Is it dangerous that my car 1989 olds calais 2.5 is leaking water from the over flow hose

have a coolant pressure test done on the system and find the leaks. If it is an old radiator with plastic tanks then the tanks may be split (common) -check radiator hoses for splits and radiator cores for leaks. If the hose is enlarged past the clamp replace it as it is about to burst anyway check water pump and check all points where hoses are clamped onto aluminium housings as they corrode under the hoses.

Scottykw I have an 88 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais quad 4,2.3L needing help locating the knock sensor on my car,rough idling and slow and sluggish acceleration.ive replaced the crank shaft position sensor and spark plugs,and fuel filter and allot of other things, but not the knock sensor or the Mass air flow sensor...where can I locate the knock sensor?

Mass Air Flow sensor OK? right by boot. Check for clogs and dirt on pins

Other possible sources for the anti-freeze are:

• leaking radiator hose - concentrate on the area where the clamps are, they commonly fray and leak.
• check radiator for leaks - common places on the radiator that leak are on the weld seams and the petcock
• area around the thermostat - if the thermostat is plugged, it could be forcing anti-freeze backward and compromise the seal you have around the thermostat

If the thermostat was installed backwards, it won't open when the engine heats up. The spring/sensor should go toward the engine and the valve plate goes toward the radiator. If the hoses stay cold, it points to no water flow as above. Hope this helps!

It's the maf/map sensor circuit.
maf--- mass air flow sensor
map--- manifold absolute pressure.--- check the small vaccum hose from the map sensor to the source, could be brittle and leaking air.
Have both the map and maf sensor checked for proper voltage, one or both could be bad. A repair shop shouldn't charge much to do that.

Remove and raise upper hose at thermostat end and remove lower rad hose.
Fill rad with a hose and watch for flow from bottom rad hose and/ or bottom rad hose connecton.......water should fall though rad easily.
Honda rads are cheap.....any restriction....replace rad.

Remove thermostat....fill thermostat housing with hose and watch for water flow at bottom rad hose.
Flush good.

Remove heater hoses.......flush back and forth until a good flow is present "With heater control set to hot" if no or poor flow....replace heater core.

Stop leak can plug everything.

Also.......not likely causing over heating....but ....at your mileage,if you do not know if the timing belt has been changed.....CHANGE IT NOW!
Water pump is optional at this mileage.

Electric radiator fans? Just a guess but it could be the water thermostat. They are very inexpensive but you may have to drain and refill the radiator. If the water will not flow though the radiator it will not cool the engine. This is the function of the thermostat which is inline to the water pump and allows the engine to warm up before cooling through the radiator then when the fan thermostat on the radiator heats up the electric fans will run. You might be able to squeeze the upper radiator hose to feel if pressure is building up or water is flowing.

Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais were made from1978-1991, and yes there were manual trans as well as automatic trans.

Here's some History on the Cutlass Calais.


March 1982 to replace Starfire, Lansing's version of the front-drive 101.2-inch-wheelbase corporate J-body subcompact failed to attract more than about 45,000 customers in most years -- except for 1984, when it garnered a credit­able 82,500 -- even though Olds tried most everything it could think of to sell it.

1988 the Firenza had offered all the J body styles, sporty GT and SX variants, overhead-valve and overhead-cam fours, optional V-6, and a confusing procession of price-leader and luxury models. But nothing seemed to work, and Olds gave up after '88. Firenza was no great loss, though, because 1985 brought a more-sale-able small Olds in the N-body Calais, called Cutlass Calais after 1988. Sized between Firenza and Omega on a 103.4-inch wheelbase, it bowed as a rounded, short-deck coupe in two versions: base and -- just to confuse things -- Supreme. Four-door sedans were added for 1986.
There was a lot of J-car engineering under the "modern formal" styling, and initial engine choices were the Ciera's familiar Pontiac-built four and 3.0-liter Buick V-6. Even so, customers generally liked this new bottle of old wine, snapping up 100,000-plus in the first year and better than 150,000 of the '86s -- about midway between the similar Pontiac Grand Am and Buick Skylark/Somerset.
For 1988, Calais coupes and sedans grouped into base, luxury SL, and sporty International Series (the last replacing a GT package option), but the big news was the first twin cam, 16-valve four-cylinder engine in American production, the Quad-4. Designed and built by Olds and offered as an across-the-board Calais option, it delivered 150 rather rough and noisy horses, but was claimed capable of much more.
Olds proved it by adding a tuned 180-bhp version for 1989. A more-useful option that year was a new 3.3-liter derivative of the 173-cid Chevrolet-sourced V-6. Replacing the Buick-built 3.0, it also produced 160 bhp -- and more torque than even the "High Output" Quad-4. To fill in for the departed Firenza, prosaically named Value Leader Calais models appeared for '89 with less standard equipment and restricted options but lower prices.
Enthusiasts surely shuddered when the 442 returned (sans hyphens) as a performance option for the base 1990 Calais coupe. Olds said the name now designated "Quad-4, 4 valves per cylinder and 2 camshafts."
Included in the $1667 package were the 180-horse Quad-4, five-speed manual transaxle, a specific version of Oldsmobile's FE3 sport suspension, meaty 215/60R14 performance tires on alloy wheels, full instrumentation, a cute rear-deck spoiler, and bold "442" exterior I.D. "Buff books" gave this latest 442 a lot of ink, but customers mostly gave it the cold shoulder.
Even a hallowed name on an honestly speedy little car couldn't convince many that Olds still specialized in high performance the way it had in the '50s and '60s.

olds mobile club of america should have your answer.