I have had some great help on this forum trying to locate the reason for my 1998 2.4L Sunfires overheating problems. I have eliminated the water pump; thermostat and radiator, all seem to have good flow. I was able to put a light into the water pump inles and using an inspection mirror verify that the pump impeller was in good condition. I bought the All Data for this car so will use that for all the technical work. Since it is looking like it may be the head gasket I think that would be the easierst place to start. I checked with Autozone and they have both the head gasket and new head bolts available. Checking on their repair information it said nothing of removing the timing chain. I would think that in order to change the head gasket I would have to remove the timing chain, and if I remove the timing chain then I guess I should just go ahead and replace the water pump at the same time. Anyway, did Autozone forget something, or do I not need to tear down the front of the engine to do this job?

You do need to tear down the front of the engine to do that job. I am going to go out on a limb here, but Im guessing you still havent taken it by a shop to have them check it out? They have a sure fire way to check for a headgasket failure. They have a chemical that they suck air out of your cooling system to check for exhaust gasses present in the cooling system (aka blown headgasket) it starts out blue, if it turns gren that means you have a blown headgasket or warped head. It is a very simple test and will save you lots of trouble. And usually when the do that test it comes with a cooling system diag to find out why you are overheating. Just go to a known good repair facility to have it tested. I know you may not want to spend the money right now but when your done with the headgasket and still possibly have a overheating problem you will wish you had. Just make sure you tell them what repairs you have already done to help them along.

you are right I have not taken the car to have it tested. Mainly because it is up on blocks and the cooling system has been completely drained and hoses etc. disconnected. I will call around locally and see if anyone can perform that test. Putting the cooling system back together and putting the car back on the ground is no biggie, certainly easier than pulling the head. Can I just fill the cooling system with water on a temporary basis or will I need to add the Dexcool for that test?

no you can just fill er up with water but from the sounds you have cold temps where you are at so if its gonna freeze then put antifreeze back into it. you can take a clean drain pan and keep the coolant you drain to pour back in it or if there is no oil in the drain pan of the stuff you have now you can just filter it through two layers of a t-shirt and reuse it.