COOLING SYSTEM

This sounds like it was the heater core leaking. When you noticed the engine getting hot was the coolant level checked? So a possibility is you did not purge the air from the cooling system when refilling it. Air pockets would cause the engine to run hot, and no heat threw the heater.

The cooling system has an expansion tank with a pressure cap. The expansion tank functions somewhat differently than a conventional recovery tank. It is designed to separate any trapped air in the coolant. The radiator does not have a pressure cap. I ran the motor until it came up to temp. The radiator hose from the tstat housing was hot. I checked coolant level in expansion tank and noticed it was beginning to bubble over so I put the cap back on. I thought this would be OK since the tank has an overflow tube. Is there a specific method to burp the cooling 'system?

Sounds like you where doing just fine. But the thermostat needs to open for it too push any air out of the system. It should suck the coolant out of the expansion tank once the thermostat opens. If it just keeps pushing it out, then something is wrong. The expansion tank is high in the system, keep the cap off, coolant may spill out, but it should quit doing so and suck the coolant back into the radiator. Also have the heater set on hot, this will let it circulate threw the heater core.

What do you think about a flush and fill? I bought a kit but i am not sure where the tale is supposed to splice in.

Oops. "T" valve.

Hey William, did you ever figure out what was going on? I recently bought a 2007 Torrent that has almost the same exact issue. Heat doesn't blow hot until RPMs are up but gets cold at idle, has been known to try to overheat when at idle but not often. The dealer agreed to fix the heating issue as part of the sale and I have taken it to their mechanic 4 times with no improvement. They have replaced the radiator, water pump, and heater core and nothing has changed. Heater core replacement was the most recent and before that I tried to "burp" the coolant the same way you did twice but it didn't work. Sometimes after it's been driven for a while it will keep heat at idle but later in the drive it will get cold again. I've been keeping an eye on coolant and I haven't seen any leaks but I smell it all the time. When I change the temp on the heat I can hear it making the adjustments and I'm pretty sure it's not the door in the dash because of the way it acts. I'm wondering if it's another "flap" or something getting stuck? It's winter and there have been days I've taken my daughter to school and gone to work barely able to see anything because the defrost doesn't work even though the engine is at full working temp. I am at my wits end and could really use some advise from someone who has figured this out.

I'm interested to see what is said I have the same exact issue with my 09 torrent

We found out what the issue was with mine finally, I don't know if this will help you but... The coolent reservoir has 2 hoses that connect to it at the top for overflow and air. One of the holes where the tube connects had a screw lodged in it, making it difficult for the coolant to flow. Like trying to suck on a straw with your finger covering the end. I couldn't believe that little screw caused so much trouble! My Torrent has run beautifully since. Make sure that hole or the tube itself isn't blocked. Hope that helps.

Hi all , I have a 2007 Pontiac torrent that has been acting the same way. Its winter here in Michigan. First problem was it over heated when it was 15 out but very close to home. I drained the sytem after seeing the filler tank was looking rather dirty. I drained and flushed and added DeX cool. I also changed out the thermostat. I raised the front end up on ramps and ran it and bleed off the air on the water pump stem . So I have heat back but a few days later it ran but at a stop sign it blows cold air. I took apart the dash to find the door mechanism and it's working correctly . At the moment I'm pulling the radiator . I was told most likely it was obstructed. I did disconnect the heater core and flushed water with hose both ways to make sure it was not plugged. So I'm pulling the radiator thinking that its plugged. 3-7-19 THANKS ALL

Pomtiac77, I have an 06 and the problem could be too much air in the system. I have had to resort to pressurizing the system and bleeding it by taking the clamp loose from the highest heater hose. I pressurized the system with a cooling system pressure tester as I have one. You should not have to do this to get the system bleed. I suggest watching 5 or more videos about bleeding an Equinox of the same year. Make sure you watch several vids as you can weed out the inappropriate methods.

I am at the same trial point as you sir, Pontiac Torrent 06. None of you mentioned my problem which starts with a blocked petcock preventing the simple task of emptying out the dirty dark brown Prestone, which of course stinks. So I flushed the rad and the whole system just as you guys did by removing the hoses and of course changing the thermostat. At this point I should like to point out that the point liquid that was shooting out of the fire wall was water. I found it was condensation caused by the heater coil being hot while the air conditioner was on cool even though the temperature control was asking for cold air, the heater coil remained very hot. I still have some testing to do like actually touching the input and output hoses to see if they are at the same temperature (heater coil). Now comes the blocked petcock problem. How far up the radiator is it plugged ? Just remember that I flushed the system and at that point carefully added the missing prestone. To my amazement with about two quarts the system was full. So I ran the motor up to temperature and let it cool but it did not suck any in from the bowl. Now there seems to be no leaks, the temp controlled properly once but a second time it remained hot. So with the control on cool and the air hot the air conditioning works well dispite the hot air coming in, I am going crazy but I will never be as crazy as the company that designed this crap. Can you help ?

My 08 torrent started running hot after I changed my oil and filled my radiator with some stop leak. I then changed my tstat, flushed the system and filled it with water. Drove it home to find out that it still runs hot. I got home heard the boiling of the filler tank open the hood to find a pin hole in the hose that goes from the filler tank to the upper radiator hose. I must point out that if you have the time fill the tank run for about 10 minutes and let it sit overnight with the cap off to burp out the air.

I had the same issues as previously stated with my '06 Torrent. It was only blowing cold air so, I fixed the blend door that was stripped at the blend door actuator (see picture), under the dash. I found the "blend door repair kit" off of rockauto.com for $25. It was still taking a while to hear up and overheated once. The previous owner put some so leak in the coolant which killed my tstat. Replaced the tstat and flushed as much of the so leak as possible and it's running like a champ. Hope this helps someone.