I have a 2000 Chevy Tahoe with a major overheating problem. I have replaced my radiator, thermostat and water pump. My ac makes it run hot faster. the coolant leaks out the moment I put it in so do I need a head, a head gasket, or an engine.?

Question

It goes days, weeks sometime and doesn't overheat. Then for days in a row I have to keep putting water in it because the coolant is just a waste of my money, due to it running out the very moment I put it in. Which makes no sense as to why the water does a better job. I'm a feminine female and I know more about auto repair than my sons my son n laws and my ex husband. My mechanics have had me replace my radiator twice, bought a water pump, then replaced the thermostat. When actually in the beginning I told my mechanic it was my thermostat and he changed everything except the dam thermostat. The overheating started days later. I took it to another mechanic and he took the thermostat off and the brand new radiator because again it had cracked. So my old mechanic had Advance bring out a new everything cus it was still under warranty. Now when I stop I hear the engine over heated, I see the water leaking out by the gallons and I smell the over heating. But the coolant box cap is NOT overheated I can open it with no problem or fear of it shooting off from overheating. Crazy right. So do I need to fix the heads or the entire engine. Oh yeah my dumb *** son n law put engine oil in the engine coolant. I had it flushed twice. Please help me understand what is the best thing to do because other than the over heating there are no other problems runs smooth and quite like a Cadillac..

Answer 1

TAKE THE CAR TO A GOOD RADIATOR SHOP (ONE THAT SPECIALIZES IN RADIATORS ONLY):



There are too many possible reasons for the car to overheat, so you need a specialist.



REPLACE THE RADIATOR CAP (MOST LIKELY CAUSE OF YOUR PROBLEM):



You wrote that it gushes gallons of antifreeze/water, but where is the leak? An overheated engine is supposed to have enough pressure or temperature to cause the radiator cap to open to spew hot water, steam, and vapor into the reserve tank. If the radiator cap is defective, it will spew when it should not, and this will lower the pressure in the radiator. Maybe this is why you can open the radiator cap without seeing steam and water escaping? The radiator cap is relatively cheap, and it is always a good idea to try the cheap solutions first, especially since you have to change the cap periodically for preventive maintenance.



SOME OTHER POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THE CAR TO OVERHEAT:



1. Bad fan clutch

2. Fan missing blade

3. Air obstructed from hitting radiator (example: plastic bag stuck in front of it), but since the radiator was replaced twice, this is unlikely.

4. Exhaust gas in the coolant water (from a cracked block, cracked head, or blown head gasket). Radiator shops have a special fluid to detect such gas.

5. Timing set wrong. If timing was set by a timing light (light shined on timing marks on the harmonic balancer), and the harmonic balancer separated the outer metal ring from the rubber center ring, the timing marks would not accurately indicate correct engine timing.

6. Clogged exhaust (Kinked exhaust pipe by backing into a curb? Baffles inside muffler collapsed? Banana in tailpipe?)

7. Bad water pump (but you replaced that).

8. Kinked lower radiator hose. The hose is supposed to be rigid, and is often prevented from collapse by springs inside the hose. If those springs rust out, the hose can collapse, causing the water flow to cut off. The lower hose can collapse because the pump sucks water through it. The upper hose is the return line, so not apt to collapse.

9. Water leak. This is why you need to find out where the water is gushing from. Perhaps there is a leaky radiator hose or a soft plug (aka freeze plug) rusted through?

10. Radiator too small (perhaps not enough layers?).

Answer 2

You are really not to smart when it comes to mechanical problems. You never run straight water in the cooling system! The coolant has a lubricant to keep the water pump seal from frying and leaking. There is also a rust inhibitor in the coolant and with out that protection it only takes a few days for the inside of the block to rust and start plugging up the heater core and radiator. Instead of realizing you have no mechanical training and finding a good mechanic to fix an easy problem you've been wasting money on parts you probably don't need and with using straight water to "save money" you've set yourself up for a good $2,000 worth of repairs because of your motor overheating. If the water leaks out as soon as you put it in, why can't you see where the water is leaking from? You're a 'feminine female" fool that thinks she's smart at car repair. I beg to differ!

Answer 3

Since you don't tell us where you see the water coming out from take it to a radiator shop and have them pressure test it so you can find the leak, while there have them check for combustion gasses in the cooling system. Is there water in the oil ? there are just too many possibilities:

fan clutch

Fan broken

clogged exhaust

Answer 4

Without looking at it I'd say engine rebuild at least. Oh and your A/C will always make your engine run hotter. A trick if it's overheating and you need to drive a bit further turn the heat all the way up.

Answer 5

Take the car to a shop and don't put water in your coolant system