my car has a coolant problem!?

Question

i have a 1994 olds cutlass. For the past 2 months it will say coolant level low, but i go fill it and it only adds a little if needed. The light for low collant level comes and goes as i am driving it, everyday. Today driving home, my check engine light came on and notice my car was overheating and the low coolant light was on. Then when i drove on , the temp dropped fast and went back to normal. Could it be the thermostat is bad, or maybe something is in the radiator blocking some flow?

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john G
S My car has a coolant problem!?
i have a 1994 olds cutlass. For the past 2 months it will say coolant level low, but i go fill it and it only adds a little if needed. The light for low collant level comes and goes as i am driving it, everyday. Today driving home, my check engine light came on and notice my car was overheating and the low coolant light was on. Then when i drove on , the temp dropped fast and went back to normal. Could it be the thermostat is bad, or maybe something is in the radiator blocking some flow?


update: i am flush out the radiator right now, and there was a lot of junk on the radiator cap. But also while it was running i notice the fans did not come on, but the temp stayed normal while it was running.

Answer 1

Sounds like you may have a problem with a sensor at the coolant reservoir. First thing I would do is flush out the entire cooling system, sometimes you get a gunky residue in the reservoir and it can create a false signal from the sensor.
If your reservoir is not circulating coolant, that will cause you engine to overheat; the sudden change in temperature is what makes me think you may have a clog somewhere in the system. VERY IMPORTANT==after you flush out your cooling system, be sure to check for leaks. often new leaks become evident after flushing out the cooling system!

Answer 2

It could be something as simple as the radiator fan not coming on, or an air pocket in the cooling system! Did it start to overheat when you were moving, or when you were stopped in traffic? If the electric fan on the radiator is not working, the car will overheat only when it is not moving! Air will flow through the radiator at speed, but the fan is needed to cause airflow when stopped!

The coolant level sensor could be bad also, or you could have a loose wire to it!

You may want to have the system pressure tested, and checked for an air pocket. Some of those cars needed the air bled out of the system when the coolant is refilled!

Good luck

Answer 3

Let's get to the bottom of your problem real fast. Have a service tech. do a cooling system pressure check on your system. The piece of equipment looks like a short bicycle pump with a radiator pressure cap on the end instead of a tire valve fitting. The service tech. will pump your system with a minimum of 15 lbs. of air and let it sit overnight. If the pressure bleeds off you have an external or internal leak in the cooling system. External leaks are easy to find as antifreeze does not evaporate quickly and leaves green or orange tracks. You may have a water pump, radiator core or tank O-ring leak. He'll inspect the hoses and if he's slick pressurize the heater core individually for pressure bleed-off.
You may have a bad radiator pressure cap, he can test that too. Last but not least toss in a new thermostat.
If there are no external leaks and the pressure bleeds off the head gaskets or intake manifold coolant cross-over may be leaking internally.

Answer 4

Besides the clamps being simply loose, perhaps the radiator cap is defective. Their seals are spring loaded and are supposed to open when pressure build-up exceeds a certain point thereby dumping excess coolant into your overflow reservoir (or on the ground). They open at a specific pressure usually marked on them. There might be two possibilities: 1. the cap's release is defective and stuck shut. 2. the cap isn't original and is rated for a pressure higher than designed for the car. Since caps are relatively cheap, get a new one with the proper pressure rating.

Answer 5

Do you have high miles on the car? I will tell you that you SHOULD have your radiator checked for clogs and definetly change the thermostat,it should only cost $6 and is easy to change, if the problem still occurs then look at changing the water pump.

Answer 6

You got it replace the thermostat because this is the cheapest way. Also buy COMET its that powder cleaner you use on bath tubes. use that to flush the system with water. To try to clean the system. It is a closed system so you might want to check the water pump for a leak.

Answer 7

Yeah it sounds like the thermaststat is sticking,i'd chage it rhey're only $5.00 so thats the first thing.Also if you put the radiater cap on only till it locks but still loose it wont be able to build up pressure and it wont get super hot.

Answer 8

I would check the coolant temperature sensor and make sure that all connections are secure before changing the thermostat...
Good luck!

Answer 9

just the fact the ck engine low coolant lites were on and it was overheating AND you kept driving tells me you will not have to worry for long...your new car will run better i hope....the car u have can't last long if you drive it like that.

Answer 10

Make sure the fan is working properly.