I've posted in here a couple of times and I learn a lot from reading the responses in here, but suffice it say, I know next to nothing about cars.
Well, that's not true. I know just enough to be dangerous.
Anyway...
I drive a 95 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. The big four dour sedan with the 3.4L V6 and I'm having some trouble.
A while ago I had some cooling trouble and at the urging of my mechanic, who I've come to trust implicitly, had the water pump replaced. Everything worked fine afterwards. The car still ran a bit hot (just a bit above dead center on the dial), but it was much, much improved over what temperature gauge was registering before the repair.
This past week, it's gotten chilly enough down here to turn on the heater in the mornings and I've noticed something new amiss.
The car runs great. Starts up easy and runs like a champ despite the near freezing early morning temperatures, but the heater takes a long time to kick in and the temperature gauge is registering all over the place. It goes up, it goes down, it goes up, it goes down. Only after the heater warms up, which usually takes about 15 minutes of steady driving does it settle down to slightly above dead center on the gauge.
The water pump is less than 6 months old and I've replaced the thermostat. I've also flushed the cooling system, done the anti-freeze thing and checked all the hoses.
My mechanic has got a lot full of cars to get to before he can even look at mine, so, I was hoping this might be something I can fix on my own...that is with a little help from you guys.
So...what do you think?
