This is a car Im looking at buying to fix and re-sell.
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/car/394924692.html


Now the seller claims its misfiring, causing overheating, I would consider that to be quite incorrect, mostly because it doesnt make any sense to me.

Now with that said, I had some questions on what to look for when Im giving it the once over.


If its the thermostat sticking closed or partially closed, the upper radiator hose will be cool or just warm, not uncomfortable to the touch right?

I will also see if the fans are kicking in when theyre supposed too, both by temperature, and by turning the AC on.

Im also hoping that the car will not overheat when out on the highway, because its about 2 hours from my home.



My only concern is that the misfiring might be caused by a LIM issue, so checking coolant level would be in order, I guess that would be a good idea anyway. But I would think that it would have some serious driveability issues if that were the case, and she says that her husband still drives it to work and back. Which I would hope is not very far.

Any other thoughts or ideas?

With that said, Im starting to get excited about this, the car appears to be in great shape, aside from some paint peeling on the roof. With that mileage, the car books out at almost 2000 dollars even in "fair" condition.

Since this car may have some differences, I'm gonna move it to Other 3800s.

The top hose can still be hot to the touch as there is some flow through the rad. Just not enough.

Look over the rad, water pump etc. You don't want a car that has overheated too many times. Future problems will find you.

The plugs and wires are probably horrible, which is why they mention it.

Forgive my ignorance, but how would I tell if the water pump is bad just by looking at it?

Also should the fans kick on when the AC is on even if the engine is not warmed up? I know they do on my car, but that might not apply to everything.

Listen for it..

One of the main things I do when looking over a car is I start it and then look it over. The hood up and listening for noises etc as I inspect all the other aspects of the car. Let it run and get warm...you want to wait for the fans to come on. You want to hear any noises from the water pump as it heats up.

Yes..the fans should automatically come on under 40mph or so when the AC is on.

IF there is any refrigerant in the system. On the SSEi, at least, the fans will not kick on even if AC IS selected, due to low refrigerant in the lines.

Right..."is on"

Otherwise the PCM blocks the request for AC and doesn't try to engage the compressor either.