Hello to everyone, my 94 0lds cutlass supreme with 130,000 miles on it. It has the 3.1 automatic. Today while driving the tranny was having a hard time going up a hill . I had to back off the gas for it to shift . Once it shifted the temp started climbing , it was over the 210 mark which it not normal for my car. I stopped after the hill and went into a store. Came out 15 min. later and
there was quite a bit of water under it dripping from the area behind the front wheel on the passenger side. I had to put almost half a bottle of 50/50 mix in it. On the way home it ran about 210 degrees , when I would stop at a light it would creep up then come back down to around 210 again when I started moving. I don't know much about this and need help please. Would the tranny being low on fluid cause the shifting delay and cause the engine to overheat?

Here is one possible scenario:

You are suffering from reduced engine power (for whatever reason).
The computer determines based on the vehicle speed, and throttle input, that it'* best to hold the current gear rather then upshifting.
If you had more power, you would be accelerating, or, ultimately using less throttle.
You back off the throttle, which now justifies an upshift.
You reapply the throttle, now lugging the engine, however not enough to command a downshift.
The lugging engine now begins to heat up as it is working harder as a result of being lower on it'* power/torque curve.
The coolant in the cooling system that is not holding proper system pressure then begins to boil (pressure raises the boiling point) either on the road, or when you stop.
The eruption of boiling coolant (aka, boil over) gets pushed to the overflow, and ultimately overflows the overflow tank (next stop, ground).
The system eventually cools down, which causes the cooling system to pull coolant back in from the overflow. Once the overflow is empty, it sucks air (oh yay, air in the cooling system!) which then gets trapped. Air doesn't transfer heat as effectively as coolant in this application, so the engine runs warmer.

The transmission is electronically controlled, so if it was low on fluid, you would likely notice slipping or difficulty changing gear. The computer controls WHEN the shift occurs. From what you are describing, it was simply sounding like the computer wasn't commanding a shift like you were expecting it to. Unfortunately, this was the era before 20 speed transmissions and idiot proof computer controlled everythings, and there are times where you can't carry a 'set it and forget it' mentality.

A perfect example, my '93 Park Avenue WILL NOT downshift out of overdrive EVER once cruise control is set. I have let it drop below 40mph in this condition, lugging so bad the car was trying to shake itself apart, just to see at what point it actually would downshift. It never did. I have no idea why, only that it is, and that when speeds starts to drop, I have to manually intervene for not only the sake of speed, but also for the sake of the machine.

What is the maintenance history on your Olds, as far as tuneup, cooling system maintenance, etc? When was the last time you had your radiator cap checked/replaced? Is this a hill you normally take on, or was this a new encounter?

Thank you for your input , it gives me something to look at. I have had the car only about 1 year. About 4 mo. ago I replaced the radiator and cap. I have been trying to do as much as I can to maintain it. I have been adding coolant to it about once a week. Only about a pint or so. I thought I might have a leak in my air conditioning system leaking the fluid. What I don't understand is the working'* of the air system. Is the coolant running through the engine and air cond. system. Or is the only connection is that the motor provides the power to run air and its a closed system. I hope this is not a dumb question . The hill is not one I drive all the time. I live on a very fixed income and any money for repairs is hard to come by. I'm trying to do as much as my disability allows. Getting down to look under the car can be very hard to do . Also I have noticed a slow shift from 2nd to 3rd even when driving slow on a flat road. I really do thank you for taking the time to read and answer my question.

How many miles do you drive weekly?

The A/c system is self contained, and does not interact with the coolant.

thanks for the info, I didn't think there was any connection other than the belt turning the A/C compressor. I drive maybe 100 miles a week. Most of that would be going fishing in the bay. The trany has a whine that reminds me of low power steering fluid. I have checked the power steering fluid level and its good. I really want to find someone with a code reader that will work on my car. I don't have any lights showing problems popping up on the dash. thanks again for you time and info.

Unfortunately, '94 is one of the dreaded 'OBD1.5' years, where the computer communicated with OBD 1 protocols, did away with the 'Field test' mode that would blink codes out in previous years, and often had either an OBD 1 or OBD 2 port.

Your Service Engine Soon light should come on when you first turn the key on, and then go out as the car starts. As long as this happens, there is usually not much you can learn from pulling codes.

Also, every 4t60(e) with a 2.84 FDR I have seen has a whine that I would describe as 'a card stuck in the tread of a spinning tire'. It'* very faint, but noticeable with the windows down, and is especially audible right after the car shifts in to 2nd gear. My Park Avenue does this, as well as my '90 Olds 88.

If it sounds just like power steering whine, and changes pitch with the engine speed and not with vehicle speed, there may be a larger issue.