My 2003 rendezvous is over heating and it seems like the fans are not turning on. I just got the lower gasket seals replaced and now it seems to smell like coolant coming through the vents, strong smell around the engine. Any ideas and help, please with pictures, I havent messed with engines yet so I don't know much.
Country: United StatesMake: BuickModel: Rendezvous CXLEngine: v6 3.4 Already Tried: google??
Hello, I'm Cam. Please include all the details about your issue so I can accurately advise you. I cannot see your vehicle so please be detailed.
did you change the thermostat when you changed the gaskets?
Was this issue there prior to the gasket change?
Well the first issue started when the car was getting no heat and over heating a little passed the middle gage, so I asked a mech to change the seals. The heat came back and didn't over heat, but it was winter and now that its warmer out its over heating and I finally noticed the fans didn't kick on. Just did a coolant flush also.
DO the fans come on when you turn the AC on?
just went out there and turned on the AC and the fans still didn't turn on
If you remove the connector from the coolant sensor, do they come on?
Never mind just took a minute to turn on
so they work with AC on
Ok, so try the other to be sure
Where is that located?
On the intake by where the upper rad hose housing goes to the engine.
Im not good with the engine, which one is the rad hose?
The thick black hose on the drivers side of the engine
with all the little wires coming from
thats more like it haha, unplug it with engine on or off?
Engine on if you can, otherwise with the engine off then start it up
tried turning but it didnt crank over
Is the battery dead?
no I just had the car on, then I shut it off unplugged that sensor and it didnt turn over
okay I tried again and it started
Ok, do the fans come on?
both came on and I stayed on when I shut ac off
both stayed on
Ok, so the fans are working just fine.
So the overheating, how hot does it actually get?
I try and control it by turning on the ac or heat to blow it, so the most ive seen it is quarter over the half mark
Ok, did you replace the thermostat?
this is the first time Ive seen the fans stay on when the car is shut off too
That’s with the sensor unplugged and that is the proper relaction.
reaction.
I dont think so, I would have to call the mech and see, I dont remember asking him
shall I keep it unplugged
YEs.
I am calling the mech now to see if he did replace that
no awnser
When does it overheat?
Idle, driving?
every time I drive for a little while
idle too
seems to stay in control when I get going so mostly idle
Ok, has it actually overheated then and displayed a warning on thedash?
no, I wont let it get to that point, to afraid to crack or warp stuff\
OK, let it get a bit warmer. It will give you warning if it gets too warm.
Just not use to having any engine go pass the middle gage really
These ones do a bit.
How warm is it where you are?
since I unplugged that sensor starting the car is starting to sound really bad and not turning over right away
minnesota its about 70 now
Plug it back in, that portion of the test is over.
k
car smells like coolant, after I drive for a while too
Is there coolant running down from the AC water drain?
I got a service engine soon, from that plug, fans turned off,
cars warming up now
ok
If the smell is strong in the cabin then it means the heater core is leaking
okay, yea Ive never seen any major leaks on the ground
but I smell it
Ok that means the heater core is faulty.
not to much in the cabin its strong by the engine
Ok, is there heat in the cab?
yes
How long ago did you have the intake gaskets changed?
couple months ago
Ok so we need to figure out where the coolant is leaking from.
how many seals are there to replace
I wonder if the mech did them all
Is there spray around the belt?
define spray
Ok closer to the front of the engine or rear?
I dont know what spray is?
For that area I am suspecting the water pump.
the engine is getting close to the middle mark for heat and no fans kicked on
that area seems to be dry
nothing sounds out of ordinary there either
OK, so that part is working.
that coolant smell seems to be very strong by the thermastat sensor plug
Do you see coolant below that area?
nah, its looks like moist oil with dirt, like normal engine
no intense leaks
fans havent turned on yet either for the temp gage being in the middle
its still rising
the service engine light came on so now im curious to what that reads
The light will be on due to the sensor being unplugged.
You can reset it.
So if that thermostat was bad it would cause the fans from not turning on to cool engine and cause the coolant smell
No, the thermostat I suspect is fine.
heat gage is half to 3/4 and no fans kicked on yet
its cool out now so I think the shade is starting to cool it naturally
it moved up when I reved the motor
sees to be staying at middle of 1/2 and 3/4
Ok so it is not overheating at the moment, CAn you go and wash the engine?
just spray water or go to a place and scrub it down?
Or use the wand at a car wash.
yea I can do that, you want me to clean it up, let dry and check for leaks type thing
what would cause the fans to not turn on by themselves when it gets to this heat?
Yes.
It needs to get high enough for the PCM to command them on.
so is 3/4 a normal heat, it has never been there before
Ideally running down the road it should be just over half.
okay, I just read so many other people problems with their car and it just seems to going down the same path, but im stuck with it so im trying to catch things early
I can smell that coolant 5 feet away from it with the hood closed
We need it clean and dry to find that leak.
There is a strong possibility that the head is leaking
okay, so just hit save and exit and come back to this conversation?
ill go clean the engine
Please bookmark this page so you can easily navigate back to it so we can continue the discussion. This is done by pressing (CTRL D on PC and CMD D on Mac). You can reply at any time for follow up information regarding this issue, even after you accept my answer and I will reply.
okay sounds good i will be back in a hour or so, if the head is leaking where would it be leaking from, do you have pictures at all?
That I do not have pictures, but there are 2 spots, rear under the alternator on the front and the rear head.
Do you know of a manual I could download for the entire vic thats still affordable? I am letting traffic die down before I go to the car wash
You can get alldatadiy for a year for your car for about 15.
Experience: GM Grand Master Technician 2007. 11 years experience.
Just a quick question, how can you check to see if your ball bearing is going out on a tire. The car feels like its losing some motion but I dont think its coming from the engine necessarily.
Lift the wheel and rock the tire at the top and bottom. See if there is movement that is not the flex of the tire.
So I found a small leak, looks more like oil in a pretty hidden area on the seam of the lower intake. seems like it could be oil. There isnt enough to drop on the ground either. So could that be from the mech that changed the seals didn't get it tight enough or something? on another note, I replaced the wheel bearing hub but now theres a scraping sound that seems to hit when we speed up. got any ideas?
He likely did not use enough silicon in that area.
is it something to worry about? is there anything that rubs on the bearing also?
No, I would not worry about it. RUbs on bearings how? GM Tech (Cam)41049.8438710648
Im thinking something with the brake system, I just took the tire off and bent that peice that goes behind the hub, i think that couldve been rubbing on the rotor, I will give it a try on the road again to see if that was it, otherwise if you ever seen a problem like that after someone change a hub?
Bent shields, stuff caught in there or bad bearing.