Mystery overheating problem

[strizay]

I have an '02 3.4. When the heat is ON the car runs fine. When the heat is OFF and under normal driving it begins to overheat and all of the coolant leaks out from under the overflow tank. Both heads gaskets were replaced and the coolant system was flushed out 3 weeks ago. Anyone have any ideas?

[CactusWill]

Who replaced the head gaskets? Something isn't right.

[Nate's Alero]

0_o

sounds like a clogged rad, maybe some shit clogged the rad?

[Alerosaint]

^^x2 sounds blocked up...was the proper gaskets used??

[meadus101]

Was dexcool both removed and put back into it?


5 bucks says Sludge!

[Nate's Alero]

Was dexcool both removed and put back into it?


5 bucks says Sludge!

OMG you have to be right! those dickheads, that did the job put reg shit in it....lol dude, you are up shit creek......lol get the cleanout kit an blow that shizz outta the water, ir at least make them clean it up!

[jayson_waltz]

drain it and flush it good to clean out the sludge, then fill from empty with prestone. dex-cool sucks

[strizay]

The dealership where I bought it changed the head gaskets like a week after I bought it and that was a year ago in August. I just had it flushed 3 weeks ago. I don't know what kind of antifreeze he put back in tho. It's weird tho, when the heat is on there is not problems at all, but if I turn the heat off it over heats and drains coolant. The guy who flushed said it sounds like a partially plugged radiator, but would the heat being on / off have anything to do with that?

[CactusWill]

Having the heat on relieves stress from the cooling system, as the heater core absorbs heat from the system. If a vehicle is overheating, turning the heat on is the first thing you do.

[Nate's Alero]

ouch, drive there with the heat on, and flush with water, then run coolant through it to diffuse the water

[strizay]

I had to drive with the heat on all summer, pretty sweet

[Nate's Alero]

I had to drive with the heat on all summer, pretty sweet

o_0 you did this all summer and then come to us????? wtf is wrong with you!!!

im serious.....wtf...

[billytheman1188]

What color is the coolant? if its green....GET IT OUT OF THERE. If its orange, the coolant isn't the issue

[jackal2000]

What color is the coolant? if its green....GET IT OUT OF THERE. If its orange, the coolant isn't the issue

not necessarily. i think the prestone all makes all models is greenish. all you have to do is look in the resevoir and see if its gelling up, if its not, then why would it do it inside the motor?

[billytheman1188]

^^^^ahhh ok. well i only buy dex-cool :)

[jackal2000]

when i had my motor rebuilt 2 years ago i got home and checked the coolant and almost shat myself when i saw it was green. i called the shop and they said it was any make/model and i have only added maybe 30oz of water to it since.

[jackal2000]

if you cant afford another expensive repair to fix whatever is wrong, you could always just remove the t-stat. its gonna be cold soon anyway.

[Beholder88]

I tried the prestone all makes/all models stuff in my Malibu. It still had some dex-cool in it and it gummed up anyway. You have to make sure your cooling system is 100% clean and drained or it will create a big mess for you. It took forever to clean mine out. I hooked it up to a hose and let it run full blast through the system for about 15 minutes straight, then ran it on just water until it got really hot, and flushed it again. Seemed to work for at least 20K miles, until I junked it.

[Nate's Alero]

lol, i never liked mali's seem junky to me

[jayson_waltz]

mine had dex-cool in it before the new engine, i never flushed the system after i put the new engine in. it was already all drained so i filled it with prestone. never gelled.

[Nate's Alero]

0_0

what is so bad about dex cool anyway? i mean, the only thing i can see is that my saturn heats up real quick in the morning

[CactusWill]

sludge city

[rustyballs_69]

Is the T-stat stuck closed?

[Beholder88]

lol, i never liked mali's seem junky to me

It wasn't that bad of a car. Exactly the same thing as the Alero, just a different body skin. Mine had the 3100 though. The same Haynes manual that I used for the Malibu I can use on my Alero. Point being, I never mix coolant, regardless of what the bottle says.

[Nate's Alero]

It wasn't that bad of a car. Exactly the same thing as the Alero, just a different body skin. Mine had the 3100 though. The same Haynes manual that I used for the Malibu I can use on my Alero. Point being, I never mix coolant, regardless of what the bottle says.

so, dex cool is bad in general? i mena it works for me

[CactusWill]

In many cases. I have no sludge built up in the ecotec, but I do believe that it is a contributing factor to all of those 3.4's with gaskets that went bad prematurely.

[jwateland]

well dex cool can leave some sludge but it is nothing that will ruin your car. get a anitfreeze tester from wal mart or somewhere cheep when you put antifreeze in it hold it up to the light and you can see exactly what is floating around in there. as for your problem you need to do a pressure check of your cooling system. probably the simplest way is to go to a shop and watch them as they pressure test your system, and start from there. start by picking one general problem and focus there.

[Blktrax]

I bet one of the cooling fans took a dump or wasn't hooked back up in the repair, the Heater is just dispersing whats not being taken care of by the fans. Turn on the A/C max cold and BOTH fans should be running. Any time the temp needle is above half, one fan should be running.