Overheating Problems/Possible head gasket leak??

kingkavi32 · Last edited by kingkavi32 on Thu Apr 26, 2012 8:00 pm; edited 2 times in total

Drove to cincy last night and on the way down, went from 65 on the highway (about an hour straight) to 5-15 on the highway due to rush hour traffic. the car started overheating when traffic increased so i turned up the heater and it cleared out a little after 5 minutes, but i didn't like traffic so i drove through the city to get to my destination, and it started overheating again, even with the heater blowing full blast, it took about 15 minutes for it to cool down.

On the way home however, it was fine coming off the highway. Not unusual as the last few long trips i made, it overheated coming off the highway initially, but on the return trip (usually 1-4 hours cool down time for the car in between getting there and leaving) it is fine. Any ideas?

My waterpump is brand new, alternator is brand new, coolant temp sensor brand new, thermostat brand new, and there's plenty of coolant in the radiator and some in the reserve tank.

I got there and popped the hood, and saw nothing out of the ordinary, just felt the heat off the engine. I may need another coolant temp sensor, but i'm unsure as on the highway and normal city driving, when my gauge hits around 180 degrees, it drops to around <90 within a matter of seconds, but it's the initial trip that causes it. If it's doing this in cool/comfortable weather, i'm afraid of what may happen when summer hits. I'm temped to remove my grille or cut it up for more air flow or something. An idea that i also have is the temp sensor is working, but the signal isn't getting to the fan to engage it from the computer?

give me your ideas!

cahilj · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 2:34 pm Post subject:

Have you screwed with the steering column wiring at all? I forget what connector and pin it is, but if it's not connected, or disconnects after starting, or something, it will cause the fan NOT to come on.

voz24 · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 2:35 pm Post subject:

The only thing I can think of is that maybe there's air in the system, check hoses and if the clamps are tight, a loose clamp will let air in and cause to overheat. Second is that maybe your fans aren't kicking in, check relay or fuses for the fans(for this what I would do is run the car, let it idle and see if your fans kicks in). Hope this helps out

kingkavi32 · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 2:41 pm Post subject:

93sunbirdgt · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:17 pm Post subject:

definatly an air lock, sometimes they are a real pain to get out. Check the overfill once its hot, if its really full then the coolants not in the engine like it should be. Also before it over heats, squeeze the rad hoses, you should feel the coolant going through them if its cycling.
Pop the cap off before starting the car, let it warm up and squeeze the upper rad hose until you dont see any movement in the overfill.

kingkavi32 · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 7:45 pm Post subject:

Ok, did the idle test 2x and it would reach the knotch just past where the needle is in the gauge pic and then it'll kick the fan in and cool down, now i'm starting to wonder if i just never waited long enough. i would usually let it get this far and then turn on the heater...so i'm starting to wonder if i was just worrying for nothing.

Upon inspection of the fan, i noticed a head gasket leak that's getting worse, mixing coolant and oil and dripping down the block from where the belts are. pic below. right behind the water pump, also a small leak in cylinder 4 right below the exhaust manifold.

here are the pix

Brad91Z · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 9:25 pm Post subject:

I'm moving this to the repair/troubleshooting forum.

Brad

kingkavi32 · Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 9:08 am Post subject:

Anyone have any ideas about this? when idling, when should the coolant start flowing? is 3/4 too hot for the car to get before the fan kicks in or is that normal?

cavalier3400z · Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 11:45 pm Post subject:

I am pretty sure it is between 1/2 and 3/4 when the tstat opens and 3/4 for the fan.

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