Radiators

The 1991 Pontiac Grand Am radiator drain plug can be found on the bottom of the radiator. The radiator drain plug will be in the center of the radiator bottom.

Which drain plug are you trying to locate?

radiator fluid

drivers side on bottom of radiator it is plastic and on mine it is light green

Most likely blown head gasket, is there a mayonaise like deposit underneath the oil filler cap? That would indicate there's water in the engine oil too which just about confirms it. If the head gasket has gone its best to get it fixed quick as you can do more expensive damage as the car will overheat. ..or of course some idiot has put oil in the radiator by mistake in the past.

Always should replace thermostat at same time; if this was not done, do so. Rust and gunk in the cooling system from a corroded radiator will often jam and damage the thermostat. Conversley, sometimes a corrding thermostat sets of the entire process by both stricking and by sending hicks of rust to the other cooling system components (radiator and water pump). After engine idles for a while (but prior to overheating) gently squeeze the large hose attached to the top of the radiator. Is it getting warm? If not, the thermostat is likely not working. The thermostat should click and open the route for the top radiator hose, when the temp gauge is no farther toward "H" than at or just below the halfway mark, or just above, on most vehicles. Once the thermostat opens up the route for the upper radiator hose, the temp gauge should fall quickly. If the thermostat wasn't replaced, appears to not be functioning, and is easily accessible and visible, tap it with a hammer (not hard enough to damage it)and see if it becomes unstuck. If your vehicle has an electric fan, make sure it is coming on after a few moments. If it isn't, check that its fuse is OK, that the wire connections are solid, then check that the fan relay is not burned out. A heat sensor sending unit which controls activation of the electric fan could also have failed. In some 60's vintage vehicles, one could often stop overheating by replacing the stock 4-bladed fan with a 5-bladed fan. If you have an automatic transmission that is routed through your cooling system, and you've tried everything possible to correct overheating, your tranny may be on its way out. The problems your tranny may be having having operating normally could be effecting the engine temp. I agree with the changeing of the thermostat , Here is one more sug your radiator cap is not maintaining proper pressure get it pressure tested IF YOU DIDN'T CHANGE THE RADIATOR CAP WHEN DOING ALL THAT OTHER STUFF, GO AHEAD AND CHANGE IT. IF THE OLD ONE IS BAD IT WON'T HOLD THE PROPER PRESSURE AND THE COOLANT CAN BOIL= OVERHEATING! patricklaw1957@yahoo.com Check the fan to see if it's running. If the engine heats up and the fan isn't going, the fan motor is shot. If you have tried everything else and you are still having overheating problems you might have a bad head gasket. I didn't see what type of vehicle you were working on. I had a 1988 Dodge Caravan. I replaced everything in the cooling system including putting an oversized radiator in. The problem turned out to be a bad head gasket. I never observed any oil in the radiator. If the thermostat was replaced and water pump and radiator as you say then there are only a couple things that it can COMMONLY be.It always seems to me that people like to take out the engine before replacing the spark plugs.Take theese words of advice(alot of people over analyze things)99 percent of the time it's the easy stuff!your problem is probably the radiator cap.If it is not holding the proper pressure it will overheat.cost is about 4.95. could be bad head gaskit

It sounds like the antifreeze / distilled water mixture is freezing because

the antifreeze mixture is too weak for the outside temperature

Usually the antifreeze and preferably distilled water mixture is 50 / 50

( Ford states to not exceed 60 % antifreeze )

have the engine timing checked. if the timing is wrong the engine will overheat, are you loosing coolant?is the fan working, is the water pump working?

For radiator leaks look for the following signs: The car will overheat Coolant level will frequently drop Pool of coolant or water under the car radiator Obvious leak noted from radiator on starting the car Faulty radiator cap causing the leak

This should happen automatically. Are you losing coolant, is the cooling system leaking somewhere? Have you just changed the coolant? Unless there is a leak, the system should purge by itself.

There is only one drain plug and it's on the bottom of the oil pan, just like in every other car around the world.

The Vr6. Like the Foreigner classic, the vr6 is "HOT Blooded!" 220 is about average temp."Check it and see!"

this is quite possible. the water pump is the only soruce of water on the passanger side of the engine. there are the coolant hoses running to your coolant bottle that could be leaking, or your coolant bottle itself could be leaking. these are usually not the case. water pump installation is accually quite simple. you can follow these steps if you plan on doing the repair youself.

1. jack the vehicle up on both sides, use jack stands if possible.

2. Remove Passanger front tire, along with plastic splash shield

3. Drain coolant

4. With serpentine belt still installed, loosen the 3 bolts on the water pump pully, don't take them all the way off, just loosen them.

5. Use a 14mm wrench to reduce tention on the serpentine belt enough

so you can slide the belt off

6. Remove the water pump pully bolts, remove pully, or let it rest on the

pump shaft.

