So last Saturday I was driving to my mom's house when I noticed that my temp gauge was to the 3/4 mark (it never goes pass halfway) pulled over and turned my monte off and realized my coolant was way low. Stopped at Napa and filled up with Green coolant (I don't use deathcool). Now Wednesday my car gets superhot again and the temp keeps going from half to three quarters and low coolant light starts flashing. Refilled coolant (took a gallon and a half) and went up to my uncle's house (GM Mechanic) and he ordered a radiator, t-stat, and waterpump as well as new hoses. All installed yesterday and now getting hot already. No white smoke out of exhaust nor coolant in oil (leads me to believe not head gasket) not rough on startup either. No visible leak either. The only thing I can think it would be is the LIM Gasket? Is this an easy repair? and could I do the head gasket myself too just to be safe? Any input on other causes would help a lot too!

 

It's definitely going somewhere. I would suspect the LIM too. Basically you just tear it all down, and replace all of the gaskets on the way back up.

And your "deathcool" remark isn't that valid, you just have to service the cooling system still, even with dexcool.

 

I thought mine was hot when it was right below half :P

 

I'm in Indiana so I run 195* TStats right now so it runs about 210ish in the dead of summer normally. And Chibi sorry about the "deathcool" statement, I've just had a few bad experiences with it. And I do keep up on all my maintenance, flush my radiator almost once a month and oil changed every 3... that way if I forget one time nothing will go awfully wrong. The good aluminum LIM gasket will run me about 30$ right? And I'm thinking I might wait a week and drive my SUV and just break my top end down completely and do a cam as well.

 

Just got back from a date and on the way home realized that when im stopped I can hear a wated noise (almost like a gurgling noise) and it almost sounds like bubbling when I first take off from the stop light... Is this exhaust bubbling into my radiator?(I certainly couldn't hear that in cabin with car running right?) or coolant bubbling out of somewhere like the LIM gasket? Or just something unrelated? Kind of getting scared because low coolant light came on again after just a 30 mile round trip so I'm losing massive amounts of coolant fast...

 

Replace the radiator cap yet?

Could be losing pressure, losing pressure means lowering the boiling point of the coolant, lowering the boiling point would allow you to hear it boil while at operating temperature?

You might need to get this car into a real shop and get the system tested.

 

- If you are not getting "clouds" out the exhaust, that's a GOOD sign.
- Check the oil dipstick and oil cap for signs of a white-brown "sludge".
- Go to the parts store, get a loan-a-tool radiator pressure tester. Pump it up to about 13lbs of pressure, listen for hissing and inspect for trickling and or bubbling. Do you have a 3800 or 3400 engine? I could recommend some spots to check.

And I know you already acknowledged Chibi's comment about DexCool. For the record EARLY generation Dex was found to have a problem. But if you want to look at the REAL problem, it's crappy gaskets. GM has had problems at least since '94 with the 3100, nylon gaskets and GREEN coolant. My '94 Grand Am is proof of that (from the factory never had Dex in it, but the LIM gaskets have failed TWICE, it currently has about 220,000 miles and still runs). People have gotten roped into myth not fact. Yes, GM had a settlement as a result of a class action lawsuit. Sorta funny they STILL use the reformulated Dex if it really is that bad a product.
Sorry for the soap box. I've done a lot of reading on the subject and I feel it's really mis-understood.

 

It is a 3.8. Thank you The_Maniac (didn't know the new stuff was better) and I'm going to go get a new radiator cap today, no white/brown sludge in oil, but did have brown gunk all up around the radiator cap a few mnonths ago(just from old coolant correct?)

I might take it back up to my Uncle's shop and have him pressure test it and everything. He even has some smoke thing that helps find leaks.

 

Check the heater hose fitting!! Mine just broke and it spills antifreeze everywhere.

 

Thank you Brendan! I check and the upper hose was completely cracked halfway around, but was only a drip unless the rpm's were revved past about 3 grand, but then it would start spraying coolant everywhere. This is why I couldn't find a leak because at idle it would just drip onto the block and evaporate. Easy replacement too, just took off the alternator and then the tensioning bracket and they were right there!