VR V6 Calais Running real hot

[Com91]

Hey i have a 94 calais and i just recently replaced the Water temp sender and realize the gauge goes up to about 3/4 during normal driving, im unsure weather that's normal or not, it is'nt using water atm but have noticed yellowy brown gunk in the and under the radiator cap, any help would be great. Oh and also after drivng and leaving it for about 20mins the windscreen becomes covered with water and not just a little condensation either.

[tt460]

Could be a few things, i would look at replacing the thermostat first.

It also sounds like your heater box has a leak, you can try replacing the heaterbox unless you can find a new one there will be no guarantee that it will not also leak. Also a pain in the arse job to replace, so i would suggest using a stop leak additive, still might not fix it but a lot easier than replacing the heater box to find the same problem just remember that you will need to have the heater on. You could always just use a bit of pipe to bypass the heater box all together, people will say just plug the ends up but dont do that.

[Com91]

thanks for the reply but the thermostat is less than 2 months old but will try this stop leak

[hako]

It is considered 'normal' for many Commodores to reach 3/4 hot when idling at traffic lights or moving very slow. Once the fan kicks in (at 3/4) the temp should drop. Re the gunk under the radiator cap, it may be a sign of either a head or manifold gasket leaking but I'd worry about that after you fix the heater problem. Replacing is a real pain as tt460 says - allow a full weekend as the whole dash must come out. Some people have cut the heater pipes to shortcut the 'book' method - this avoids the need to pull the dash allowing the new heater matrix to fit easier so maybe do a search on the easy way to do this job. I'd guess in Melbourne you will need the heater so it will need fixing. A stop leak may fix it.
Good Luck.