Are you guys running a 50/50 blend of antifreeze and distilled water. Too much of either one can cause overheating problems.

 

I posted before about my 98 Malibu that has been overheating. Well, after replacing the thermostat, water pump, hoses, radiator, and cap, found out that it either has a blown head gasket or a cracked head. Does anyone know how much it would cost to fix or replace either of there? Its a 3.1 V6. Also, on a side note, am looking for info on prices of replacing or repairing a 350 V8 out of my 98 Chevy Suburban due to it losing compression in one of the chambers. Anyone know prices? Info? Any help at all is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

Different shops charge different labor rates. Dealerships are usually the highest. Shop around or get a manual and do it yourself. It's not that difficult, just time consuming. You need to make sure everything is clean and use a torque wrench. If not, you just waste time and money.

 

Could you please tell me where the bleeder valve for the cooling system on a 1999 Chevy Malibu is located? I have been fighting with my son's car overheating after a head job and a new cooling system. The water is NOT flowing through the system. It pressurizes on the left side, nada on the right.

 

I'm about to change the intake manifold gasket and would like to know if I have to also change the manifold bolts as well. There is nothing mentioned in the matter in my service manual and if not needed I dont want to end up wasting the money on new bolts.

Does anyone know if one has to put new bolts everytime one disassembles the intake manifold?

 

So I got around the bolt issue, but for some reason one of the fuel lines (the one in the rear bank of the engine) is stuck. I unscrewed the fastener, but when I pull the line out from the rail, it's just stuck in there. Is there anything holding it up like a slave pin or anything?

 

1)Check corners of your upper intake manifold for wetness. Puddle there indicate upper gasket problem.
2) whitish puffs of exhaust,,,,could be break in lower intake manifold gasket leading to coolant getting into cylinder & burning off. Exhaust can get into coolant system & cause lots of pressure, often manifests itself in very active resevior.
3) the cooling fans kick on whenever the AC or defroster is on....good way to check those fans.
Just a note on avoiding a lot of GM overheat problems:
I have five ladies (wife & daughters) in my house drive with the defrost on at ALL times.... at least the first setting so that that damn fan is on ALL the time. Temp stays at 205-215.
(Cavalier, Malibu, Venture, Saturn)
I've also taken the gasket out of the resevior caps and routed the overflow hose to an inverted Coke liter bootle that I squeezed in between battery & fenderwall. Now the fluids get hot, expand & contract without pushing on that thin plastic lower intake manifold gasket. No strain on the gaskets from an over pressurized system. When they do get very hot and push fluid out of the res., they flow into the Coke bottle. (only a couple times this past summer). No big deal, just pour it back into res. You're not pouring fluids into the parking lot! The hot fluids expand and contract ( like they should) without all that wear & tear on the cooling system. Hope this helps!

 

I'm having this problem with my 99 3.1 v6 Malibu too.. it's been overheating and today when my husband popped the hood he saw what he believes to be the upper rad. hose jerking and making a knocking noise (which he's hoping was just from hitting the bottom of the battery case)

We bought the car 4 months ago and it's getting very obvious the previous owner did NOT take care of it. Do we need to flush or bleed the rad? Or does something need to be replaced?