Engine overheating

JULIEKNIGHT21

MEMBER
2006 CHEVROLET IMPALA
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
71,800 MILES

My car reads, "engine overheated. Turn engine off!" I read the manual and stopped to look at my car. Apparently, I had no anti-freeze in the car. I bought some 50/50 and put it in the DEX-COOL container to the fill line. The lights went off and I made it the 3 miles home at which point it came on again. I let it sit in the drive for several hours when I tried to run it back out to the intersection, 3 miles away. The same warning reading came on, so I stopped the car. The antifreeze level hasn't gone down from what I can see, so I am guessing it isn't getting to the radiator. Would this just be a case where I need to get the radiator flushed, or would it be a water pump gone bad? The car has almost 72,000 miles on it. Worst case scenario what could this be and what will it potentially cost me?

1 Reply

TAKECHARGESARGE

MECHANIC
92 POSTS

You need to remove the radiator cap and make sure there is coolant in the radiator. DO NOT open the cap when the engine is hot. If the radiator is full of coolant, then the thermostat is probably stuck and must be replaced. There are, of course, other components that if they aren't working properly, would cause the engine to overheat, but the obvious should be looked at first.