my vehicle is still over heating after we changed the water pump, radiator cap, thermostate and flushed he radiator, also bleed the air but it still gets more air in it and still over heating

Asked by hazel_angel_eyes8301... Oct 24, 2013 at 06:17 PM about the 2002 Buick Rendezvous CX FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

i have changed the water pump, thermostate and radiator cap also flushed the radiator and
bleed the air out but the vehicle is still gettting air in it and still over heating, what seems
to be wrong with it?

17 Answers

305

WHAT I FOUND WAS COMMON ON THOS IS THE CYLINDER HEAD GASKET FAILS/LEAKS THAT WILL CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO OVER HEAT

20 people found this helpful.
305

No the most you will need is gaskets and the heads might need to be machined down a bit because they aaare most likely aluminum heads and they like to warp

10 people found this helpful.
335

the same thing is happening to us!!!! But you need to take half the engine apart to replace the gasket- is there ANY way around such an expensive repair? Sorry I don't have an answer- but we have the exact same problem- Buick 2002 Century- jerk mechanic sold us this car- put lots of "gunk" to seal the coolant and make the car test drive well, then fall apart afterwards. Is there ANY other explanation for this? What if you keep bleeding it to get the air out? Could that help milk the car along so you don't have to junk it? How do you know for sure a head gasket is gone? I was told coolant would be mixing with the oil- it isn't in our case- is that true?

19 people found this helpful.
3,950

Remove at least two spark plugs and observe if there is any coolant on the sparks. If no, then this is not an headgasket issue,

14 people found this helpful.
300

I have an 03 buick rendezvous. Started over heating. I started with the small things and worked my way allllll the way up to the cery tip top of HEAD GASKETS. got these dam head gaskets on and it ran fine (over heating wise) for a few days. Its now september 15 i got the car back on september 11th this was after replacing waterpump, thermostat, radiator hoses, then the actual radiator, then the ass i bought it from didnt want me to take him to court so he offered to put the head gaskets on free of charge if i bought the gaskets of course my dumbass did. So at this point im at the least $1,100 deep in parts and labor. He finally towed the car had it for 30 DAYS. mind yu the only problem was the over heating issue when he took it. I go pick it back up the engines rattling, misfiring, not accelerating as it should and last but not least keeps shutting off on me every time i stop. With 3 small kids thats OBVIOUSLY not safe. So of course i go to investing more money in this oiece of crap. Ive now had my spark plugs & wires, my coil packs AND my speed sensor replaced and my car is STILL shutting off at stops, engine rattling, and still reading a misfire in one od the 3 brand new coils i JUST REPLACED TODAY!!!! But low and behold now that my coils have been redone now the car is over heating again! Wtf is with these damn things?!?! At this point ive replaced EVERYTHING under the hood except the engine itself!!!!!!! The EGR valve is the last and final thing im gonna be investing into this piece of junk another $80 part with a good $100 for labor using a backyard mechanic. I LOOOOVED this suv when i first got it but its literally broke my bank and i still dont have a reliable vehicle to transport my kids in!

18 people found this helpful.
80

You poor dear. My 2005 Rende 121,000,is ready to die. After reading your story,i shall look for a newee car,if that is possible,and trade this auld gal in.

8 people found this helpful.
120

Just bought a used 2003 buick rendavous last sept ran great at first then started overheating, replaced thermostat annd 3 relayys, ran great for 2 weeks then started overheating again. Wheni turn it off for a few minutes and start it again it runs fine. Whats up.?

12 people found this helpful.
460

well, after doing some digging an reviewing some unknown resources I may have an answer for you. your problem seems to be you bought a 03 buick rendezvous that ran great at first then started overheating, then you replaced the thermostat and 3 relays, then it ran for 2 weeks then started overheating again. then when you turn it off for a few minutes and start it again it runs fine. well, theres your problem....

