car dies when it is over 90 degrees outside when we stop. what could be a problem
Asked by evansvillegammy Aug 24, 2014 at 08:55 AM about the 1990 Pontiac Sunbird 2 Dr LE Convertible
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
hoping this is something that is not too expensive. my daughter drives my 1990 Pontiac sunbird convertible. it just started doing this when the heat went above 90 degrees. is there any specific thing I can check?
4 Answers
Check for a vapor lock. Someplace where the fuel line is to close to a sorce of engine heat.
evansvillegammy answered 10 years ago
this is over my head, unless you can tell me exactly how to check this. I did check the coolant and it is pretty dirty looking. then my daughter told me she added coolant yesterday. She also reminded me that when she owned the vehicle before her boyfriend took out the thermostat because it was over heating, that was 3 years ago.
The radiator needs to be flushed or replaced. The thermostat having been removed dose not allow the coolant in the in the radiator to cool off enough. Here is a money savings hint. Google Advanced Auto Parts. Coupons. You'll save a money save a ton of money on parts.
May not be related failures. Taking the thermostat out is not a good idea but should not cause the car to stall. It will just cause the car to take longer to get to operating temp. When you say the car stals when you stop, do you mean it stalls when it should remain idling or it shuts off with the key but will not restart? Do you notice any other symptoms of overheating like low coolant or steam coming from hose connections or the radiator cap? If no other symptoms show, look for other causes that are not necessarily related to the air temp being over 90. If you still think it is related to temp, check the radiator fan operation and make sure the fan (or fans) are coming on when the engine gets hotl
