Engine overheating?

Good morning,

The pressure build-up and the bubbles are the clue.

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

Sounds like you have a failed head gasket from the overheating allowing compression gases into the cooling system.

A leak down test will confirm. You need to remove the spark plugs and insert an air fitting into each cylinder one at a time. Then use shop air to pressure up the cylinder and watch for coolant movement in the radiator. That will confirm if a head gasket has failed.

Roy

I used a laser thermostat and shot it at the engine the pipes and it read a lot lower then what the gauge said on the dashboard.

and can you put the temperature sensor to far in?

and this morning I drove it to work the gauge said that I was in the red. I pulled over turned car off then turn it right back on and the temperature went down a little. then when I started driving the temp started dropping fast.

Okay, no, you cannot put the coolant sensor in too far. As far as the driving, that is an indication of the head gasket. You could try a thermostat but I doubt that is the issue.

This guide can help us fix it as well

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

Please run down this guide and report back. Roy

I'm driving it right now not overheating.

It will. You need to have this checked. My bet is you have a failed head gasket.

Roy

Me and my dad are testing it tomorrow. a mechanic told him about this stuff we can put in the radiator that may fix it.

Do not do that. There is no additive that will stop a head gasket leak.

It will cause more issues. It will clog the radiator and heater core and compound the issue.

The best way is to fix it correctly.

Roy

well, it is the gasket.

Just what I figured.

Make sure you do both gaskets, not just one.

Make sure the heads are checked for cracks and for being warped as well.

Roy

we going to see what the dealership will give me if I trade it in and pay $5,500.00.

The repair will be around $1,500.00 to $1,800.00.

On a 15-year-old vehicle, it would be about $500.00.

Roy

hi, i have a 05, chev venture, i noticed that my heat gauge is going over the half way mark and it did not do that before. the fans are not turning on. but when i turn the ac on the fans turn. (so the fan motors work), i checked the fluid levels and are top off, i opened the two bleeders and no air in system. the fuses are good but i dont know how to check the relays to see the are working also dont know witch one to check, i have 3 that says its for the cooling system.

if fan comes on with A/C then relays are working. most likely a faulty engine coolant temp. (ECT) sensor it causing fans not to come on other than with A/C.

thx for the fast reply, i will try that and post results.

sorry for the delay, i wanted to make sure i had $$$ in the bank first. ok, so i went to midas today and they hook up a computer to it and said that every thing was fine with the engine and sensors, the engine temp gage in-dash would go to the fist large hash mark past center then the fans would kick in, it did not do that last year, they show me that with there comp, it goes to 108 degrease and fans start. they say that my dash cluster is not working right and that every thing was fine. he suggested me to go out and buy another one from the dealer our scrap yard.
but why would/how could the instrument cluster engine heat gage get out of sink?

with new vehicles there are small computers and gadgets everywhere on them, used to the coolant gauge was just a mechanical style gauge that went from the inside of car to near the thermostat so it could be sitting in the coolant. nowadays it's electric and all built into the instrument gauge. so if it fails it will give out inaccurate readings and the only way to fix it is to replace the entire instrument gauge cluster.

Bought the van and the guy had just put a radiator in it and apparently he didn't hook up the pump or the hose down below properly so they run some wires up to a switch on the dashboard and rigged it so it will turn the fans on right now we're trying to put the thermostat in we've got the car tore apart because it got different information from different people we can't actually see where the thermostat is located different pictures on different examples is not very good for just trying to get the thermostat changed over to see if that will help with some of the overheating the switch does work as far as turning the fan on so it works we was told that the engine everything has to be disconnected so they can get to that hose to put a clamp on it to connect it so we're waiting to get the money to have all that done but the meantime we thought we would change the thermostat see if that would help their overheating so the kids can get back to work or needing help with getting thermostat put in and getting it hooked back up though cuz right now we do have the engine tour part so I need somebody's help thank you

THX, i guess ill have to get use to it until something else goes wrong on it :(, are they expensive ?

Hello, I'm Danny.

Here is a tutorial showing what is involved in replacing the thermostat:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-thermostat

I've attached below step-by-step instructions.Hope this helps and thanks for using 2CarPros.
Danny-

should be able to find a used one at local salvage yard or online like ebay or craigslist for a decent price

I had this problem they had to replace the PCM cost me $590.00 but hey all fixed now.

My 2003 Chevy Venture loses power while driving, the hot coolant light comes on and the temperature gauge goes all the way to the red mark. There is coolant in the radiator and in the reservior and the engine oil doesn't show any signs of coolant. Just had a oil change a few days ago. Had the radiator flushed a few months ago, the transmission flushed, fuel filter replaced, new plug wires, all within the last 5 months.

Check the thermostat and water pump. Remove the thermostat and see if that corrects the problem. If not, replace the water pump. It's a good idea to replace the thermostat when replacing the water pump, but not 100% must do.

today my red light came on saying my car was over heating. and my water cooling level was in the red zone,
my over flow jug was full and hot. I cut the car off and let it cool off for 15 minutes and the problem went away,
was that a warning that something was going bad and if so what,

have the cooling system pressure checked for leaks it may be a head gasket.

Van started overheating after falling off a jack. Was overheating even while idling. Replaced the radiator and water pump. Still overheating. What could be wrong? I need help asap

If we are to assume the cause is related to falling off the jack, the best suspect would be an inoperative radiator fan. The clue is the engine will not overheat at highway speeds when natural air flow is sufficient. Look for a damaged connector or torn wires.

I have a 2003 Chevy venture 3.4L that is overheating still. I've replaced thermostat twice replaced the water pump replaced the radiator cap and flushed the radiator and done a pressure test but it's still running very hot temp goes up and engine gets extremely hot at first it only got hot once you drove it for a couple miles then stopped say for a train or long light the temp would go up to just before the red line but would cool once you started driving again. Now after replacing everything and flushing the system it gets hot almost instantly after starting the van and my coolant starts to pressurize and come out the radiator cap. I boiled the thermostat and it's working properly at the temp it should function. I took out the thermostat and ran it for a couple miles and it got very hot again so I'm not sure what it could be. There are no signs indicating bad head gasket so I'm clueless here. Any help would be truly appreciated.

You need to leave it idling to find out if the fan comes on before it hits the red zone. The fans are programmed to come on at a very high temp intentionally and many people think there is a problem when there isn't. If it hits the red zone without the fan coming on, then the fan needs to be troubleshooted.

no water leakage, but can't drive car unless temp is turned to hot, can't turn on air at all

check and make sure your anti freeze is full. also check and see if your cooling fan is working or not. if it isnt, check your fuses. let me know what you find

Engine Cooling problem
2003 Chevy Venture 6 cyl Automatic 100k miles

where is it and can I do it myself

IT is under the throttle body on the driver;s side. IT's a PITA. I don't know your skill level and patience. A novice should set aside 3-4 hours. I think book is around 1.3 hours.

my car was overheating and the red light came on, I let it cool off for a half a hour and I did not have anymore problems
was that a sign that something was going bad. I just let it run a little while ago to see if it would over heat again but it didnt

Its probably time to change the thermostat-start here

Is the coolant clean and full? Have you ever replaced the thermostat? Are the cooling fans coming on?

Engine Cooling problem
2003 Chevy Venture 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic 120k miles

Car overheated, floored all the way to the H. Had towed home. Reserve tank full, radiator empty. No visible leaks. Filled radiator, bled air from hoses, seemed to make a difference. Drove around ok. Drove today to get new radiator cap, 30 minute car trip, overheated again. Reserve tank bubbling. Fans kicking on. What else can be looked at?

White smoke from exhaust? oil look normal?