Overheating issue
Asked by Jshlegg Oct 02, 2015 at 05:05 PM about the 1994 Chevrolet Cavalier
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Hi guys, first of all thanks for your time. I
am a backyard mechanic with a good bit of
experience. So the car was overheating so I
replaced the head gasket (bad shape) also
noticed stop leak plugging the water
jackets not uncommon. So I got all I could
out took the radiator off and flushed it be
test I could inspected for cracks and warps,
found none so I replaced the gasket and put
it all back together and the guy I fixed it for
has no idea about cars. So he ran it hot and
stalled it and blew the gasket again. The
reason it got hot was that his cooling fan
has been wireto a switch and he said he
only turns it on when it gets hot......
So I replaced it again and put it all back
together once again no cracks/warps. It ran
cool (I fixed the fan) for awhile and then
now it's getting hot again and I'm stumped
as to why. I've bled and bled but Im getting
water out of the bleeder. So I don't think it's
an air bubble. I've also cleaned the
thermostat and housin checking for stop
leak. Would love your opinions.
17 Answers
Sorry i didnt include this but its a 4cylinder with a 2.2L engine.
Did you put in a new thermostat after the new head gasket? Is the car getting good heat? I know that if someone dumps in a ton of stop leak, sometimes it will clog the heater core. If an over abundance of stop leak was used, it may have clogged the main radiator as well. If everything is new, it has to be a circulation issue. Did you also try removing the radiator cap and see if the fluid is circulating as it should? Is the radiator cap bad? How old is the water pump?
Yea I've done all of that, water pump isn't the issue.
Idk what else it could be unless there is a hairline Crack somewhere deep in the head.
If you unhook the wire from the ECT, does that trigger the fans to come on? If fans do come on, the ECT may be bad causing the fans not to kick on at the proper time when the car gets hot.
I have the fan wired straight car comes on so does the fan
Keep us posted on the pressure test. Have you felt the bottom radiator hose? Does that seem good? Kind of funny, you've covered most all the bases and it still is getting hot. If pressure test comes back good, I would say air, or the radiator itself.
I've had all the radiator hoses off and flushed and checked for rot or brittleness. Workin on the pressure test I need to get a tester.
I have changed everything in it radiator water pump thermostat and still having overheating problems in about to change the temperature sensor
Hello GuruWQRK7 Did changing the temperature sensor help?
I have done all of the above as well. I have a 2.2, 2001: Bought NEW fan motor, water pump, thermostat (checked it first), radiator, coolant temp. sensor, found a bad ground (why would they put it under the battery tray??) ran the fan directly to a switch so I could turn it on when it started to get warm) still runs hot. I have not overheated it, it makes me nervous when it gets to 195 and starts creeping up a few notches. I don't get it. -_-
Have you replaced the lower radiator hose? I've heard that these can collapse from time to time preventing circulation when they wear out. I've been told it is a common source of intermittent overheating in the 2.2L engine.
And since it doesn't happen all the time, it can be difficult to diagnose unless you actually see it happening somehow.
I have a 2001 chevy cavalier it over heats when ac is on and when i sit there with the car on what can it be
Oldschoolpro answered 4 years ago
Head bolts could be stretched. Also if you didn't use bottom out tap to clean threads on block side. You could be losing torque on head bolts. Caused by debris crushing over time. Or block could be cracked on top/high pressure seeper leak.
