-air filter (make sure it is not dirty)
-coolant (make sure it is not brown)
-engine oil
-radiator pressure (kits cost like 7 bucks) this will tell you if you have a leak anywhere in your cooling system, if the pressure is wrong, look for vacuum leaks in your hoses. (another way kind of dangerous though, let car get normal temp, TURN CAR OFF, put a bag over the radiator cap and take it off and run away and be prepared to clean a mess.
If it has bad pressure nothing or a small amount of coolant will shoot out, if it has a bad leak, nothing at all will happen (your coolant level should be low if this is the case) if it has no vacuum leak it will shoot out coolant like crazy that will burn the xxxx out of you so be extremely careFULL, or buy a kit.
A bad radiator cap can also cause pressure to be lost, when this happens a good indicator will be dry coolant on the hood. However, you can have a bad radiator cap that does not hold pressure but will hold coolant.
-make sure your car is idling under 1000 rpm (if it is not, it could be a number of things but it usually just the throttle control. or running rich or lean.
when thermostats fail, they usually get stuck open, making your car run cooler than normal.
if everything i listed is good, unfortuntaly you may need a new water pump.
Sounds like the beginning of a water pump failure. the leak may be coming from the worn seals. When at idle the pump isnt spinning fast enough or slipping yet on a regular drive the RPM is up higher allowing the pump to work better.. The only way to tell is if it gets worse the leak may get bigger but usually it will over heat just driving down a normal road then it is bad.. a thermostat would cause the truck to overheat in a few minutes and usually no leak unless it cracks the radiator.. If it was me I would be looking at the water pump
Intake manifold gasket maybe or get a new radiator cap sometimes the seal fails.
where did u get an oil change? jiffy lube/Valvoline? those guys will lie to u to get u out of their shop and lie to u to sell junk parts to u. they're not going to sell and install a water pump for u, but they sure will sell u a overprice junk windshield wiper.
probably not the belt since the temp is normal when ur driving.
not the water pump. they usually leak and need to be replaced because of a leak and not because they go out. it would be overheating all the time if its the water pump.
I'm pretty sure (without looking at ur car) that its the fans. They could be working but not enough. You need to let ur suv cool down. Then turn on ur car and A/C on max. ur fans will be forced to kick in on max speed. open ur hood and lean over the radiator a bit. The fans should be strong enough to move ur hair. if it feels gentle, then its the fan module giving out. Its the most common problem with cars overheating while idling. When ur driving, theres great air flow and the pump is working good. ur car is normal temp. then when u come to a stop, theres no more air flow. its up to ur fans to provide that. If u double check and ur positive that it is not ur fans, then the next common thing is to check for air in ur coolant system. maybe someone didnt purge out the air. that could also cause it to over heat, but it would do it at random times.
Well how is your coolant hoses, are they hard as a rock when you squeeze them, cause that can narrow down to two of things. (1) Your thermostat could be stuck shut. (2) You could have a clogged radiator.
And if none of that and hoses are squishy, yes squishy.. then could be WP, you did mention there was a leak, if its leaking from WP or wet around WP then the weap hole indicates a faulty WP; and will need to be replaced.
I have a 1999 Oldsmobile Bravada, (yes bravada not blazer. People get scared when they see bravada but they're all the same)and for some reason it runs hot. It runs hot while your sitting or idling or in park. If your driving or moving, it's normal. The temp hand sits right behind the middle mark. If you sit long enough it will over heat. I don't understand why. I noticed it leaks after driving it for awhile. It leaks right above the oil pan/drain plug. It's coming from higher up I know, but what is right above on this motor that could be leaking?
YESS the fan works. It works and comes on. And for some odd reason it doesn't run hot all the time.
Its driving me crazy. I know its not a head gasket because there's no smoke coming from the tail pipe. and it idles fine. No check engine light is on.
I just need to know what could be causing the truck to run hot over heat? Could it be the water pump??
Its a 1999 Oldmobile Bravada, with 159,xxx miles, a 4.3 motor. all wheel drive. I need a serpentine belt, could that cause it.
I just got a oil change like today, and they said they couldn't see the leak, and the antifreeze level was good.