46 people found this helpful.
410

I've finally got this car to stop overheating! (for now) I'll do my best to explain what all I had to do to it. First off, it's a lemon. Great interior, crap engine. Let's move on. I replaced (in order) *Radiator *Water pump *Thermostat (twice because the first got stuck) *Antifreeze to green instead of red *Head gasket job These cars run on a pressurized coolant system, and it's a pain. Some tips I have are : *Flush the system until you would drink the water coming out, and fill it up with green antifreeze. The Dexcool eats the intake manifold gaskets, get the Dexcool out of the car ASAP!!! *BLEED. I haven't determined if this car needs routine coolant bleeding on a biweekly or monthly basis, but it's a good idea. There is a bleeder screw on the thermostat housing, and another on the metal line atop the water pump. Run the car, open the bleeder valve, count to 30, close it back, count to 30, open the other bleeder valve, count to 30, close it back, repeat repeat repeat. *If there is no air in the coolant system, the heat will work. If your heat starts going out, you need to bleed it again. I usually check all fluids once a month, and bleed it out at the same time. IF IT'S CONSTANTLY GETTING AIR IN THE SYSTEM, YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHY. It will not run right. This deduction led me to the water pump, and ultimately the head gasket. *I haven't changed the heater core out yet, but screw it, do it too. Good luck. Get it running right, and get rid of it.

12 people found this helpful.
40

Have heating prople repaed thermostat coolant sensor and put in new antifreeze and its stil doing the same thing

2 people found this helpful.
140

For all yawl with a Chevy impala from 00 to 09 or Buick from 02 to 07 with 3.4l motor you will run into coolant heating issue because the head is aluminum if you lose heat and change the thermostat and still have no heat you have a failed or blown gasket in the head its their design flaw. Buy a 40 dollar bottle of devil blue head gasket fix it works i just used it my heart is back in full force.

7 people found this helpful.
30

I have a 2002 Buick Rendezvous. This car was given to me, so I try not to complain, but it seems like I'm rebuilding the car piece by piece. New tires even go bad within a month. (Don't buy Starfire tires.) This car runs great and rides smooth, and it fits a surfboard. But that's ALL it has going for it. Otherwise, piece of crap! I spent over $1000 to get it to pass emissions test. I had 3 brake lines bust at the same time! Lucky it was in my driveway when they failed...while backing out. I rebuilt the trans. $1600, there. Air conditioner condensation line clogged and leaked on some very important part under the driver's side passenger seat, that killed the car 3 times. Wouldn't start. That was a royal pain that only a mobile mechanic in Chicago knew how to fix. But, of course, he didn't have the mobile equipment for it. But he told my mechanic what to do. $200 tow from Chicago. Then the air conditioner went out. That's still out. Replacing the bad fuse didn't fix that. Lucky we had a mild summer The antilock brakes are shot. Just gone. Driver's window sometimes won't go up. It burns oil. A lot. Now, the day before Christmas Eve, its going to start overheating. At the Taco Bell drive-thru... temp gauge went past half. I turned the car off. Ate my food. Drove to Autozone. Guy says it's probably the thermostat. So, I start Googling. OMG. After reading what others had to do to get a Rendezvous to quit overheating... it looks like I'm in for a GREAT new year. I'm supposed to drive to Florida in 2 days. Help. Tomorrow's Christmas Eve.

3 people found this helpful.
40

I have have my ‘02 Rendezvous for 5 years now and have done everything mentioned above. I have replaced the water pump, most coolant lines (the mains from the radiator are still great) thermostat, replaced all gaskets from head up, including exhaust gaskets. Replaced the head bolts while I was in there. Replaced most of the intake accessories, like the TPS and the Idle control valve and EGR. My heater core feeding tube has a quick connect to the engine and I just realized why that is there. Since that is the very top of the cooling system, you have to fill it from there! This hose is at least a few inches above the bleeder valves(depending on the angle at which you are parked), which explains why they are so ineffective. Locate the hose I am referring to behind the coil packs and the throttle body. It does a curl up to a metal hose coming out the top of the engine. There are two tabs on each side that you compress and the hose pops off. This hose has blown on me several times, because when air gets trapped in the heater core it puts tremendous pressure on that top section. I have been searching for someone to discuss that hose but no one seems to know about this. Why else would that hose use a quick connect?? I hope this helps. I hear all of you saying this car is a lemon, but I love this friggin car! I did all of this work myself to save on labor, so I’m not out on much cash, just time and emotional energy spent in spades. This is the last remaining issue I am dealing with but it has been a consistent issue the whole time I have had this car.

2 people found this helpful.
50

My answer is this.When your head gasket fails just enough to allow exhaust vapor onto cooling system it puts the thermostat into vapor lock ( it won't open). Buy a new thermostat and drill 1/16 hole in top to allow gasses to escape and don't screw cap on recovery bottle too tight. This is an old trick from bygone years and also euro cars!

5 people found this helpful.
40

I have t had a chance to follow up. Turns out my air filter had crumpled in one corner and poked out, causing too much air to flow into the intake. This is why the car was overheating once the thermostats opened up and it hit that superheated throttle body.

2 people found this helpful.

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