Overheating and gurgling sounds? What causes this?

2003 HYUNDAI ELANTRA

107,800 MILES

ABUNDANCEFORALL

MEMBER
1 POST

My car overheated, we found that the thermostat and thermostat housing needed to be replaced, I found someone to do this, they put in new thermostat and housing. Car ran fine for two days, then overheated again and is also making a gurgling sound that you can hear from inside the car. What is this about? Could the new problem be air in coolant lines from replacing the other parts? radiator holds antifreeze, and no leaks found, waterpump and fans working fine too. Can't afford to bring it into a repair shop, took me two weeks to afford thermostat and new housing parts, and antifreeze. What should I do? Worried single mom. Looking for sound advice here.

Oct 7, 2012 at 6:06 AM

CARADIODOC

✓ASE Certified Mechanic
34,321 POSTS

The gurgling suggests air is circulating through the heater core in the dash. If there is air still in the system, the fluid in the reservoir will be empty. That could be just due to the thermostat repair. Start by checking the fluid level in the reservoir, filling it to the "full" line when the engine is cold. Note that the "full" line is not the same as filling the reservoir to the top. There needs to be room for expansion when the engine warms up.

Air in the system will prevent the thermostat from opening, and that will cause overheating. Thermostats open in response to hot liquid, not hot air.

Oct 7, 2012 at 6:24 AM

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