Overheating (Engines)

It can be many things, but the fact that it overheated and then shut down would make me suspect a blown head gasket. That is assuming that you did not just keep drivng it after it became apparent it was hot.

water pump may not be worn out, heater core may be clogging

Low oil pressure

Low cylinder pressure

Anti freeze coming out of the tailpipe (sickly sweet smell)

Water in oil

Oil in water

Frothing or bubbling in radiator

The first thing I would check is the head gaskets. Most likely this is the problem. Hopefully it is not a problem with the block. It could also have a problem in the intake area. If the engine overheats, and since we already know there is a loss of coolant, be sure the fan works, rad is good, thermostate is good and replaced, and stop driving the car. More damage will occur. The job to change the head gaskets is very expensive. Hours of labor are around 20 or less. Plus the cost of having the heads checked and serviced. This must be done. Just the heads alone are around $ 600.00 to service. Has the intake manifold been replaced yet, if not, there is a recall by Ford. The cross over where the coolant thermostate is is made of plastic. the new ones are not. The plastic will crack and develop a leak, mostly to the outside of the engine, but it is possible to leak in the inside, check that also. First, a pressure test of the system might help find where the leak is. good luck, if u need more info, ask me on my message board. Good luck.

Flushing the radiator may help with the cooling problem but not necessarily make the engine run smoother. If it is a 6 cyliner engine check for a possible leaking lower intake manifold gasket. If the LIM gasket is bad, it may be leaking coolant into the oil and possibly into the cylinders. Also it may leak externally or it may leak internally. Go to http://www.gaoc.com for more info on this problem. If this is the case, it is a serious problem and you shouldn't drive the car until you get it fixed. I have owned these cars in one form or another since 1994 and the radiator leaves a lot to be desired. The radiator seems to clog very easily. So it requires a lot more maintenance that GM likes to admit. I have never had a problem with the thermostats and only had one water pump failure. I also have never had a problem with the fan but, like others have said, they should be checked as well GOOD LUCK!! Sometimes having the radiator flushed will help; however, it may be your themostat is sticking causing the motor to run hot. If this is the case, you should get a new themostat installed. Also check that the fan is running with the engine hot and in idle. The fans wear out may need replacement. It may also be the fan control circuit. I had that problem! Make sure your radiator cap is not missing the seal! Without the seal pressure is not kept in which will cause the engine to overheat! Simple problem, cheap fix!

Sounds Like Your Engine Fan Has Stopped Working, Or You Are Not Getting Enougn Air Moving Through Your Radiator. How It Works You Have A Fan That Runs When Your Engine Reaches a Tempature For It To Turn On. If You Turn The A/C On It Will Run The Other Fan For Pulling Air Through Your A/C Condensor & Help Cool The Engine Also. Have The Fan Checked. Hope This Helps

Have a compression test run to see if you have a problem with the head or gasket. Once you find out you do, then you must remove the heads in order to determine what the problem is. Have the heads inspected at a machine shop to determine if they are warped or cracked. Once the heads are removed the gasket must be replaced so it really makes no difference.

no , the heater core provides heat to the interior for the passengers

This is what I found out. The engine is not overheating. What is happening is that the temperature sensor is not reporting the information correctly, which cause the computer to assume that the sensor is not working and go into default safe mode. Check the temperature gage. It is probably reading zero. In order to prevent overheating, it shuts off the AC and turn on the radiator fan full speed. The previous answer is not pertaining to this problem. I had thermostat replaced which did nothing for the above reason. I don't even know why the dealership even tried to do that since when the temperature reading is zero, it is not the thermostat. Thermostat replacement should only be needed if the car is actually overheating. When I took it in next time, dealership was instructed by the GM tech center not do anything until the new computer calibration becomes available. What they explained to me is that when the sensor gets old, the data signal gets weaker. The new calibration is to be able to read the sensor, even if it starts to send weaker signals. After about a month, it became available. That was last week, the week of April 27th, 2008. There is, or will be a new service bulletin for this. I got new calibration yesterday. I will be observing it for a while. I drive about 3K per month so I should have a fast longterm info. You should be able to get this done free of charge by the dealer. I hope this actually solved the problem. Unfortunately, my problem was intermittent so it is hard to tell if this worked.

No, the over fill is simply to catch coolant that has escaped during overheating or leakage and try to return it to the radiator when things cool off. On many or most modern cars the tank really isn't so much an overflow but it's to purge air in the system and exchange that air with coolant. Any car I've owned with an actual old style overflow tank it was removed and tossed in the trash because I think they're ugly and as long as the system works fine and you don't abuse the motor by overheating it isn't needed at all. The problem is most people don't watch the engine temp and let it overheat, that and older cars overheated easier than cars today.

as it works or moves it gets hot and eventually over heats. think of it as a human running the person eventually gets hot

First, make sure you have the coolant tank filled to the proper level. Next, make sure your engine fan IS working (spinning). If both are ok, its almost safe to say your thermostat is stuck in the closed position. In that case it is an easy fix, you just need a new thermostat. If you replace the thermostat and still have an overheating problem, that means you have a clog somewhere in your coolant system, or the flow of coolant isn't good enough. If you don't have flow, that means something is making your water pump not work properly. And if your water pump is working properly, that means you have a clog. Clogs most likely take place in the radiator itself. GOOD LUCK!

No it is likely you have a water pump problem. Also check the water lever in the radiator, and weather engine oil has been changed recently or not. These engines are also problem prone in the head gasket.

There is something wrong with your radiator that it is not cooling your engine coolant. The heater has a little rad in it that sends heat to the cabin and thereby cooling the engine coolant also. If you stop the heat then your engine returns to overheating. Get this fixed or engine replacement will be in your future.

It depends on several different factors ... ... ...

1. Is you engine hotter than usual to the touch?

2. Have you recently changed the coolant?

3. How hard do you drive your car ona scale 1 to 10

and

4. Yes a fautly temp sensor can make it seem like it is running hotter

to low on antifrezze, or air cond. compressor locked or locking-up, to low on water& antifrezze mix in ratiator, or fan clutch out, fan belt slipping, try the antifrezze amount mixed first and make sure the fluid is circulating good ,if not water pump or stuck thermostat

The engine works hard and produces a lot more heat than when the car is driven on a leveled road. The car is usually driven slower on the uphill and there isn't as much air cooling the radiator.

But the main reason it overheats is that the cooling system is malfunctioning.

If the coolant is brown, it has broken down and needs replaced. You could also have a failed thermostat, plugged radiator, inoperative fans,...........

That smoke is steam. You have a leak in the radiator or a hose. Take it to a mechanic.

Type your answer here... your cooling may be not working and you might have a partially plugged radiator

There are multiple causes. Bad thermostat no antifreeze in the radiator blown head gasket leak some where in the cooling system. cracked block warped heads. if you need to know more email me with more info on the car and ill be glad to help

if the radiator is clear & there are no obstructions in front of radiator then make sure belt is properly tensioned next watch to make sure electric fan is cycling as engine gets hot next would be head gasket if other two is good

Yes

Some vehicles have higher RPM's (Rotations per minutes) causing them to run at higher temperatures at low speeds. In stop and go situations, you are using low gears at low speeds, causing the engine to work harder. These types of vehicles would be better for high speed commuting where stopping and going frequently is not a problem.