My Engine is Overheating

Tiny
JBD3
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 CHEVROLET MALIBU
  • 165,000 MILES
My ac/heater blower quit working two days ago and now the car overheated after sitting in park for 15 minutes. The fan controls still have lights no control panel. I replaced water pump, hoses, radiator, and thermostat about two years ago. Where do I check? The blower resister, the blower motor, or something else?
Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 7:42 AM

43 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
We have two separate issues the overheating and inop blower fan.We need to start with why it overheated.When it overheated how did you know it did?

Did it boil over the radiator cap or did it say it was overhearing on the temp gauge? Also was the radiator fan on when it overheated because a blown head gasket can make the fan not work. lets go over these guides to see if we can fix it.

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

and

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

Please run down these guides and report back.
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 7:51 AM
Tiny
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My daughter was driving it. She was parked but had the car running in park. After about 10 minutes or so it started spewing antifreeze out of antifreeze reserve tank on passenger side of engine. She said the temp gauge never went up past 210 before she turned it off. I have driven it several times in the last couple days but never had it idling for more than a traffic light. I read online that ac blower and cooling fans are tied into each other. Is that true?
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 8:04 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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If your talking about the ac condenser fan then yes its tied into the radiator fan. But not the inside blower fan that blows the air inside the car. Is the fan that is inop the one that blows air inside the car?
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 8:11 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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As far as the coolant blowing all over the ground an the temp it read on the gauge I would replace the radiator cap. Sounds like it could just be a week radiator cap not holding the proper pressure. Also do you have a multi meter to do some testing?
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 8:14 AM
Tiny
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Yes the blower for the inside does not work at all. Then two days later it overheats while idling. They have to be linked right? And she did not here the cooling fan come on before it overheated.
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 8:16 AM
Tiny
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No I don't have a tester. So what about ac blower not working?
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 8:25 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
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It only got up to 210 on the gauge that's not hot enough to boil over a good radiator cap. Also the inside blower has nothing to do with the cooling system for the engine. You will need a multi meter to do some testing to trouble shoot the inop blower fan. Do you have manual ac controls or auto climate control?
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 8:30 AM
Tiny
JBD3
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I have the manual controls. And the indicator lights work just no blower
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 8:41 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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Alright we still need a multi meter or we would have to start guessing and I don't like to guess and guessing gets expensive.
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 9:02 AM
Tiny
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Ok thanks.
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 9:09 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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Your welcome.
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Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 AT 11:25 AM
Tiny
TRAYWRONG
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
  • 1999 CHEVROLET MALIBU
  • 3 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 178,583 MILES
At first my car started overheating, I automatically assumed it was the head gasket but when I check the oil it wasn't whitish or watery, so I took it to a mechanic who said that I needed a new sensor and thermostat. After, replacing both my car continued to overheat then it started to leak coolant from the water pump area, so I replaced the water pump. Then I went to test drive it and it overheated so I returned to the mechanic who said I needed a new radiator. I currently replaced the radiator last Friday and it continuos to overheat! Could anybody suggest what's wrong with my car, instead of me spending a ton of money on unnecessary parts.
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 AT 5:59 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
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First of all, under what conditions does the overheating occur? Speeds, how long does it take, etc. Do you hear the radiator fan turning on?

Milky oil is not the most common result of a leaking cylinder head gasket. Coolant getting into an oil passage won't result in overheating. It's much more common for coolant to get sucked into the combustion chamber and burned. You'll be losing coolant and you might see white smoke from the tail pipe.

There's two tests you can do to verify a leaking head gasket. If you're losing coolant very slowly, add a small bottle of dark purple dye to the coolant, then search a day later with a black light. The dye will show up as a bright yellow stain that you can follow back to the source. If you find it inside the tail pipe, suspect the head gasket.

