Good evening:
I have a 1998 2.2 Cavalier with 353.000 kms, (220.000 miles aprox.), assmbled by GM Venezuela. It has original engine, and radiator, changed water pumps, and radiator caps and thermostats a couple of times. I do mostly road driving to and from work (104 kms - 65 miles round trip)
Around 2 months ago I had an overheating problem, changed the Thermostat two times with no luck. The gauge would creep quickly (2-3 minutes) from middle to red zone. I would turn on the heater full blast and it would lower slightly the temp, but air did not seem too hot. Stopping and opening the hood, I would see the engine fan on, and the air downstream the fan was cold (no water flow through the radiator ?)
I left the car at a shop and they idled the car without the thermostat and I did not overheat. Then they put a new thermostat, the temp started to go up and the shop owner claimed (I did ot see it ) that the exhaust header turned cherry red at idle ! They idled the car disconnecting the exhaust pipe at the header and it did not overheat, so they decided it was a clogged muffler, changed it, and the problem was fixed !
Today getiing back from work the temp. started to creep up quickly after a traffic slow down a the highway. Again I stopped when I had a chance, and the fan was on, but the air blowing from the radiator was cool. I opened the cap at the plastic resevoir tank and it bubbled for 1-2 minutes so I shutted it down. I added some water (did ot have Dexcool at hand) and went home.
Could it be:
1 - Air pockets ?
2 - Bad Themostat ?
2 - Bad head gasket ?
4 - Bad water pump ?
5 - Bad Radiator cap ?
Thanks for any suggestions,
Thanks !
Would a bad water pump leak and / or have abnormal noises ?
The thermostat is new, although we have quite a bit counterfeit parts here south of thy border ...
Regards,
A new thermostat was installed, but it did not help much, after filling up carefully, the temp started to creep up.
I took to a local shop and the mechanic says t looks like a damaged head gasket. He says that the water pump will not circulate the water properly through the radiator, so it overheats, even if the fan is on.
Regards,
Dude change the rad cap and see what happens.
Murphy wrote:A new thermostat was installed, but it did not help much, after filling up carefully, the temp started to creep up.
I took to a local shop and the mechanic says t looks like a damaged head gasket. He says that the water pump will not circulate the water properly through the radiator, so it overheats, even if the fan is on.
Regards,
It's one thing if I tell you it looks like a bad headgasket, it's another thing when someone who makes their living as a mechanic tells you it looks like a bad headgasket without pressure testing the cooling system, taking a compression test on all cylinders, or checking the coolant for presence of exhaust gases. Find out for certain if the headgasket is leaking, and if not then you've got coolant flow issues.
Hi,
I finally took it to the mechanic and he said it was a bad gasket, most of the coolant flow holes were plugged. The head was milled and reassembled again.
I remembered then that one year ago I had an episode were I had sent the radiator to be fixed (leaking tank seal), and the mechanic did not tighten completely one of the hose clamps. It came off (3 months after leaving the shop) and the car overheated. Funny that the coolant temp did not go up, but it started to smell like burnt oil. I stopped, and let the engine cool, then I filled up the system, after attaching and tightening the hose.
From then I had frequent episodes of overheating, until finall I had to take the cylinder head off...
I have a photo of the gasket, but I see no provision to upload. Can I post a link to imageshack ?
Regards,
The cap was one of the first things I changed (didnīt improbve anything...) then the thermostata
Ok, I managed to post a picture, 98 kb ! Here it is
Regards,
The areas were you see rust (orange color) are coolant flow areas that are almost plugged up.
Sorry for the repeated posts,
Regards,
