jen2swt

2000 Malibu

So yesterday after I parked the car for 2 minutes tops, I turned around only to notice a load of fluid leaking from under the car. I didn't notice anything funny while driving from work to home (an hour).

I got in the car, turned the key (not all the way to start) and the temp gauge spiked to almost hot. And the coolant light came on (I guess it was the coolant light)...I let it sit there to cool off, then cam out to look in the coolant reservoir and it was empty.

This morning my hubby came out to put water in it to see if we could tell where it was leaking, no leaks we could see.

Not sure what the cause could be. Does anyone have any idea where we can start to look?

I've read it could be water pump, intake manifold gasket, head gasket..how do I know which it is?

Obviously I can't drive it anywhere without damaging the engine...hoping I have not done that already...

Jake van Meter

it could be a boil over from your thermostat being stuck/broken. If you fill the car with antifreeze and let it idle does your temp gauge read above normal?if it is reading very hot then drops down for a split second then goes back to being very hot, it may be an indicator that the thermostat is sticking causing the reservoir to "boil over" this could explain the load of coolant fluid you seen. The best way is to fill the car full with antifreeze let it idle for a period with no load on it, until it reaches temp, then check for any leaks, check hoses, check fitting, check any connection were coolant would pass,keeping an eye on what your thermostat is doing in the meantime, if there are no external leaks, maybe put a brief load on it, say-drive around your block, then recheck for any leaks, if you're still unable to find any, the problem may be internally, in which case an engine rebuild/overhaul may be necessary. If all else fails, take it to your chevy dealership. I would start though by checking your thermostat/hoses...

jen2swt

Ok update

No check engine lights or codes. Does the check engine light have to be on to get codes?

Let the car sit idle. Never went past the half way point on the temp gauge. We let it sit for a good 30 mins to let it rise. Also no bubbles or gurgling coming from the reservoir (maybe we didnt let it sit long enough?)...BUT I did hear that sound a few weeks ago, but never thought anything of it, but never heard it again.

Something tried kicking on when it hit the half way point...we could hear like a pulse/woosh sound...best way to describe it..It would woosh twice then you would hear two ticks....

Fans never came on. Does the thermo have to open in order for the fans to kick on?

Also I'm not sure how to bleed the system and does it matter that we put water in it for testing purposes?
Also...to test the fans, can we turn on the AC to see if they work? What would that tell us? If they work, the relay and fuses are ok?

PS..we did put water in it for testing purposes..does that matter?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to let ya know what we've done and possibly what our next step is...