phillipsj

Ok so my problem is getting annoying. When i get ready to go in the morning I get about 3 miles from home and my car is already overheating. I have to pull over and let it cool down as soon as i get on the freeway. I have never had a vehicle overheat this fast. I have changed the water pump and the thermostt. I have checked the fans and both of them do turn on. But I have noticed that they dont always come on. I have also completely flushed out my whole cooling system. Also my heat dont get hot at all. No matter if it is on hot or what the settings are. At first I had the codes ran at auto zone and they said random multiple misfires. So I put on new spark plugs and new wires. the light went off for a little while. Then it came back and i went and had the codes ran again. Only this time it says misfire for cylinder #3. So I am going to change the coil and hope it solves that problem. Is there any other thing that could be causing the overheating. I also tried the head gasket stop seal stuff at auto zone and was told it works great. and my car will run really good when its not overheating. Please help. I am going to lose my job if i cant get this car fixed soon.

RacerX

I suspect if your fans dont come on all the time there is where you overheating problem may be centered.

SilentObserver64

Sounds to me that you have a cracked lower intake gasket. Check your oil, and see if you see any milky color to it at all. Is it low at all? Also, check your radiator reservoir. Is it getting low, or do you have to add water to it often? Check the same for the radiator. If so then you probably have a cracked lower intake gasket, which will cause fast overheating. The gasket stop leak only works sometimes, for a short while, if there is a minor crack, but will not work, if the gasket is cracked all the way through. I had the same problem your having with my car, and I figured out that's what it was causing it. If you have the 3.1L motor, you will probably have to take it to a shop to have them fix. It's about an 8 hour job or better. It takes a while just to take off all the parts, like the fuel rail, the injectors, the upper intake, the lower intake, etc. The plastic gasket interweaves the lifter rods, so the lifters, springs, and rods, have to be removed, to take the old one out, and put the new one in, then reinstalled, properly torqued and adjusted, and sealed, and then reseal the upper intake gasket as well, new o-rings for your injectors, and realigning and putting everything else back as well. If the intake is put on too tight, you can crack it, or your head gasket, and/or block. If you don't seal it right, you'll leak water and oil everywhere, and can blow your motor. If you don't re-seat the rods, and torque the lifters just right, that can do major damage to your valves, pistons, etc., and can blow your motor. If you don't re-seat your injectors just right, you can lose fuel and power, amongst causing other issues. So it's best to take it to a ASE Certified mechanic shop, to have them install it, so that if anything does go wrong, it's warrantied by the shop, and they will have to fix it, not you. By the way, if that is the issue here, then it will be cheaper if you buy all the parts needed, because they tack on a percentage, which I think is stupid. You'll need fuel injector o-rings, intake gasket set (upper and lower), radiator fluid (dextron anti-freeze, preferably the concentrated kind, not the 50/50), enough oil to flush your motor once, and then enough oil to refill it, as well as a cheap oil filter for the flush, and a good one for after it's been flushed and fixed. They may have to flush the motor a few times, depending on how bad it is, meaning how much oil and water has mixed together inside the motor. They may have to flush it out with diesel fuel, to get the gunk out, so that it doesn't clog up your oil lines, filter, and pump, as well as your lifters, crank, bearings, etc. It's not a cheap fix. Your looking at about $500 to $1,000, if your lower intake is cracked. The 3.1L motor Chevy made for these vehicles, was about the dumbest design they ever made, and they went cheap too. It's the only motor, ever, out of all the motors ever made by any manufacturer, that had an inter-weaved gasket around the lifters (which supposedly acts as a guide for the rods). Hope this helps you.