Hi Everyone,
Since I bought my Grand Prix (SE 3.8L, V6), I've been noticing this gurgling sound in the dashboard, which sounds like if someone were to dump a 2 liter bottle of soda upside down, whenever I accelerate. That is the only time I hear it.
I have had no leaks (interior or exterior - dry as a bone), no overheating and no serious problems, except for the sound and the fact that my heat on the interior only works sometimes. I notice it'll work for a bit, then turn off and blow cool air instead, then turn back on. I don't have excessive fog on the inside of my windshield, which says to me there isn't moisture in the air that's blowing inside. Also, I should note that my coolant reservoir is full. I have noticed no change in the level of coolant in there.
The only thing I notice that makes me nervous is the oil temp gauge in my dashboard is acting kind of weird. When I warm up the car, it get stuck below the lowest marking on the gauge, almost as though it's stuck at a lower-than-normal temp. Then, randomly, it'll go pretty high, to just above the 210 mark and hang there for a while. Then, it randomly comes back down. This happens while I'm driving or while I'm at a stop light, whenever it wants to.
The other thing is, there doesn't seem to be any water pressure in the upper radiator hose, meaning I can squeeze it shut with my hand. It's warm, but not stiff.
I brought it to the mechanic, who recommended I replace the upper and lower radiator hoses. I bought those from Auto Zone and am having those done as we speak, but the person helping me with those said my radiator needs to be replaced. He says it's completely gunked up and that there is no juice going through the hoses.
My question is, are these all connected, will replacing the radiator fix these issues and/or is there something else I should do? Bleed the system, replace the thermostat or oil sending switch?
Since I'm getting close to the hot weather, I certainly don't want to overheat. What do you think could be causing these issues?
Thank you!
