Rattling/hissing noise after temperature gauge red lined

Tiny
BRYON FINK
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 CHEVROLET MALIBU
  • 3.1L
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 157,500 MILES
Hello! I am a rookie DIYer looking for advice to my issue. Before I begin I did add water to my system, distilled so I kept it free of minerals. I am losing coolant from one of the heater hoses, just a small amount it seems. So I know this needs replaced. Here is what happened:

I was driving to the local farmers market about eight miles from home. Before leaving I topped off the distilled water and attempted to bleed air from the vale on top of the water pump, never got a stream of water. Just as I got to the intersection of the store my temperature gauge went to the red line and the temperature warning light came on, at this point I could hear what sounded like rattling coming from my engine bay. As I approached the stop light the car stalled and refused to start for the next thirty minutes. I opened the hood and had smoke coming from the engine when I removed the oil cap, and I am almost certain I heard some hissing from the rear of the engine. Once the engine cooled down it did start up, not as easy as before but it did start. I ended up limping it back home because I did not have the $150.00 the tow service wanted, I am disabled and have to live off of what most people make in a week.

Edit: Need to add in that I was only able to drive it for five minutes before needing to pull over and sit for twenty to thirty minutes and let it cool down before driving again. While limping it home.

A few days went by, I went to check out my car by starting it and attempting to listen for any abnormal noises when trying to start it up, I thought I had blown engine or something serious at least. It fired right up no issues, though I let it run until it warmed up again trying to reproduce the rattling and hissing. It never rattled or hissed, though I did not go for a quick spin.

In a few days time I will have my disability deposit and I was planning on buying a new surge tank, water pump, thermostat with 180F opening temperature instead of 192F and four gallons of Dex-Kill. To see if my issue was the water boiling out of the system, it is possible as it has a low boiling point. I would like your opinions and advice please. The car shows 157,000 miles on it.
Monday, May 21st, 2018 AT 11:34 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 43,110 POSTS
Hello,

It sounds like you have a blown head gasket which these cars are famous for. To confirm the issue here are two guides to help us find the issue:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot

Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.

Cheers, Ken
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018 AT 1:18 PM
Tiny
BRYON FINK
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I know it is not getting into the oil or getting bubbles into the surge tank. The plugs I have not looked at yet, but will within a few weeks. I will report back!
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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 AT 2:29 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 43,110 POSTS
Please we want to see what it is.
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Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 AT 10:45 AM

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