Car is 96 cavalier, 2.2 . Has new waterpump, 210,000 on it thermostat never changed, so i think i narrowed it down to that. Question is the 2 8mm bolts are rounded off and i need to pick up some new ones once i get these bastards out. Does anyone know the specs on these bolts? Going to swing by the parts store with the guy i car pool with for work. Wont be able to pull bolts out and show the parts guy so i need to know which ones i need.


Thanks




Cody

What do you mean by running a little hot? The 2.2L is very dependent on moving and various other things. The electric cooling fan does not switch on until coolant hits 210 Fahrenheit, unless the A/C is running. If you are stopped for a period of time (stoplight, etc) the temperature will rise above center. If you are driving on the highway at speed, the temp tends to be a little on the low side usually. If you do a lot of high throttle/low speed, the temp will get up pretty high until the fan switches on. The rest of the time coolant temp is determined by airflow through the radiator. It's nothing to worry about unless it gets out of the "normal range" on the gauge.

well i can tell you, that the car has always run straight up and down between cold and hot, shes getting hot! Its almost to the end of the bracket sometimes, not in the red but towards the end about 3/4's or maybe just a tad more. Not normal for this car. But whens shes hot the fan does run.
Just need to know what bolts i need.

Well you can match the bolts out, one you get them out. I doubt anyone here knows the bolt specs.

How bad rounded off are they, you can try a few things.

If they arent badly, you can use an 8mm 12 point, tap it on with a hammer, than try to loosen them.

If they are worse, and are rounded so bad they are smaller, you can try to tap a 7mm 12 point on it.

If they are really bad, you can try vice grips

Where is the thermostat on a 2.2, right up front?


- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new

ya i know how to get them out, i was just hoping to get an idea on thread pitch and size. Im a diesel mechanic so i wont have a problem removing them, just no way to get to parts store once i got her tore apart.


Thanks

Did you get all of the air out of the coolant system when the water pump was changed. Air in the system will make it run hot.

Quote:

well i can tell you, that the car has always run straight up and down between cold and hot, shes getting hot! Its almost to the end of the bracket sometimes, not in the red but towards the end about 3/4's or maybe just a tad more. Not normal for this car. But whens shes hot the fan does run.
Just need to know what bolts i need.

Mine does exactly the same thing. When the car is stopped, and the rad fan isn't running, there is nothing cooling the rad, so the coolant will heat up. When it hits 210 the fan kicks on. I have talked to plenty of other 2.2 owners who have the exact same thing happen with theirs. My grandfathers (previous owner first 125K miles) said it has always done that. Go ahead and change the thermostat but I doubt it's going to make a difference. My advice is to get them off, and ask a buddy for a ride to and from the auto parts store. They will understand. Or you can try talking to a dealership, they might have it on file.

hmm, well i know mine has never ran this hot before. Sometimes it would be just above center, but this is like 3/4's. I was hopin to get some specs on the bolts but it seems nobody knows, guess ill have to catch a ride. Air is out of system, water pump has been on for two months and this started happening about a week ago.




Thanks



Cody

Nick wrote:

Quote:

well i can tell you, that the car has always run straight up and down between cold and hot, shes getting hot! Its almost to the end of the bracket sometimes, not in the red but towards the end about 3/4's or maybe just a tad more. Not normal for this car. But whens shes hot the fan does run.
Just need to know what bolts i need.

Mine does exactly the same thing. When the car is stopped, and the rad fan isn't running, there is nothing cooling the rad, so the coolant will heat up. When it hits 210 the fan kicks on. I have talked to plenty of other 2.2 owners who have the exact same thing happen with theirs. My grandfathers (previous owner first 125K miles) said it has always done that. Go ahead and change the thermostat but I doubt it's going to make a difference. My advice is to get them off, and ask a buddy for a ride to and from the auto parts store. They will understand. Or you can try talking to a dealership, they might have it on file.

this. what you described is normal operation for this car.



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Odd thing is my '99 runs cool as a fan even sitting in traffic for a while, but my '94 is a lot more sensitive to sitting still. '94 does have a smaller radiator though fwiw.

Just curious I have a 2.2 also how do you take the air out of the system I haven't figured it out on the car?


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There's a bleed valve on the '98 and up on the metal cooling pipe that runs parallel with the valve cover. Think its hidden a little by the factory intake tubing. Been a while since I did a coolant drain on refill on the '99. Not sure about the '97 and older. Can't remeber one on the '94, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

ohvrolla wrote:There's a bleed valve on the '98 and up on the metal cooling pipe that runs parallel with the valve cover. Think its hidden a little by the factory intake tubing. Been a while since I did a coolant drain on refill on the '99. Not sure about the '97 and older. Can't remeber one on the '94, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

The 97 has the bleeder too. So I would think there is a good chance the older ones have it too.