Cadillac Repair: 1996 cadillac sedan deville, coolant level, head gasket

Question
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Followup To
Question -
i recently replaced the radiator due to a leak.my car now runs hot. the antifreeze boils over if i turn
the release cap. we have replaced the thermostat
also.the fans come on.there is no smell of gas coming from the reservoir,and no fluid on the oil
dipstick.however in checking the hose coming out of the radiator into the engine it seems to flow sometimes and sometimes you cannot feel any flow at all. ive been told to get a new engine or fix
blown headgaskets.please offer your advise.
Answer -
Hi Larry, Sounds like you eithor have an air pocket that had to get worked out or the coolant level is low. New thermostats can be bad. What temp. stat did you put in? And what engine do you have, northstar or 4.9 liter? I suppose it is possible that you have a bad head gasket but if the engine wasn't doing this before the rad replacement and now it is then check the coolant level in the rad and replace the thermostat again. It should be a 195 degree opening. You could also run the engine without the stat in there and see what happens. That might point to a bad head gasket or bad radiator. Bill...Bill thanks so much for the f/u..i have  a 4.6l norstar engine and we put in a 180 thermostat. we have tried to bleed the air pocket 4xs for hours on end. the therm has been replaced 3 xs just for precaution...i am athinking about trying to replace the water pump, good idea bad idea? any other advice would be greatly appreciated...thanks again
larry.

Answer
Hi Larry, At this point I would be tempted to get a differant radiator as it might be defective and not flow properly. If you didn't install the thermostat upside down then I can't see why this would all be happening if if wasn't overheating before you replaced the radiator. I don't feel that changing the waterpump will make a differance but you can try it if you want to. You will need a special socket to remove it and some autoparts stores like auto zone have loaner tools so you might not have to buy it. Bill