No, this post isn't another one of those "WHY IS MY CAR OVERHEATING?" problems, but rather hopefully something that can help out people about to complain about such a situation.

If you are driving your Brick, and you suspect an overheat is imminent, what do you do?

Here's my checklist when I get stuck in traffic and begin to worry:
1. Turn down the A/C. The A/C removes from the air coming through the vents, and that heat gets dumped somewhere, which is your overheating engine.
2. Open the windows. I usually do this in conjunction with 1. It helps dissipate heat inside the cabin.
3. Turn on the heat. I read something online about someone running a race in a Volvo where they mentioned they had to "turn on the heat" a few times to prevent overheating.
4. Get moving! Usually this option isn't available, but it becomes my first priority when the temperature gauge starts going up.

I think number 3 has kept me from overheating at least twice. There have been two occasions where my temperature gauge has left its mid-level position and headed towards the red zone. Moving the air conditioning slider to the Heat side and turning the fan to position 3 has caused the gauge needle to go back down to its normal place in both instances, and I didn't overheat and stall.

Is there anything else to add? I was once a stupid driver who overheated my Brick a few times, and it would have been wonderful to have known back then what to do. Hopefully this can prevent some neophyte Brick drivers, like I used to be, from having that experience this summer.
--
'89 244 GL -- 103,415 miles (see profile for info on car)