radiator?

[pontiacsftw]

my car overheats pretty quickly i can get from the mall of ga to about the goodwill in buford before it shuts off on me...

it also blows really cold air when the heat is on... (i was told to turn on the heat to make it home...)

i've put coolant in it about 5 days ago, and i checked again last night and was barely any in there, and even i know it shouldn't burn coolant that easily...


please any help as to what it could be... i've heard everything from a cracked head, a coolant leak, or i might just need a new radiator...


thanks in advance

[Init2winit]

Kind of hard to figure out without actually seeing the problem. It could be a number of things. Does it leak? The heat was cold because it either wasn't circulating coolant, or it didn't have any in it. And did I read it right when you said you drove it until it cut off? If that is the case, you most likely have some major engine damage.

[khaxnguyen]

i changed my Thermostat two days ago.. my heat works fine, temp gauge goes up to the proper temp, and my fan actually comes on.. what do u drive...? if a civic.. i have a radiator for ya... =D

[AnthonyF]

if u have no heat, typically a sticking thermostat. if that isnt it, run ur car and pop the hood. When the fan turns on, feel the air being pulled through. See if it is warm or cold. That will determine if the radiator is bad or not. try those 2 first.

[redciv1]

Please pardon the threadjack, but I wanted to know if the air is cool blowing from the fans then what does that mean. My car overheats with a new thermostat, rad cap, fans wired on at switch. From a dead cold and both fans running the car overheats in about 5 minutes. I shut it down before it goes to the red section. What I wanted to know is that I drained the radiator and ran water thru the radiator with a nozzle on the hose for pressure. How fast should the water flow? I was thinking that maybe the radiator could have enough calcium buildup(looks like previous owner may have ran water thru the radiator, because I could see calcium deposits thru the rad cap)
Also, if I drained the radiator and pulled it from the car and then start up the car should the water pump push the remaining coolant from the upper and lower radiator hose locations, or is there not enough pressure in the system for the water pump to move the coolant in the system.

[khaxnguyen]

daamn i got lost in the reading ^^^ replace thermostat. if ur temp gauge goes up.. touch and see all the radiator hoses are getting hot or not.< advice a friend gave me. mines is working fine now

[redciv1]

daamn i got lost in the reading ^^^ replace thermostat. if ur temp gauge goes up.. touch and see all the radiator hoses are getting hot or not.< advice a friend gave me. mines is working fine now
i've done all of the above and hoses were not getting hot.
ok sorry for the threadjack. continue with the OP.

[khaxnguyen]

so u've replaced thermostat but the hoses arent getting warm/hot? beats me.. water pump?

[AnthonyF]

redciv1-replace ur radiator

[redciv1]

redciv1-replace ur radiator
thanks. PMed.

[pontiacsftw]

thanks for the help guys...

so this morning i was running my car in park and waited to see if a puddle formed underneath (coolant leak), but there was no leak, so i drove it home, and took out the thermostat and took a gallon pitcher of water(no coolant available), and i dumped more than a gallon into it.

and my dad has my keys at the moment, but i will check all these things tomorrow, thanks again for the help..