My 1999 CL 3.0 needle starts moving to the hot line as soon as I start the car. What could be the problem?

I have done the following:
new thermostat
new water pump and belt
change both sensors

help
thanks

 

perhaps the radiator is clogged?

 

Mmmmmm. I guess I should get a new one

 

you can remove the radiator and take a hose with running water through it.

water should come out the other side of the radiator...if not, it may be clogged. you can try using the pressure of the hose to dislodge whatever is blocking it, but if you can't then I would order a brand new OEM unit from rockauto


on that note; it's important to change coolant every 100k miles or so.....bad coolant can cause rust in the radiator and engine block

 

I ordered one from advance auto. I can’t afford to wait a week from rock auto

 

have you tried running the water hose through it?


I would do that instead of just blindly buying parts....
I imagine it will get quite expensive if the radiator isnt the issue.

I would also drain the coolant and try to "flush" it out from the engine block.. there could be something blocking the cooling passages

 

Still overheating time to junk it now

 

I wouldn’t say its time to junk it. Besides, I would gladly pay you for it as I am looking for a parts car. But if you decide you wanna continue troubleshooting, the first thing I would do is check to see the your fans are coming on. Without the fans running the motor will overheat. If they are turning on, make sure there is ZERO (or close to it) air in the system. To purge it, jack the front end up, open the radiator cap and watch the coolant rise and fall due to trapped air escaping. If there is no air in the system, the fans are turning on and everything else is functioning as it should then you may have a blown head gasket. This however is unlikely because you would notice the coolant level dropping and would likely have other symptoms such as misfires. Hope this helps you. Check the fans before you give up! And message me if you truly want to junk the car. I will pay you good money for it.

 

Blown Head Gasket. Will cost about 2k to fix it

 

You could always try replacing it yourself if you feel confident enough.