My dad replaced the thermostat, the water pump, and ran a hose through the radiator, none of which worked. Though, after that, the overheating seemed to occur at a much slower rate than before. The gauge would just very slowly climb towards the red.
Finally, he decided to just replace the head, since it had been leaking anyway. He took it out, and it did have a few cracks in it, and he figured that must be the problem. He just finished it today, and the car is STILL very slowly overheating when you run it.
The car runs really well other than this, and doesn't really have any other problems. The new head he got for it does not have any cracks, and the temperature gauge is not broken- the engine is getting hot. The fan is working properly.
He is now going out the buy some hose to bypass the heater core and see if it's clogged up, because at one point when he was changing the thermostat and all of the other things, the heater inexplicably stopped working. Without doing anything to it though, it started working again. It had never had any issues. Could the heater core be the problem?? If so, what would that entail as far as fixing it?
Another thing is that he said there was some kind of gunky slime in the coolant reservoir, and he wasn't sure what it was. Does that indicate a possible problem?
Does anyone know what the problem could be and how he could fix it?? Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!Why in the crap is my car STILL overheating?? Please help!?After replacing the thermostat, water pump, running a hose through the radiator, and replacing the head your dad was probably so frazzled that he forgot to add the coolant.
Fill the reservoir with fresh coolant and then carefully drive your Sunbird a couple hundred miles to clean everything out and you'll be fine. Take some extra coolant with you and consistently check the temperature gage on your driving adventure. You are good for another million miles.Why in the crap is my car STILL overheating?? Please help!?This sounds like a possible plugged radiator. Get the car warmed up to normal temperature. Run your hand or temperature gun over all of the radiator. It should be uniform in temperature with no cold spots. Most radiator shops can also flow test the radiator if you remove it and take it to them.Why in the crap is my car STILL overheating?? Please help!?I am no mechanic, but does the car have a cooling fan? It may be that the car slowly gets warm and the cooling fan isn't starting. This could happen when you idle for any length of time which would cause the car to overheat.Why in the crap is my car STILL overheating?? Please help!?sounds like a crack in the top of one of the pistons, if the head had cracks in it the pistons will also be more than likely cracked or have a broken ring ( that would let oil get into the cooling system ) you can bypass the heater core easy without getting a different hose, just cut and splice together with a piece of steel or plastik hose, to remove the heater core you will have to take the dash apart on the passenger side, depending on what kind of vehicle it is some have covers that have 4-6 screws and the cover comes off, disconnect the heater hoses from the heater core ( under the hood ) flush the cooling system completely and add a chemical called water wetter this will lower the temp also, just add it to your antifreeze ,Why in the crap is my car STILL overheating?? Please help!?Your car is 13 years old -- go to Autozone and buy a new radiator! This will likely solve your overheating woes. GM introduced their 'yellow' coolant/antifreeze in the '90's and this stuff is pure garbage when it finally breaks down. It turns to brown sludge and goops up the entire cooling system. I have discussed this issue with several radiator specialists and they all agree -- given the chance they would flush out the high-mileage yellow coolant and replace it with the more 'conventional' green fluid if the car is out of warranty. Your car will suffer NO ill effects what so ever and you won't have the sludging issues anymore.Why in the crap is my car STILL overheating?? Please help!?check your cooling fans and make sure your thermostat is opening up.when car is warm squeeze top hose if solid then it is not opening.cooling fans or fan in front of radiator and you also might have to open the bleeder on the side of the engine to let the air out.Why in the crap is my car STILL overheating?? Please help!?I think you have a partially plugged radiator and it's letting it slowly over heat. Running a hose through it to flush it out don't always work.Why in the crap is my car STILL overheating?? Please help!?The heater core will not cause an overheat problem, if anything the heater core (if flowing properly) will help to cool the engine.
Sounds like you need a cooling system flush and new radiator.