You can also have your mechanic perform a chemical test at the radiator. With the engine running, you draw air from the radiator through a glass cylinder with two chambers partially-filled with a special dark blue liquid. If combustion gases are present, the liquid will turn bright yellow.
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 AT 5:59 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JOHNNYT73
  • MECHANIC
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Are you sure you burped all the air out of the system? Do you have heat out of the vents at idle?
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 AT 5:59 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TRAYWRONG
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@Caradiodoc it overheats either way when drive or when parked (with the engine on). Before I got everything replaced it wouldn't take long but now I can make it out of my neighborhood. I forgot to mention I watched it for white smoke and leaked at the tail pipe, didn't see any but a little coolant leaking.
@JohnnyT73 I'm not sure if they burped all the air out of the system and nope, no heat just cool air.
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 AT 5:59 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JOHNNYT73
  • MECHANIC
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If you do not have heat at idle then you are either low on coolant or you still havery air in the system. Remove the pressure cap to the radiator. Start engine with heat on. Top off with coolant. Let it run tI'll it warms up. I think you shold have one or two 8mm bleeder screws. One at the thermostat area and the other on the bypass pipe near the valve cover. Open them up and raise the rpm to about 2500 and hold it for about 5 seconds (you will have to do that a few times). Keep your eye on the coolant level in the radiator and temp reading. Continue to add coolant till you see a steady stream come out of the bleeder screw(s) then snug them down. Check to make sure you have heat at idle. Top off coolant and you should be good to go.
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 AT 5:59 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TRAYWRONG
  • MEMBER
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Hey sorry for the late response I've been busy working. Okay I did all of that and the heat came on and went back to blowing cool air. I just noticed my drivers side fan doesn't work. Would that be the fan for the a/c or the fan for the radiator? Also this mechanic suggested it might be the intake manifold gasket, but it's no symptoms of it (but overheating)
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 AT 5:59 PM (Merged)
Tiny
KHAAN
  • MEMBER
  • 10 POSTS
  • 1999 CHEVROLET MALIBU
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 146,000 MILES
Hello, this is my moms car, and recently she started having overheating issues. The antifreeze had been disappearing for a couple months, and there were no leaks anywhere below the car. We decided to replace the lower intake gaskets, hoping that was where the antifreeze was going. Now, the antifreeze is always full, so one problem solved. However, now we have another. We replaced the thermostat for her as well, and I think I may have gotten a bad one, or one for a different temperature. Ever since replacing, she has had practically no heat. And the car is still overheating. I can idle the car in the drive way for as long as I want, and it will not overheat. The fans kick on, and the temperature holds steady. I can drive the car for about a mile or a little over and it overheats. It's like clockwork. If I take the same route whenever I test drive it, it overheats at the same street everytime. The coolant is forced out of the reservoir, so I have to refill it. If I turn around, and head towards her house, its downhill most of the way, so I can coast a lot, and it wont overheat as quickly. And I have noticed that when it starts to get hot, if I let off the gas and coast, the temperature will come back down after a minute. And everytime the temp comes down, I will have hot heat for a few minutes. As soon as the temp starts to get hotter, the heat gets colder. I was wondering if a thermostat could cause all of this, or if it might be something else entirely. I replaced the lower radiator hose because it was brittle on the backside and I know they can be sucked shut by the water pump when they are soft. I also replaced the serpentine belt because it was worn. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 AT 5:59 PM (Merged)
Tiny
ZACKMAN
  • MECHANIC
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It can be as simple as replacing your coolant reservoir cap. If and only if it is not maintaining the 15psi the cooling system requires.

If that doesn't work, you need to have the vehicle pressure-tested leak down tested to see where the coolant is leaking too.

Check your oil. Is it "milky"? If it is, along with your description, you have a tell tale sign of bad head gasket.
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 AT 5:59 PM (Merged)
Tiny
ZACKMAN
  • MECHANIC
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There is a Technical Service Bulletin for your situation.

ENGINE RUNNING HOT/OVERHEATING &/OR LOSS OF COOLANT
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN
Reference Number(s): 00-06-02-001, Date of Issue: January, 2000
Related Ref Number(s): 00-06-02-001
ARTICLE BEGINNING
ENGINE RUNNING HOT, OVERHEATING AND/OR LOSS OF
COOLANT (POLISH RADIATOR FILLER NECK AND REPLACE
RADIATOR CAP)
Model(s): 1999-2000 GM Passenger Cars and Trucks with Composite Radiator End Tank
Section: 06 - Engine/Propulsion System
Bulletin No: 00-06-02-001
Date: January, 2000
CONDITION
Some customers may comment on one or more of the following conditions:
Engine running hot
Engine overheating, and/or
Loss of coolant/low coolant message

CAUSE
The radiator filler neck may have an imperfection in the sealing surface.

CORRECTION

NOTE: Do not replace the radiator.

Using a piece of 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper backed with a flat piece of wood, polish the filler neck
sealing surface using a circular motion.
Replace the radiator pressure cap with a cap of the same part number as shown in the GM Service
Parts Catalog.
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 AT 5:59 PM (Merged)

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