Im going crazy ready to dump this car....

1997 chevy cavalier 2.2l
140000k miles
4 door sedan


Ok here it is my cavalier keeps on overheating guage goes 3/4 to H when idle, heres is what i had done.

-Water pump
-Thermostat
-Radiator
-Cloolant
-Tempenture control sensor
-Fan relay
-Hoses
-Serpitine belts
-Bleeded the air out of system

FAILED the car still overheats I notice a slight noise from engine like a knock or noise also engine kicks back like a misfire...i take VERY good car of my car idk what went wrong new head gaskets and manifold gaskets. notice a clicking noice from back of engine, dashboard gets hot AC/Heater works fine car feels sluggish at times like its wants to stall when the lights get dim temp gets hot rev engine it goes down and car lights get bright again. No check engine light no ETS low no low coolant lights, sometimes i smell coolant in car then it stops.

Some said its bad pistons, bad vavle head crack...got no leaking coolant no milky oil. car kicks back antifreeze in coolant tank, when i release the cap temps go down and car sounds better. they talking 800 to 1500 for an engine, before i do this IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO????

 

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like the exhaust gas is entering the cooling system. When you replaced the head gasket, did you send the cylinder head out to be checked/machined? If not, it may be the culprit.

 

Thank you EinST,

No I did not look, if that is the problem how can I go about fixing this/ I also hear that the engine in these cars tend to have alot of head-gasket issues. Is this something I will have frequently??

 

Well, "these cars" don't last forever, nothing does. Head gasket issues are usually from overheating. Repeated head gasket issues are usually from a botched job, be it throwing a warped/cracked head back on, reusing torque-to-yield bolts, not following the torque sequence, etc.

 

To be precise, overheating will not kill your head or gasket as long as there is plenty of coolant in the system. On the other hand, low coolant can cause a warped/cracked head, blown gasket and so on. Most of the times low coolant and overheating occur the same time, thus people tell you overheating kills your engine.

 

Thanks guys!

I just drooped it off at another mechanic shop im getting the engine tested for compression and leaks. i am seriously worried cause i just bought rims and a sound system for this car. I dont know if I wanna spend 800 to 1200 to fix gaskets or worse engine itself. Some told me to swip engines. I do notice a little brown marks on top of the engine next to a line that connects to radiator and there is NO pressure from the lower holes/thermostat area strange cause I get heat. AC isn't its best I think it needs charge....Second question I only have one fan in my car and its all the way to the left side.....is that safe? not to ask stupid questions just wanna know.

 

Shop called me and told me that the engine head is no good....this is grounds of new engine or better yet a car...

 

Oh, jeez, I was about to respond that yours should have only one cooling fan. Sorry to hear that.

 

Thanks for the help Einst and Seagfult. The mechanic told me 800 to rebuild the engine. Despite what so many say about the car I lke it. Put some investsments in it. Pumps, belts, radiator and other stuff. So I think its worth it.if I decide to get another used car who knows what I can get into might be engine and more I did A LOT of work on this car still got munch more to do its like my little project. I'm just want it to come out nice. I'm used to building computers I fiure why not try a car??? Lol. Thanks again guys!

 

You're quite welcome. Hope everything works out for you. Keeping my fingers crossed.