Radiators

Water swishing noise may be due to a seriously underfilled radiator-- the shop rushed the job and did not clear the air pocket inside the engine. With cool engine, remove radiator cap, and ensure the coolant is right up to the lower lip of the filler neck. Replace cap, and drive. Recheck again the next time engine is cool. Also, make sure your coolant reserve bottle is at least 1/3 full when cold. Remember, never remove a radiator cap when the engine is at all warm.

Flush and clean the heater core. Also check your rad cap and maybe change the thermostat

Three are other factors. One situation I've come across over the years is the elctric fan that cools the radiator starts to wear which in turn causes it to stick. This fan due to it's location takes a real beating. Splashing, dust, bugs, and everything else. With a duel fan system, it can be one or both. Start your car let it warm up and observe the fan/s operation. If not this I would look into the relay, which is the second leading cause of overheating in my experiences.

Your water pump may be failing. If it fails (pump bearings, clogs, etc)your thermostast temp goes up because coolant in the water jackets of the engine are being heated to boiling, but not being pumped through the rad to cool. Also check the tightness of your belts, if they are loose, your water pump may not work well. Have you added water without adding coolant? Try a hydrometer and check the strength of your rad fluid.

Possible that head gasket could be bad. If you've done other things and still overheating. If your engine has got very hot in the past this could be your problem.With a aluminum head and cast iorn block these head gaskets can be blown very eaisly. If you run with this condition very long head damage will eventually occur.

Remove the bottom radiator hose. Stick a hose in the top of the radiator. Turn the water on. Allow the water to run through the radiator and out the bottom of the radiator.

It varies with what part of the country you live in. Call a couple of local garages or radiator shops for estimates.

Well, the first thing you need to do is find out if it is the upstream or downstream sensor. Depending which one it is will determine how hard it is to change. One end of the sensor is a electrical connector that snaps in and out. The other end is almost like a spark plug. Use the proper size wrench or you can find a special socket specifically made for the O2 sensor and loosen it, pull it out, put new one in, and tighten. The two biggest problems you will encounter are location of the sensor and/or the sensor may be rusted to the exhaust. .

Any O2 problem should give a trouble code which is easy to pull on your Dakota. My 2000 Dakota only requires me to turn the ignition in a: on-off-on-off-on sequence. Your codes will show up inside the digital trip odometer on the dash. Once you know what code you have, you will know which sensor needs replacing. Expect to need a torch to heat up the sensor, so make sure you are replacing a bad sensor. If you look online, you can buy O2 sensors for about 40-50 dollars. Any other questions, give me a hollar. Gregg

Caution: use safety precautions and common sense when working on electrical components and under vehicles. This is my experience.

On my Dakota I used a 7/8 wrench, a straight slot screw driver for disconnecting the electrical terminals. Caution: The screw driver is only if you're having difficulty disconnecting the terminals. There is a small plastic clip holding the two connections together. If you use a computer to decipher the code be sure to write down the bank# and sensor# it may help to find the right sensor. On the 4.7 engine the left front sensor is the more difficult to access in my opinion. For this one, disconnect the terminal from beneath the vehicle 1st. Then break the sensor loose with the wrench by accessing it from under the hood. You get better leverage in case the sensor is really stuck in there.

Note: If possible to take the sensor to the parts store...DO. Apparently there was a change in manufacturing near the end of the year for my vehicle and I now have to use the universal sensors for the forward ones, unless I want to wait 3 days according to my parts guy. Hope this helped a little.

Another NOTE regarding replacement O2 sensors on the '00 4.7l - I had to replace my Pre-Cat O2 sensor recently and the replacement sensor's connector fitting didn't match the connector from the wiring harness. Turns out, that the Pre-Cat O2 Sensor from the '99 5.9l fits just fine (same connector). So you don't have to use the Universal sensor.

If you want to take the condensor off, you need a refrigerant recovery system.

Not unless the leaky hose is causing your engine to overheat, or caused it to overheat and a blown head gasket or warped head was the result. If either of those things happened then coolant getting into the combustion chamber wont burn and will come out the back as white smoke.

blown head gasket....not good.

Could b Transmission fluid because the transmission cooler is in the radiator-especially IF the water has a red tint 2 it,IF it has a automatic transmission.

Other than replacing the radiator, which is the best option, I have used the JB weld stick. It is any epoxy putty. Just knead it into a long cylinder, then place it into the crack. Work the putty into the crack very well. Do this when the radiator is cool, for best results. Max heat temp for this product is 300 F. So dont let it overheat. JB Weld stick costs around $5. Good Luck

Not sure if this will help but I have recently discovered that many plastics can be "Welded" using simple PVC pipe solvent.

Cheers

Bad Head Gasket. See a mechanic ASAP..

The drain plug on the radiator of a 2002 Cavalier is located on the front of care through the lower front air dam area. You will find it's on the right and you should use 1/4" ratchet and extension to open it.

The 1999 Chrysler Sebring has an overflow bottle on the passenger side. The bottle has markings on the side to show low and high coolant marks.

Open the drain on the left side (driver's side) of the radiator. It is best reached from underneath. This will drain the radiator, most the heater and maybe half of the engine block. To drain the entire system the block drains have to be removed which is not practical in many cases because they are not easily accessible.

It is on the bottom driver side of the radiator.

It is on the bottom pass side of the radiator. It is very difficult to access.

Passenger side, bottom front, just above the lower frame. You'll need to remove the plastic guard under the front end if you have one. The plug is in the line just outside the radiator. (3.0 L)

turn off all water in home heating sytem. then place a towel under the nuts to release the radiator on both sides, loosen the nuts one at a time. Next shake radiator hard to dislodge conection. pull old radiator out and replace with new one and connect nut to the radiator on both side sucuring and tighten. turn water back on and fill system again.

Yes, if it is not holding pressure or is allowing a coolant leak.

Water can get too hot in a radiator due to several factors, including a malfunctioning thermostat that fails to regulate the engine temperature, a lack of coolant circulation caused by a blocked radiator or a failing water pump, or low coolant levels. Additionally, excessive heat can be generated if the engine is working harder than usual, such as during heavy towing or driving in extreme conditions. If the radiator cannot dissipate this heat effectively, it can lead to overheating. Regular maintenance is essential to prevent these issues.

To effectively remove a radiator from a room, first turn off the heating system and allow the radiator to cool down. Next, use a wrench to disconnect the pipes connected to the radiator. Drain any remaining water from the radiator and carefully lift it off its brackets. Finally, patch up the holes left by the pipes and brackets to complete the removal process.