1996 Chevy Lumina Car overheats

CKIT36

MEMBER
1996 CHEVROLET LUMINA

Engine Cooling problem
1996 Chevy Lumina 6 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic 195K miles

This car is now overheating again after a repair seemed
to work for a while. My son-in-law suggested turning the heat on if it overheats. Yesterday I was in it and it
went all the way to HOT! After cooling down a while and adding water it started fine but the heat gauge went up. I did as he said and turned the air conditioner
off and the heat on--with the fan on 3. The heat went
down and stayed down as I drove with the windows
down. Does this make any sense to anyone? I would
donate if I wasn't overdrawn at the bank but if you can
help I'll do my best to send something. Thanks

3 Replies

BLUELIGHTNIN6

MECHANIC
16,542 POSTS

Is the coolant leaking or disappearing? If its leaking then where at? If its leaking but not visibly then may have a cracked head or head gasket.

What was repaired before that you say helped for a bit?

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Monday, April 26th, 2010 AT 9:58 PM

CKIT36

MEMBER
10 POSTS

I'm not sure what all my son-in-law did but he ended
up having both the motor and the transmission replaced
for multiple problems. I don't know where the coolant or water is going.
Wouldn't it run bad with a blown head gasket or cracked head? The car seems to be doing better but
you have an uneasy feeling when you're driving it. I
can't afford a rental car so last week we took it around
100 miles and back. When we stopped to get gas
before leaving town it didn't want to start up again.
Finally I got it to roll back and then it started! We drove
the whole trip with no problems--just missing every now
and then which is small compared to some things that
could go wrong.

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Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 AT 2:41 PM

BLUELIGHTNIN6

MECHANIC
16,542 POSTS

No, a cracked head or head gasket doesn't always mean horrible performance, you may notice slight miss in the engine if the crack is small or a no start situation if the crack is large. Need to check the cylinder compression.

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Monday, May 3rd, 2010 AT 2:36 PM