Damn overheating, cannot find problem

[Filterboy]

Ok, so about a month ago, my car started overheating (going above 210 degrees, i have a 160 thermo and it never used to reach 210 before). I checked the coolant level and it was low. Fixed the problem for about a week. Started overheating again, checked the level again, it was dry as a bone. Filled it again, put in some radiator stop leak, after about a week of driving started overheating again, bone dry, filled again, added more stop leak. In the meantime i could not see any leaks anywhere. So then, it miraculously stopped leaking and the coolant level was normal. Then it started overheating again but the coolant level was staying full. So I figured it was my water pump or thermostat. Changed both of those today. I went to bleed the air out of the system, and I sat there for about 15 minutes and fluid started to come out of the bleeder screw, so i closed it. Meanwhile the temperature kept going up almost to 260, but yet my coolant level is still full and yes, my rad fan is turning on as normal. Meanwhile, I see no leaks, but the coolant shows full on the coolant dipstick. I am completely baffled and quite pissed at this point with my car and i want to drive it into the ocean and let it become part of a goddamn natural coral reef. Any ideas on what on earth I should do next or what the real problem might be? Any help is greatly appreciated (I searched a bunch of posts and only found one person reporting the similar behavior and they thought it might be an intake manifold gasket gone bad).

[bigbrian442]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

You may have plugged the radiator with too much stop leak.

[Filterboy]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

You know, I was just talking to a mechanic back home in Michigan and he said the same thing. Question: If I get a coolant system flush, will the flushing unclog it or are the chemicals they use not strong enough to get rid of the stop leak crud? I know my car's never been flushed. I guess they will find out when they go to flush it and nothing happens hahaha. I am taking it in tomorrow to get it flushed, so I'll post the results then.

[nascar24jd]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

That stop leak is bad stuff. It clogs everything. It will clog the radiator, the heater core, and has even been known to becoms attached to the water pump impeller.

A radiator flush will not remove it if it has solidified.

You might need a new radiator.

[nimrod.sixty9]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

Look in the oil and make sure you dont see any milky looking crap. Basically water in oil...

[Filterboy]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

well, today i decided, instead of taking a chance and buying a new radiator, id take the old one out and inspect it and flush it. Man, that thing flowed perfectly and the inside fins looks brand new with no corrosion or blockage from what I could tell. I checked the oil, but I don't see any traces of coolant, but I'm changing my oil tomorrow to be sure. I'm not sure what to do next, other than take it to a shop. Oh well, we'll see what happens tomorrow.

[camaroincal]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

You could have a cracked head or a blown head gasket. It happened to my '97 with about 95,000 miles on it... :( I had a cracked head. I drove it hard. >;D It cost WAY too much to fix too, but I did it anyway cus I was still paying payments.

[camaroincal]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

Or if you are lucky, you could have a faulty temperature sensor, or something like that to do with your temp gauge.

[Filterboy]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

i doubt thats the problem cause when i was driving, it smelt like something was burning when it was overheating and it eventually stalled because it was so hot. i waited about 20 minutes, started it back up and ran fine, until it overheated again.

[eric v6]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

waterpump is what you need to check I bought a new waterpump with a year warranty and no more overheating

[conbirdable]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

i doubt thats the problem cause when i was driving, it smelt like something was burning when it was overheating and it eventually stalled because it was so hot. i waited about 20 minutes, started it back up and ran fine, until it overheated again.

If you let it overheat til it stalled you probably have worse things to worry about than a water pump.

[mattyacks]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

Fan module?

[lookout4theyeti]

Re: Damn overheating, cannot find problem

I didn't read all of the posts here, but recently I had to take mine in to have the upper and lower intake manifold gaskets replaced. Apparently, the dexcool coolant that GM uses eats away at the stock gaskets over time, causing oil and coolant to mix, and overheating issues. They were replaced with new gaskets that are "supposedly" immune to the coolant. Just google search "intake manifold" and you'll find a bunch of gm lawsuits and stuff over it.