Ola,.. I have a 1997 grand prix gt 3.8 (no supercharge) and it starts to over heat while parked at a red light, but when i drive off it starts to cool down...I have replaced the top hose, thermastat, and water pump...Also when i get out of the car i smell burned anti-freeze...Plz any one help me out, cause i cannot afford to get another car...It has about 112,000 miles...Thanx and waht an awsome forum this is....

Moved to the correct section.

Check what you have not mentioned. If you smell coolant, then there is a leak somewhere, probably dripping or pouring out onto a hot surface. That would lead me to check such things as your throttle body. Coolant runs through there and its been known to leak from there.

Could be the upper intake manifold, they have been known to warp and leak due to heat. Look around the area where the EGR is. Also check your radiator cap. In fact, if you have never replaced it, go to the dealership and pick you up one for $6-7. If for no other reason than to just rule it out.

That should get you started. Im sure others may step in here and have some further input.

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Scotty Hall
Bartlesville, OK
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it.

The only limitation you will ever face in life is yourself!

The best thing to do is to start as simple as possible, that way you don't end up replacing parts that you didn't need. So, here is an incomplete list of areas to check:

1. TB gasket

2. Coolant elbow coming off of the intake manifold.

3. Upper and lower intake manifold gaskets (check the front and the back of the intake manifold and look in the low areas and see if there is any coolant that has leaked out.

4. Check every hose and and hose clamp for evidence of leaking and tighten or replace as necessary.

5. Make sure your radiator isn't leaking.

6. Make sure your radiator/AC condenser fins are not full of road debris. (blocked airflow)

7. Make sure your belt is in good condition and that the tensioner is keeping correct tension.

8. Make sure your radiator fans are working. (You can test this by either waiting until your engine gets up to temp and see if they come on, or you can turn on the AC and watch to see if they come on, with the AC on they should come on right away.)

If all else fails go to an autoparts store like AutoZone and get a coolant pressure tester(loaner tool). With you engine cool, take off the radiator cap, put the tester on the radiator and pump the tester up to about 16-17 psi. Observe the gauge, it will hold pressure if there are no leaks. If it doesn't not hold pressure, check around and see if you can see any coolant leaking (check under the car to see it dripping, even look inside the passenger compartment, that will check to see if your heater core is leaking). Fix or repair what you find to be leaking. Sometimes it depends on how much coolant has leaked, but with leaked coolant all over the engine it may be hard to locate where the leak is, if this is true for your engine, make sure to clean the areas where here is coolant present and retest.

If the system does hold pressure move on to testing the radiator cap. The kit contains an adapter that is used for testing the cap. Put it all together and pump the tester up, careful to watch the gauge to see when the cap relives the pressure. You should hear the cap relive pressure about 15-17psi, if it releases it earlier your cap is faulty.

Good luck with finding out what it is making you overheat, if none of this works for you, there might be something more serious going on, like what Scotty was talking about (cracked upper intake manifold, which is very common for N/A 3800s or even possibly a head gasket). Either way let us know what the deal was.

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3.4", 3" cated DP, SLP Air box, TB spacer, 180* Thermo, "Bilemke Tuning".

First thing I would check is to make sure that you have enough coolant. Don't check it in the overflow tank. But rather remove the radiator cap, and make sure the radiator is filled to the top. If it is low, add some fluid. You shouldn't need to add hardly any at all.

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1997 GTP - 200k+ miles, PEMs, 3" SS Exhaust w/ Borla Mufflers, 3.4", 180* stat(summer), FWI, 1.84 RR, PT, SLP hood, KYB GR2s, GMPP Handling Kit, etc...

If the car is safe to drive then drive it to a shop. Once there ask them to pressure check the system after the car cools down. When they do this they will use a colored die in the coolant so its seen under a fluorescent light and that will pin point were the leak is at.

Are your both your fans working? Seems like more air flow related to me

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1999 Silver GTP~HP Tuners~XP cam~ZZP FS Intercooler~#4 FMHE~ZZP 78mm Billet Throttlebody~LQ4 MAF~Lucas 42.5's~ZZP SS Headers~2.8 MPS~PRJ fuel logs~Ported & Polished S/C~TDCRacing FWI ~Built Tranny-3.29's-7/8's chain-Intense forged Input Shaft~

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