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Engine overheating, thermostat and water pump replaced '12 CTS 3.0

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5.7K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  rsingl  
#1 ·
Hey team, I need some help here- long thread ahead.

I ran into an engine overheating issue that occurred a couple of weeks ago, white smoke came from under the hood, and I heard the radiator fan get super loud, and got an engine overheating notification. Luckily, I was close to an advanced auto, and was at-least able to get the car home (less than a mile away from said advanced auto) shortly after letting it cool down and refilling the radiator with coolant. No leaks were detected, so after a few calls to other “experts” the culprit pointed towards a bad thermostat. I ordered the part and got it replaced, test drove it after a coolant flush and refill, and the engine was still overheating. This time the coolant leaks were obvious, and coming from the water pump. I replaced the water pump, did another coolant flush and refilled it, and it just overheated after a test drive today. The radiator fan was going NUTS, not a bad or annoying noise, just louder and what seemed to be faster than usual, especially whilst idle, but the water pump was no longer leaking coolant. I will say after checking the coolant level, the coolant was nearly empty after refilling it. I checked the oil just to make sure it wasn’t mixing, and its certainly not. What could be causing this issue? Bad radiator fan/clutch? Debris blocking the radiator, or a bad radiator itself? The car also makes a loud humming sound from what seems to be the power brake booster vacuum pump when it’s first turned on, but it’s hard to tell with the fan being so loud. I bought the car in March of 2023 with 63K miles: 2012 Cadillac CTS 3.0 V6. Issues started when I hit the 71K mile mark. I’m no mechanical expert, but I can follow instructions well from the right youtube video. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
 
#3 ·
do the hoses get hot and feel pretty firm when up to temp?, you may have two separate issues.....leak and bad temp sensor, what does your dash and scan tool say? you could also still have lots of air inside the system
 
#4 ·
The computer doesn’t spit out anything, the dash doesn’t display anything until the obvious overheating issue: “engine overheated A/C off”. I’ve tried scanning it for codes several times with no results. As for the hoses, they feel firm but not exactly warm.
 
#5 ·
No heat in the cabin and overheat messages sounds like an air pocket in the cooling system somewhere.
These cars can be very tricky when it comes to coolant exchanges and replacement of system components.
 
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#6 ·
Thanks for the reply- I received the same diagnosis from a reliable source today. I ordered a coolant burping kit to get all of the air out, so I'll revisit this thread once it comes in. Is there anything I should know or do prior to/during the burping process?
 
#9 ·
Just an update and to close this one out, my problem was in fact air pockets in the system (thanks @Long !). Took a good 45 minutes to fully get all of the bubbles out, but overheating issues went away, heat came back on, and coolant level is stagnant. For anyone else experiencing this problem, I only needed the kit below and a few quarts of coolant (I bought 2 gallons to be on the safe side).


 
#11 ·
Hello friend, I am by no means a certified mechanic, but I try my best to tackle on a mechanical issue before I throw in the towel and take it to the mechanic and see my money fly out of my hand. I had the same problem about the car overheating. I replaced the radiator, radiator fans and water pump, I flushed the system out. I even changed out the thermostat and it was still overheating. Finally, I decided to take the thermostat out and leave it out and guess what??? I don't have an overheating problem anymore. Houston, My Cadillac CTS has lift off meaning NO MORE PROBLEMS!!! I hope this helps anyone out.
 
#12 ·
I would strongly discourage running your vehicle without a thermostat and I'm willing to bet your removal of the 'stat was merely coincidental with the end of your overheating issues which likely persisted due to air pockets remaining in the cooling system.
 
#13 · (Edited by Moderator)
I would strongly discourage running your vehicle without a thermostat and I'm willing to bet your removal of the 'stat was merely coincidental with the end of your overheating issues which likely persisted due to air pockets remaining in the cooling system.
Well, It's been close to a year and I still haven't had an issue with the Caddy overheating, but I guess I was just lucky. Here in Texas we really don't have bad winters in Houston and since the thermostat usually regulates and adjusts the water flow for the heat, there is really no use to have a thermostat. Again, I don't claim to be a mechanic, but I've been working on cars/trucks for over 40 years.
 
#14 ·
The thermostat has very llttle to do with controlling water flow within the block circuit. It controls flow to/from the radiator in order to maintain engine and system temperatures within a design operating range, usually about 185 - 210 degrees F for most efficient engine and systems operation and fuel economy. Operating without a 'stat is harmful to the engine and leads to shortened oil life as well as internal parts wear. Regardless of whether you're in Houston, Fairbanks, Murmansk, Miami, or Saudi Arabiia.
 
#18 ·
In cooler weather, recent GM vehicles will also shut off the A/C, zero the coolant temp gauge, and set a warning when the thermostat is removed or stuck open because the ECM expects normal operating temperature to be achieved in a fairly short amount of time and this is thermostat controlled. When the expected temperature isn't read, the ECM takes steps to protect against an overheat condition because it assumes the coolant temperature isn't working properly so the engine temp is considered unknown.

This happens frequently because someone decides to "improve" their car performance by removing the thermostat or putting in one with a much lower set point than stock.

Becuase your CTS hasn't set a warning in over a year of operation, I would suspect that there is still a cooling system issue and removing the thermostat was sufficient to let it avoid overheating but these problems tend to get worse so expect whatever the underlying cause is will make its self apparent again.

Rodger