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by jackatttakk on December 26th, 2004

jackatttakk

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My 1984 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (307 4 bbl.) constantly overheats and has lost power. What could be wrong?

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  • by EdMuse on January 13th, 2006

    EdMuse

    Pardon me for this answer being more general than model specific. Just trying to be as useful as possible.

    The prime suspect in any case of overheating should be the thermostat. Pull it out, check its temperature specification (may be two temperatures: one at which it opens, and a cooler on at which it closes again) and drop it in a pot of water with a candy thermometer (don't let the thermometer touch the bottom of the pot, or you get a mis-reading). Turn the heat on and wait for the thermostat to open. Turn off the heat and drizzle in cold water until it closes again. Check the temps at which this happens. If they are not at spec, or if it doesn't open at all, replace it.

    It may have a plugged-up radiator, plugged or collapsed radiator hoses, or clogged cooling passages in the block. Replacing hoses and running a cooling system flush, with a cooling system cleaner would be a good place to start. If that doesn't work, it's a radiator replacement and a forced-pressure "power flush," done by a professional.

    Overheating can also be caused by an overly-lean fuel to air mixture, or overly advanced ignition timing. Check these or have them checked. This should be part of any major tune-up.

    Your water pump may have gone south, as well, which would mean coolant isn't circulating through the engine. And not to sound patronizing (I don't know the reader's level of automotive knowledge) but just to be thorough, if the water pump is belt driven, the belt might be loose, broken or missing.

    Lastly, and worst, one or both of the heads or the block might be cracked, or the head gaskets might be blown. This, however, might be effect and not cause, so even if you have the engine replaced or overhauled (the treatments for this last illness; I told ya it was worst!), be sure the real cause of the problem has been caught. See, if you have a cast iron block and aluminum heads, the expansion rates of the two different kinds of metals differ. So, engines like this are more prone to cracked heads and blown head gaskets when they overheat. This can happen the first time the engine overheats, if it is severe enough.

    Any overheating will lead to loss in power, as the engine is just not designed to run at such temperatures. The last and worst case, though, will cause severe and increasing power loss.

    -EdM.

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