7. Remove water pump housing bolts (6 of them) and discard the gasket

8. reverse procedure to reinstall new water pump

Lower pass side of side tank, very hard to access.

this advise should be concider as an opinion.

depending on how you purchased the vehicle the manufacturer will make their desicion.

perhaps you had the vehicle serviced by an auto shop that isn't lisence by Chrysler and therefore you voided your waranty.

or the vehicle was purchase used and the above problem was an issue.

or the vehicle was savage.

if they wont change it , you may have to have it change at your own cost.(don't go to a dealer)

I have a '95 Contour but I'm sure it's the same for a '96. Firstly, there isn't a drain plug for the radiator. Sorry. But you can drain your radiator and coolant reservoir. When looking at your coolant reservoir or expansion tank, there will be two hoses that come out. One top and one bottom. Follow the bottom hose down to a conjunction of 3-4 hoses. There will be a hose that exits the bottom of the conjunction and runs under the car going towards the back of the car. It will be a fairly large hose with a hose crimp on it. undo the crimp and slide it back and CAREFULLY pull the hose off the tube. It will probably blast straight into the frame so be prepared. After letting all the fluids drain, You can reconnect the hose and run a radiator cleaner or a radiator flush through your radiator using your expansion tank. I would advise while you have everything drained, disconnect the two hoses from the reservoir and unbolt it from under the hood, and then clean it out. When I did it, it looked like a mix of mud and sludge coming out. Sorry for the long answer, but hopefully it's thorough and helps someone out.

Standing at front of car, drain plug is near the bottom on the right hand side of radiator. it is black and plastic...plug will not unscrew all the way.....i think about two and a half turns and coolant will start draining. oh yeah, make sure car is not running when you do this!

Removing the radiator is a pain. Worse it trying to replace it. I bought three of them, sent two back, and saw that the third was almost right. The one that I kept I brought to a radiator shop and the core was a close enough match that they were able to use it to fix the old radiator and I put it back in the car.

If you want to flush it, just use a flush machine.

If you want to drain and fill, it's like any other car.

With any 60 degree GM V6 look for as many as two bleeder valves, and consider using a vacuum fill tool to prevent damaged cylinder heads.

If you want to drain and fill a 2.5L I4 engine, filling is special:

Do not remove the radiator cap. This it important.

1)Remove the thermostat housing cap. Remove the thermostat, then add coolant though the opening.

2)Put the cap on, then start the engine and let it idle for about 15 seconds and shut it off.

3)Remove the thermostat housing cap, top off the antifreeze, then install a new thermostat. Put the cap on.

4) Check and correct fluid level in the overflow bottle.

There are radiator sealants available at many auto parts stores. I personally have never been able to get them to work though another good way to seal a leak if it is on the aluminum part of the radiator is to solder it with silver solder.

However, in general the only real solution is a new radiator.

if your in a bind and your desperate and just so happen to have eggs available keep in mind that you can throw a couple of them in your radiator when its still warm and the eggs will cook and when they do they will fill the cracks a little so you can limp it somewhere, no racing.. hope this helps... oh ya do this while its running for those of you with less common sense than us other people

You have a cooling system problem, most likely a stuck thermostat. The thermostats have been a problem in the Mountaineer/Explorer.

If you replaced the thermostat and radiator, the next step after this would be to replace your water pump, radiator pressure cap, check condition of ALL radiator lines and hoses, and replace as necessary. A hose should be replaced if it feels really soft, or if it starting to crack due to the aging rubber they are made of. Once you replace the parts described above have a certified mechanic run a pressure test on your vehicle's colling system. If you still overheat you might have an oil problem. Oil dissipates MOST engine heat but not well enough to do the whole job, which is the reason cars need cooling systems. Once your cooling system checks out see what a mechanic will tell you and I believe the most likely cause would be an oil problem. If oil is not getting to the cylinders properly the engine can overheat really fast and could possibly seize so be careful! Also note you may want to replace the timing belt as well if your car is at least 60,000 miles, or you have never replaced because on most cars the water pump is right near the timing belt. Replacing water pumps is extensive work in labor terms, so you may want to replace the timing belt because if you replace the pump and the timing belt on separate occasions, you'll have to pay the labor both times unless you have the know how to do it yourself.

I'm supposing all other rads on the system are hot? If so, it sounds like you either have a flow problem, check wheel-head and locksheild valves are open. If they are you'll need to determine if water is actually passing the valve when open by un-doing the joint. I assume when you bled the valve air followed by water under pressure followed? If this occurred it's likely there is suitable flow and that the radiator itself is blocked with sediment.

The most cost effective measure is to remove rad and flush out individually with hose pipe, remembering to lock of valves before hand.

Observe how much silt/rust deposits comes out. Flush till clean and refit, open valves and re-bleed, see how you go. Are you using inhibitor in the system do you have an engineer service it every 12 months.

It is just below the lower radiator hose.

Go to your local Parts store and ask for a back flush kit and chemical flush. Follow the directions on each.