2002 Pontiac Grand Am GT Heater Core?

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paleface23@gmail.com - 02 Oct 2008 16:02 GMT

My GA is running hot (up to about 230 and then dropping back down to
200 when I run the radiator fan). Also when I run the heat on full
blast, cool air is coming out of the vents. Plus, i noticed a small
cloud of smoke coming out of the vents a couple of days ago. But, it
didn't have a burned smell. It was more like a faintly sweet, stale
smell to it.

The car has 135,500 on it and I got a new thermostat at 90,000. I had
a new water pump put in a month or so ago. So, i'm thinking its the
heater core. Does that sound right? If so, what kind of bill am I
looking at?

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80_Knight - 02 Oct 2008 19:59 GMT

> My GA is running hot (up to about 230 and then dropping back down to
> 200 when I run the radiator fan). Also when I run the heat on full
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> heater core. Does that sound right? If so, what kind of bill am I
> looking at?

You have checked to make sure the coolant is full, right?

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jd2579 - 03 Oct 2008 01:03 GMT

I had this happen to my 2001 SE (with the 3400) a few months ago.
Started out innocently enough, kind of a WTF. The next day it gave a
code P0301, misfire on cylinder 1. And heated up, above "normal", cold
air at vents, then when temp went down I had warm air at the vents.
Ended up being a head gasket blown. Your looking at $800 plus for head
gasket repair. Hope it's not your issue though.

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Paul - 03 Oct 2008 16:05 GMT

The sweet smell could be coolant.
It also sounds like it is very low on coolant.
Run it like that and a head gasket will go bad.
So your bill... anywhere from $400 to $2000.

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