Driven1990

I have a 2007 Chevy Malibu maxx lt that is overheating with in the first 5 to 10 mins of run time i have replaced the tstat and that did not work i have noticed that the coolant level in the resivor does not move when car is run or overheating i thinking i may be needing a water pump any other ideas on what may be wrong? How much of a pain in the *** is the water pump to replace? car has around 141k on it!

cleveland63b

you could try unhooking a heater hose and starting it up to check if its flowing the way it should. I'm assuming nothing changed after you do the thermostat?

Driven1990

yea nothing changed after tstat change still over heating as it was before! and coolant level does not change when running!

Driven1990

Ok update I just pulled the water pump and it seems to be fine the propeller spins with the pulley anything else that can cause this!!

Goldenaxe

Could be a blockage have you flushed it out yet?

Driven1990

yes i did last night after pulling pump! even with undoing upper and lower rad hoses the coolant level did not move in tank untill i removed the cap could i have had a big air bubble in the system?

Goldenaxe

It's possible, I've had it happen before but don't think it ever effected fluid level to the point your describing, when I did get air bubbles I would find a steep driveway and rev it a little in both directions for a few minutes. Did you see if fluid is even moving through radiator when you had it apart?

Driven1990

yea i took a hose a pushed water from upper rad hose and out the lower rad hose

cleveland63b

might want to do a combustion gas test on your cooling system also, I think you can get the kits fairly inexpensive