Engine overheating

Hello,

Is the cooling fan working? It sounds like it could have a blown head gasket here are two guides to help us see whats going on.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot


Please run down these guides and report back.

I don't know if the radiator fan works, I guess I am trying to figure out everything I need to check. I usually have a mechanic, but he is sick, and I am trying to do a little homework before I take it somewhere. The car will turn on when it is hot, but if it goes in the red while driving, it doesn't have very much power, but after a few seconds it will run just fine. The new mechanic told me possibly intake gaskets but said it's a big job. Another mechanic told me it's just the temperature guage and that's an easy fix.

intake gaskets should mean coolant is leaking either into crankcase or out of top motor.this could create an air pocket which could act like you describe.

thanks for this post I did the guide and found a blown head gasket is causing my problems.

my car is overheating I have a 05' Chev Monte Carlo

Try replacing the thermostat-start here.

Thank you

My 2005 Monte temp light comes on when I drive in town...It goes off when I am on the highway.

Check the coolant level, thermostat and engine coolant temperature sensor-

Engine overheats when I use the AC.

When the car overheats are any of your cooling fans running?If so which ones?

Fans seem to be running, but when the AC is turned on I hear a lot of clicking and the idle goes up and down. also having trouble logging in and out.

Check and see if that clicking is the a/c compressor cycling on and off?Also when its overheating are both fans running on high?Is there a lot of air being pulled thru them?Have you checked the radiator and a/c condensor for being blocked with plastic bags debris like sand dirt animal fur etc?Sometimes it's hard to see the blockage of the fins.Also what size engine do you have?

Yes it is a 3.4 motor. The clicking is the AC compressor cycling on and off.The fans are running but do not seem to change speeds at all. did not find anything blocking the radiater.

OK I just went out and checked out the fans behind the radiater. The one on the passenger side spins freely. the one on the drivers side does not spin at all.

I had a hose blow going down the interstate so I repaired it on the side of the road and drove to the nearest auto parts store to get a hose. Before the hose busted the heat stopped working but the car was not overheating, but now the car is overheating and there is no heat coming out when I turn the heat on even though I have changed the thermostat. My brother was putting a bunch of stop leak stuff in it because the radiator was leaking, but we replaced it and I have flushed out the heater core.

If the fan motor is frozen up solid and wont turn then sounds like you have a bad fan motor i would replace it.Sounds like that is your problem causing thr overheating and a/c compressor to cycle from too high of pressure from the fan being inop.

I have seen plenty of bad head gaskets that were bad ran fine and had great compression.Chemical block tester is a much better way to tell if the there is a issue with the head or gasket etc.If the car didn't get really hot any of the times it over heated then I would suspect it's ok as far as that goes.when it gets normal operating temp are both the upper and lower radiator hoses getting too hot to hold?If they aren't sounds like there is air in the cooling system.

I believe that is the problem. Thanks for the help. I remember having that replaced last october,I'll check to see if it is warranteed.Thanks again!

That would also explain why the heater is into also.but let's start with the most important the overheating.Also that stop leak is bad news it clogs things up like heater cores.

Your welcome thats what were here for keep me posted on if that fixs the problem.

Hello,

Here is a guide that will give you additional ideas for the overheating problem:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot


Please let us know what happens.

Cheers, Ken

Just got back from the shop that repaired the car last Oct. and they will fix it free of charge. It is the cooling fan assembly. I was very surprised they were so nice and apologetic. Thanks again your diagnosis was right on.

Your welcome thats what were here for.If you decide to make a donation please make sure you say this is for saturntech9 that way i get credit for it.

Everyone I ask has never heard of this. my car started to over heat so I check all the fluids. evrything checked out so I did what most would and changed the thermostat, that didn't help so I changed teh water pump. Still no help. had some one tall me to bleed the lines and that help for about a day. Now as long as I adjust the temp in the car (go from heat to ac back to heat teh temp will hold at about half). When it starts to hit 260 or so I put it in ac then back to heat then abot one sec or two the heat drops to 160. I know the engine isn't cooling that fast. The is no water in the oil new thermo, water pump and full of fluids. what else could it be????

Check radiator
if coolant circulating through it

Everything seem to be working fine untill I get to driving. As soon as I see teh temp rise I fiddle with the thermostat in the car and it will drop to 150-160. I can tell when it is going to start to raise when my heat stops working. It has become a hit miss thing. one day it will run fine and then boom over heat light comes on I do my thing and boom 260 to 160 in a flash.

Is it overheating
or just the gauges going up
have a headgasket test done on it

Well I havn't seen no steem or anything like that. and the the only thing that I can tell is that the gauge is going up there is nothing under teh hood that would make me think that the engine is really over heating. would I have to take it to a mech to get the headgasket check done or is this something i can do my self.

Or you can ask local part store for a headgasket test kit
and you can do it your self
just follow the instruction
included in the kit
good luck

my 2003 monte carlo is overheating. Ive changed the thermostat, the water pump, and flushed the radiator system. what do i do ...it worked for 1 day after the changes, then the heat went out and now its overheating again.

When the heat goes out check the coolant level, if it's low, add coolant and test the sysem with a cooling system pressure tester, Autozone loans out the tool, this will show where the leak is. If it's a head gasket white smoke should be visible at the tailpipe(when bad enough) Test the system according to the tool instructions.

I had the electrical wired by a professional,when i bought the car the fans were hot wired and a switch was located inside the car. it drove fine as long as i turned on the switch, but after they wired the fans properly (so i thought) it started to over heat. I had a new thermostat placed in, and it still ran hot, after checking again, we noticed that the fan on the right was blowing the air the correct way straight on the radiator, but the fan next to it on the left was blowing air in the opposite direction and straight on the engine and not onto the radiator?
is one fan suppose to cool the engine and the other blow on the engine or did they wire it wrong? could this be why it is over heating? the engine is fine.

they got it wrong have them fix it correctly. they should not charge you. then if it continues to overheat have it checked for a head gasket problem or a bad radiator.

2000 Chevy Monte Carlo temp gauge rises when i'm driving around in the city and blows out warm to hot air when the a/c is on. When I get on the highway the temp gauge stays in the normal position and blows out cold air when the a/c is on. I've recently replaced my lower intake gaskets and thermostat. Not sure what can be causing the temp gauge to rise when i'm driving below 50-60 mph.

Hello, let me start off with a couple basic questions. When was the last time you had a coolant flush? Also have you noticed any coolant leaks or maybe smell even the slightest smell of burning antifreeze?

Never flushed the coolant, don't smell any burning antifreeze or see any leaks. Someone told me they thought it might be my cooling fans!

Could be the cooling fans, definitely also could be the old antifreeze clogging up due to rust deposits. Either way I would give it a flush, see if that helps it. Also next time you drive your car get it to normal temperature, then leave it idling and check the engine bay to see if the fans kick on.

My car has been running hot for about a week, yesterday a busted hose that was leaking coolant repaired but the problem still persist.

ensure coolant level is good and that radiator fan(s) are coming on properly. if so then remove and test thermostat.