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Car Forum / Saturn Cars / July 2007SL1 1998 Overheating after visit to dealer. (97000 miles)
Ok, here is the problem. a few weeks ago a slight knocking sound and a soft howl started. I had no other issues as for as I could tell. And checked and replaced my fluids ever 3 to 4 months. My room mates said I should take it in for a repairs directly to the Saturn Dealer here in San Jose Ca. 1st call , within the first hour after dropping my car off. I was called and told my Water pump needed replacement. And my Radiator should be replaced soon. I approved the Water pump replacement. And said I'll have to wait for the Radiator. 2nd, 2 hours later, I was called and told my Thermostat was not letting water in. (? I should have asked ??) and it had to be replaced. I approved. 3rd call next day. My radiator and hoses had to be replaced. And my Radiator was blocked. After a few hours of biting this and canceling my planned vacation plans. I put up the money and said Sure. 4th call, It was ready and running great! it would be 1420 dollars.. Cough.. Choke. Ok. but a quick note for future repairs. Replace the Head Gasket, Cylinder head, Cam Cover Gasket (2300 dollars ???) Today I just picked up the car. Started up nice and smooth. No clouds like I was told to expect. No odd rocks or such. I signed and drove off. Within 3 miles my car started flashing check lights, and the heat gauge was pegged. Thank god I was home by then as I pulled into the driveway and turned off somthing kept running. My room mates said it was the cooling fan trying to cool down the engine. Within 10 minutes it turned off. I called the Dealer. Response, Yep, that head gasket or Cylinder is dead. Bring it in and pay us and well fix it. Help or suggestions > I called the Dealer. Response, Yep, that head gasket or Cylinder is > dead. Bring it in and pay us and well fix it. > > Help or suggestions what color is the antifreeze? is it overflowing? take it to another mechanic for an estimate on what is wrong with it.  SignatureKevin M. Keller Director, News & Promotions Saturn Performance Club DEFINITELY find another dealer and get a second opinion. Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ] --- Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at http://www.evilplastic.com dewclaws@gmail.com wrote: > I called the Dealer. Response, Yep, that head gasket or Cylinder is > dead. Bring it in and pay us and well fix it. > > Help or suggestions what color is the antifreeze? is it overflowing? take it to another mechanic for an estimate on what is wrong with it. Signature?Kevin M. Keller Director, News & Promotions Saturn Performance Club Well this morning, I unbuttoned the top and filled the empty Radiator reserve up to the marked level and left the cap off. Started her up and let it run. It was good for about 10 minutes, the temperature guage staying at the 1/4th mark. The color was fine, no odd tints, just a slight-very light film on the water when I looked into the radiator reserve tank. Only issue is. LOTS of bubbles.. LOTS.. Big ones and small ones. Within 2 minutes after the bubbles started while sitting it reached 3/4th and I shut her down. No overflowing, but it the water level was lifting and rising almost over a short period of time. And I stress. LOTS of bubbles. Thanks for listening. > DEFINITELY find another dealer and get a second opinion. > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Director, News & Promotions > Saturn Performance Club OK, first thing, is it green coolant or dex-cool (orange or red)? Second, was the level low when you opened the (cold) resivour in the morning? If so, where did the coolant go? Did it leak?. What was the cooling fan doing when it reached 3/4 of the gauge? if the cooling fan isn't running, it won't cool down. On Saturns, unless you are running the a/c, the fan won't come on until 3/4 of the way up. With the cap off, most cars will boil over before the fans come up. The thermostat dosen't open until 195 degrees, and many cars, saturns included, won't kick on the fans until 220 degrees. Without some pressure to lower the boiling point, you WILL overflow. Call around, find someone that will chemically block test your car. The garage I used to work at didn't even charge for it. They will open the resivour cap and use a small tool and some blue fluid to check for the presence of CO2 in the coolant, which will make the fluid turn yellow. If it turns yellow, you have a blown head gasket, cracked head, or cracked block. finally, just a thought. I can get a complete used engine from Greenleaf for under a grand with a 1 year warranty. The job pays between 11 and 13 hours labour. Let it sit overnight, fill the coolant resivour up, drive it somewhere and get it checked. -Joe Ok, the coolant I use is a green one I purchase from the Saturn dealer. I'll have to put a new Gallon of coolant in the tank and check its color before I do anything else. On opening the radiator reserve yesterday, the coolant level was bellow the lower hose, just large splash at the bottom of the reserve tank. I checked around the car, and had spread newspaper under the car to check for leaks. I couldn't find one. The fan seems to come on as soon as it starts the temperature starts to rise quickly and is on by the time the gauge has reached 3/4ths. . Thanks again. > OK, first thing, is it green coolant or dex-cool (orange or red)? Second, > was the level low when you opened the (cold) resivour in the morning? If [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > -Joe >Ok, the coolant I use is a green one I purchase from the Saturn >dealer. I'll have to put a new Gallon of coolant in the tank and [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >The fan seems to come on as soon as it starts the temperature starts >to rise quickly and is on by the time the gauge has reached 3/4ths. Now not there, so this is purely a guess. Your system is dry. You say no leaks, you have lots of escaping air, and levels are very low. When a coolant system is drained many passages get air bound. So the only way to refill is a fully flowing coolant system, and a mech watching radiator level directly (adding as needed till level stops dropping). Now my humble suggestion, get the car back to the mechanic, they did the work, they need to clean up their mess. BTW, is this in NJ? later, >. >Thanks again. [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] >> >> -Joe tom @ www.Consolidated-Loans.info No, this was in San Jose, CA. I have plans to take the car in next week to a new mechanic. The local Saturn shop I took this too demands its a new head gasket. Thanks for the reply. > Now not there, so this is purely a guess. Your system is dry. You > say no leaks, you have lots of escaping air, and levels are very low. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > later, My Saturn fan turns on at 213?, most cars I have dealt with do the same. You should be able to run your car with the cap off if everything was proper. I would say you have a head or head gasket issue with all the bubbles you describe. James > My Saturn fan turns on at 213°, most cars I have dealt with do the > same. You forgot your link james http://www.current.net/james1549/saturn/eng_temp.html > You should be able to run your car with the cap off if everything was > proper. I would say you have a head or head gasket issue with all the > bubbles you describe. > > James The bubbles could of been from aeration from the pump because the system wasnt filled fully and purged of air pockets. Buy or borrow one of these http://images.solidcactus.com/autobarn/xxxw-kd-3700.jpg My fan goes on at 3/4 or slightly above. I do not think this should be considered 'overheating'. If it gets to the red and the fan doesn't go on, then something is wrong. FYI - I ran my track car all day one day, on and off of redline in 90 degree temps, missing the front air dam. The temp gauge was at the top of the red and stayed there with no problems (I had a spare motor in the garage that was going in soon so there was nothing to lose if something bad happened). All was fine. No spraying, no burst hoses, no overflowing. So I don't think people need to be so afraid they shut off the car at 3/4 on the gauge. Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ] --- Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at http://www.evilplastic.com > Well this morning, I unbuttoned the top and filled the empty Radiator > reserve up to the marked level and left the cap off. Started her up [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] >> Director, News & Promotions >> Saturn Performance Club |
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