antonv

The Van overheated the other night, and im trying to figure out whats going on.

The temperature level will go all the way up to red, and then go back to normal operating temperature. I was looking at the coolant reservoir yesterday, with the van running and saw a lot of bubbling where the tube leads to the radiator/water pump. I turned off the car & vented the radiator cap slowly. When I ran the car again, there were no more bubbles.

I drove the car around the neighborhood & it seemed to make a difference. It was running at normal temps, but would rise slowly (not anywhere close to red), especially when stopped. Once I started driving again, the temps would come back down to normal.

What should I be looking at next? Coolant flush? Thermostat sensor? Waterpump?

I had a similar issue in the van during the winter. It would do the same thing, and I had no heat coming out of the vents. I took it to a transmission place because it was occasionally bucking between 1st & 2nd. The shop told me I had a head gasket leak & put in some stop leak stuff. Seemed to do the trick. He also claimed that this was causing the overheating & the bucking transmission because it had a cooler that runs off of the regular cooling system. I think he took me for a ride!

It did make the car better, but it still bucks every now and then. I did not want to spend the money on a tranny overhaul at the time.

Also, can a weekend warrior replace the thermostat sensor himself?

antonv

can someone recommend another chevy specific forum, because this one blows.