1993 BUICK CENTURY engine

Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage or the warning
light about a hot engine on your Buick’s instrument panel. A CAUTION:
Steam from an overheated engine can burn
you badly, even if you
just open the hood. Stay
away from the engine if you see
or hear steam
coming from
it. Just turn it off and get
everyone away from the vehicle until
it cools
down. Wait
until there is no sign of steam or
coolant before opening the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine is
overheated, the liquids
in it can catch fire. You -w others could be badly burned. Stop your
~gine if
it overheats, and get out of the
vehicle until the engine is cool.
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If No Steam Is Coming From Your-Engine:
If you get the overheat warning but see or hear no steam,
the problem
may not be too serious. Sometimes the
engine can get a little too hot when you:
Climb a long hill on a hot day.
Stop after high speed driving.
Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with
no sign of steam, try
this for a minute or so:
1. Turn off your air conditioner.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan speed
and open the window as necessary.
3. Try to keep your engine under load (in a drive gear
where the engine runs slower). If you no longer have the overheat warning, you can
drive. Just to be safe, drive slower for about ten minutes.
If the warning doesn’t come back on, you can drive
normally.
If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your
vehicle right away.
If there’s still no sign of steam, you can idle the engine\

for two or three minutes while you’re parked, to
see if
the warning stops. But then, if you still have the warning,
TURN OFF THE ENGRVE AND GET EVERYONE
OUT
OF THE VEHICLE until it cools down.
You may decide
not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
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2.2L L4 Cooling System
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When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll
see:
(A) Coolant recovery tank
(B) Radiator pressure cap
(C) Electric engine fan
It!, CAUTION:
An electric fan under the hood can start up
even when the engine is not running and can
injure you. Keep hands, clothing and tools
away from any underhood electric fan.
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down.
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The coolant level should be at or above the “FULL
HOT” mark.
If it isn’t, you may have a leak in the radiator hoses,
heater hoses, radiator, water pump or somewhere else in
the cooling system.
1 [ CAUTION:
Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine
parts, can be very
hot. Don’t touch them. If
you
do, you can be burned.
Don’t run the engine if there
is a leak. If you run
the engine,
it could lose all coolant. That could
cause an engine fire, and you could be burned.
Get any leak fixed before you drive the vehicle.
If there seems to be no leak, check to see if the electric
engine
f8n is running. If the engine is overheating, the f8n
should be running. If it isn’t, your vehicle needs service. \
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant Recovery lhnk
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t at or above
“ADD:’ add a 50/50 mixture of clean
water (preferably distilled) and a proper antifreeze at the
coolant recovery
tank. (See “Engine Coolant” in the
Index for more information about the proper coolant
mix.)
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3300 V6 Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll see:
(A) Coolant recovery tank
(B) Radiator pressure cap
(C) Electric engine fan
I A CAUTION:
An electrlc fan under the hood can start up
even when the englne Is not running and can
injure
YOU. Ksep hands, clothing and twls
away from any underhood electric fan.
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down.
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The coolant should be at or slightly above the “FULL
HOT” mark. If it isn’t, you may have a leak in the
radiator hoses, heater hoses, radiator, water pump or
somewhere else in the cooling system.
A CAUTION:
Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine
parts, can be very
hot. Don’t touch them. If
you
do, you can be burned.
Don’t
run the engine if there __ a leak. If you
run the engine, it could lose all coolant. That
could cause an engine fire, and you could be
burned. Get any leak fixed before you drive the
vehicle.
If there seems to be no leak, check to see if the electric
engine
fan is running. If the engine is overheating, the fhn
should
be running. If it isn’t, your vehicle needs service.
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant Recovery Tl[)ank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t above
“ADD:’ add a 50/50 mixture of clean water
(preferably distilled) and the proper antifreeze at the
coolant recovery
tank. (See “Engine Coolant” in the Index
for more information about the proper coolant mix.)
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All Cooling Systems
A CAUTION:
Adding only plain water to your c.ooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some other
liquid like alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mix will. Your vehicle's coolant
warning system is set for the proper coolant
mix.
With plain water or the wrong mix, your
engine could get too hot but you wouldn't get
the overheat warning.
Your engine could catch
fire and you or others could be burned. Use a
50/50 mix of clean water and a proper
antifreeze.
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I
A CAUTION:
You can be burned if you spill coolant on hot
engine parts. Coolant contains ethylene
glycol
and it will burn if the engine parts are hot
enough. Don't spill coolant on
a hot engine. I
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5. Put the cap back on the coolant recovery tank, but
leave the radiator pressure cap off.
k
6. Start the engine and let it run until you can feel the
upper radiator hose getting hot. Watch out for the
engine fan.
7. By this time, the coolant level inside the radiator filler
neck may be lower.
If the level is lower, add more of
the proper mix through the filler neck until the level
reaches the base
of the filler neck.
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