worn out thermostat, the fan may not trigger that's why the fan won't work when under stressed conditions. A blown radiator blower fuse can cause this issue too so I suggest that you check the radiator blower fuse and replace it when necessary.


Hope you find this information helpful enough and thank you for using FixYa! Have a good one!

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Hello and welcome to FixYa!


If you have overheating problem, it can lead to multiple issues. You may be running on low coolant that's why the vehicle overheats. If that's the case, please add coolant and make sure that it sits on the right level, too much coolant can cause overheating too for coolant will overflow.


The vehicle may have a faulty or worn out radiator blower motor that's why it overheats. If that's the case then you will need a blower motor replacement to resolve the issue.


If the radiator is clogged with dirt and rusts this issue occurs too. The coolant doesn't flow normally on the cooling system if it's clogged. If that's the case, I strongly suggest that you have the radiator flushed to drain out dirt and rusts. If you think that the radiator served you enough then it's better to have it replaced.


Please do check the radiator hoses, If you have worn out hoses it can cause coolant leakage which can result to overheating. A tiny hole is good enough for the vehicle to overheat.


A faulty thermostat sensor can cause the issue too. If you have worn out thermostat, the fan may not trigger that's why the fan won't work when under stressed conditions. A blown radiator blower fuse can cause this issue too so I suggest that you check the radiator blower fuse and replace it when necessary.


Hope you find this information helpful enough and thank you for using FixYa! Have a good one!

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There are few things that can cause the vehicle to heat. Please check the following to resolve the issue:

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- A worn out or damaged radiator hose. Just a small hole on the hose can cause the vehicle to overheat so have it replaced.

- A weak radiator blower motor. If the blower motor is weak it tends not to cool down the engine so have the blower motor replaced.

These are the few things that can cause the car to overheat so please have the following be checked.

Hope this helps and thank you for using FixYa! Have a good one!
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Hello and welcome to FixYa! If you have overheating problem, it can lead to multipleissues. You may be running on low coolant that's why the vehicle overheats. Ifthat's the case, please add coolant and make sure that it sits on the rightlevel, too much coolant can cause overheating too for coolant will overflow. The vehicle may have a faulty or worn out radiator blowermotor that's why it overheats. If that's the case then you will need a blowermotor replacement to resolve the issue. If the radiator is clogged with dirt and rusts this issueoccurs too. The coolant doesn't flow normally on the cooling system if it'sclogged. If that's the case, I strongly suggest that you have the radiatorflushed to drain out dirt and rusts. If you think that the radiator served youenough then it's better to have it replaced. Please do check the radiator hoses, If you have worn outhoses it can cause coolant leakage which can result to overheating. A tiny holeis good enough for the vehicle to overheat. A faulty thermostat sensor can cause the issue too. If youhave worn out thermostat, the fan may not trigger that's why the fan won't workwhen under stressed conditions. A blown radiator blower fuse can cause thisissue too so I suggest that you check the radiator blower fuse and replace itwhen necessary. What causes the radiator blower fan fuse to blow? It's becauseof a failing radiator blower motor, If that's the case have the radiator blowerfan motor replaced. If the fluid in radiator doesn't circulate then it meansthat you have a blown head gasket or a faulty water pump. I suggest that you gofor the water pump replacement first specially if you think that it's near theend of it's service life. Usually, water pops out the radiator when engine isreved (a sign of faulty water pump and possible blown head gasket). Hope you find this information helpful enough and thank youfor using FixYa! Have a good one!
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Engine overheats and I've changed the water pump already along with the thermostat. What could be the problem?

many things can cause an engine to over heat
Look for any collasped water coolant hose. That will cause overheating'
If the inside of the engines oil cap looks to have a creamy filling in it that will be from coolant mixing with the engine oil. Head gasket leak and can cause overheating
A clogged up heater core or radiator can cause overheating
A loose or worn seal on the radiator fill cap can cause overheating as well
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Overheating 97 V6 pontiac grand am

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