Overheating cavalier?

Question

Ok so ive posted this problem before.. but now ive changed the thermostat and temp sensor, and heater core. it ran fine for like a week, now its obsessively overheating. i can only drive it for like 5 minutes before it overheats to 260 degrees and says check gauges. heres my symptoms: White tailpipe smoke (im not sure if its just steam, cause theres no fluid in the tailpipe), Sputtering engine for the first 10 seconds its turned on, coolant tank stays full, but overflows when overheating. I cannot leave the car idling anymore, or it will overheat. If I run the heat when the car is starting to overheat, the air blowing out is not really warm at all. I have to turn the car off, let it sit for about 20 minutes for it too coll down to a lower temp.. Im thinkin 3 things - a Radiator, a Waterpump or Blown/warped headgasket? Someone mentioned a cracked block!? I sure hope not :( Any advice or anything is greatly appreciated. Please dont remind me what pieces of crap cavaliers are. I KNOW

Answer 1

well, your heat is not working because of air in the cooling system due to loss of coolant, and the heavy white smoke is indicative of coolant entering the combustion cycle and that generally means the head gasket needs replaced, though cracked block or head is possible in the worst case scenario.

Answer 2

I know it hurts to know that your car has a major problem. Well... your vehicle has a major problem. It is not a radiator problem, you have an obvious head gasket leaks and you have all the symptoms. People seem to forget that head gasket failure isn't usually caused by the gasket failing. The gasket fails because of excessive engine temperatures or if one part of the engine heats up or cools down faster than another part.



Check your oil, there may be a sludge mixture in it from coolant mixing with the oil. Check your coolant, there may be oil in there. However, the gasket could be allowing coolant to flow directly into the cylinders which explains your white smoke. You are using coolant. I bet that you have a bottle of it in your car right now.



Even if your car overheated once that would be enough to do engine damage. It's cheaper to get a used engine and have it installed than it is to have the headgasket replaced at a shop. If you know a good mechanic you can buy an engine for $500 and have it installed for $600. At least the cavaliers are easy to work on.

Answer 3

99.9% sure it's a bad head gasket. It may have been your original problem.



The first answer from many people when a car overheats is "bad thermostat". I've been driving and owned cars of many makes for 34 years, and have seen two thermostats that were actually bad.

I have also only seen one "cracked block".



You can do a compression test or do a leak down test to see if the gasket is bad. You can also remove the spark plugs and look in the cylinders. If the top of the piston is not black, but is aluminum colored, there has been water introduced into the cylinder by a bad head gasket.



The problem with aluminum heads is that they warp easily if overheated, the same as an overheated aluminum fry-pan.



Older Cavaliers had head gasket problems.



The head will have to be trued (shaved) by a machine shop. They will also check for cracks around the valve seats. New head bolts must be used.

Answer 4

take the car to a good garage and have them check the engine compression. that is done by removing the spark plugs and hooking up a gauge that reads the pressure the cylinder makes. they will do each cylinder and compare them, they all should be close to the same. the spark plugs also will show if there is a problem as coolant will wash the carbon off the plug. as far as not having heat when the engine is over heating, there is air in the cooling system. that isn't good and can lead to warping a head or cracking the engine. there are sealants that can seal "small" problems but if the radiator is crudded up, will make it worse. not to question your ability, but if it only takes 5 min.s to over heat could the thermostat be in backwards? i've seen it happen. no offense, there are some weird thermo's out there. check the yellow pages and see if there is a good radiator shop near you, they can check it in the car. and if these cavaliers are prone to overheating they would know. good luck to ya, and hope you have a less expensive new year!

Answer 5

bLOWN HEAD GASKET POSSIBLY WARPED HEAD.