2001 Chevy Lumina over heating

GRIZZANDFOO

MEMBER
2001 CHEVROLET LUMINA
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
192,000 MILES

Little old lady here with a poor old Lumina. It is overheating. Started out wouuld overheat when at a stop light or idleing but would cool down driving in traffic, etc. I would fill up the overflow tank every couple of weeks. Now it is overheating in just a few blocks and doesn't cool down at all when driving, even at highway speeds. Last time I drove it it reached the red line on the temp gauge. I have to put water in every time I drive. Takes maybe a gallon. I don't think the dual fans are working. When I check them while car is running they don't turn on at all. If I turn the air on while running one fan, driver's side, will kick on after a few minutes. Also, the two burp ports I opened to see if water would come out while I'm filling the radiator, the one on the passenger side lets water out but not the one on the other side. I put stop leak in the radiator, thinking that might help, it acutally got worse after I did this. Can you tell me how to check if the fans are getting power, and how do you flush a radiator? It appears there might be a blockage in the radiator itself or in some water line? The water pump is working. And lately the over flow tank isn't emptying into the radiator like it should. When the radiator takes about a gallon to fill, the over flow tank is only down a couple of inches. Please help. I am on a fixed income and disabled and can't afford to take my car to a shop or even to hire a mechanic after hours.

1 Reply

RENAUDTN

MECHANIC
636 POSTS

Hello there,

It seems like you have a lot going on with your car. From your description, it appears that you have several problems at once: a stuck thermostat, a major coolant leak somewhere, possibly a clogged system, and a cooling fan that doesn't come on... The very first thing I would do is to find the leak; if you have to add coolant to your car on a daily basis we must be talking about a significant leak. It should be pretty noticeable. If you can, check for external leaks at the radiator, hoses, intake manifold, thermostat housing (the housing where that second port is at), water pump, overflow tank. If you have an internal leak, you could have coolant in your oil (or vice versa), or transmission fluid in coolant (or vice versa), it's also possible that your car smokes white a lot.

I can tell you how to check your fan or how to flush your system, but fixing the leak is what you need to do for now. Once it's done we can start fixing the rest of it.