1996 Corsica Overheating Question

[Dragonsm]

Yep, Steve's 1996 Corsica with a 2.2 liter motor is back at it. Driving home tonight from Maple Grove, the temp gauge in it begin to creep up over 3/4 and it blew nothing but ice cold air.

I got most of the way to Albertville and then backroaded it from there. Probably shouldn't have done it as the temp gauge went way up. Instantly, I shut the vehicle down and let the motor cool off. Followed that routine until I was able to get it home here in the garage.

Guess my initial guess is a stuck closed thermostat? I checked the oil to see if it was milky/frothy and there is none of that. Once the car cools down I was going to check the coolant level and then I guess move onto the thermostat? (BTW...I did squeeze the radiator hoses, and they were not firm and not super hot to the touch)

What do you experts think? Anything else I should check.

Not sure if this helps, but for most of the winter now, while running the car, the temp gauge always read close to the cold mark and the heat was starting to be somewhat warm at most. Could this have been a thermostat that was initially stuck in the open position and then it must of closed today when I got to work and now it won't open again?

I'll update about the coolant level.....btw...anyone off the top of your head want to point me to the exact location of the thermostat? I have changed one before many years ago...I don't believe they are tough but it's been a while since I did it.

Guess I get to commute with the truck for a while, glad the gas prices are down!

Thanks,

Steve

[Scott K]

I would say it is low on coolant!

[Jeremy airjer W]

2.2 low on coolant?

If its low there is likely a leak! If the engine temp was low and there was insuffiecient heat prior than a t-stat is a pretty good bet.

Its been a while since I have done one but I believe they are under the housing that the lower hose attatches to. If you pull the lower hose off of the housing you should be able to see it in there.

[Dragonsm]

Alright, I am back with an update. It was out of coolant, so I ran to wal-mart to pick some up...dumped an entire jug in and fired up the car. Warmed it up for a few minutes and finally started getting heat and everything seemed normal. However when I went to get out of the vehicle in my garage, I noticed a puddle underneath my car. As you might guess, it was the coolant.

I looked at the engine bay to try and see if I can notice where it is leaking from and there was fresh coolant on the drivers side of the engine bay. I gave the hose that runs from the engine to the radiator and it was firm and actually made kind of a hiss type noise like a air leak? I felt the hose and there wasn't any wet spots and it looks as though where that hose connects into the motor is where the thermostat is? Bad thermostat and gasket or am I looking at bigger problems?

Been a good car so far and she is now at 165,000.....love to keep her going if it is a simple fix.

Thanks!

Steve

P.S....I don't have any pets, but what is the best way to clean up coolant? Kitty litter?

[Jeremy airjer W]

I would bet that the gasket in between the water outlet housing and the head might be leaking. I have run into that before.

Does it look like this?

The t-stat is not behind this, I am pretty sure its in the lower hose.

[Dragonsm]

airjer (and others), here is a pic of the "area" of the motor on the driver's side. I think that is the part airjer, but I best not analyze anymore....I initially thought the thermostat might be there.

If you look at the pic, you can also see the coolant sitting around the area also. I guess that is my initial conclusion that it is coming from that area.

If it is that gasket, what kind of trouble am I looking to get myself into? Pretty easy to replace? (any tell-tale signs of a gasket failure...or is the coolant on the floor enough?)

Thanks for all the help!

[Jeremy airjer W]

Now its all coming back to me! That piece is attached to an aluminum piece that bolts to the head. I thinking that the gasket in between the head and that aluminum peice might be the culprit. It wouldn't hurt to remove the air snorkel, fill it up with coolant, let it run and see if it is coming from that piece.

The pipe right underneath the upper hose is a coolant pipe for the heater. I wouldn't be surprised if that hasn't rusted through and is the source of the leak.

[Dragonsm]

Sometime this week/weekend I was going to try and get it up on the ramps so I could at least crawl under the front end to see where it may be coming from. I'll keep you updated. I was going to fill up some coolant and let it idle and see if I can see the leak.

are those coolant pipe's replaceable or is it an all one piece that needs to be replacing?

[Dragonsm]

The pipe right underneath the upper hose is a coolant pipe for the heater. I wouldn't be surprised if that hasn't rusted through and is the source of the leak.

I had some time this evening so I looked for the culprit. I felt around the hose and didn't feel anything "oily" and then began to feel around the coolant pipe for the heater and I felt rust and wet with coolant. I finally got that part removed, (luckily I noticed the two nuts to remove before the pipe could be removed) and while looking down the inside of the pipe, shined a light on the outside where I saw a hole about the size of a pinhead.

I think I solved the problem! (with some help) I was trying to find the part # on checker auto so I could give them a call tomorrow and see if they couldn't get the part but I didn't find it.

Can anyone tell me exactly what this part is called or what the part # might be so I can get it correct when I talk to them tomorrow?

Thanks,

Steve

[Jeremy airjer W]

It is entirely possible that there is not an aftermarket provider for the pipe. The best thing would be to see if it is available from the dealer and have the aftermarket parts supplier cross the O.E. part number to see if anything is available.

[deadeye]

The dealer is going to be the only ones that have it. Its not expensive though, I have sold quite a few of those guys and had to go to GM.

[jltimm]

I suppose a junkyard would have them in the same condition as the old one?

[Dragonsm]

Called the dealer and the part will be in tomorrow. (BTW, they don't like giving hte part # over the phone)

Anyway, part came to 36.65 and will be ready to pick up tomorrow morning.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Thats not a bad price at all!!! Hardly seems worth trying to find an aftermarket that will not fit right which results in some "customizing"! At least you know that this one should fall right into place.

[Dragonsm]

BTW Airjer-

Since the coolant is completely empty, I also thought it might be a good time to change the thermostat (5 dollar part) since I believe it still has the original one in there.

Would you be able to tell me exactly where I'd find that on this motor or what to look for to find it?

[Scott K]

I believe it is located right behind the upper rad hose in your picture you posted. Remove the screws to the picture Airjer posted, it is right behind that!

[Jeremy airjer W]

Would you be able to tell me exactly where I'd find that on this motor or what to look for to find it?

[ratmn218]

2.2 is in the lower radiater hose .

[BK19]

i wish you luck when the wife had hers it started out the same but ended up being the head it has long been turned into pop cans and such

[Dragonsm]

Alright, this car has me just baffled.

I "thought" I might have had an airlock with the issue I was having (and maybe I still do) however I have made multiple attempts to remove it with pretty much the same ending outcome.

Last night I changed the oil on it...(nothing milky about the oil, it looked good other than needing changing)

After that, since I had the front end raised, I tried to "burp" the system and alleviate the issue. Ran it for a good half hour allowing the motor to warm up with the cap off. (Radiator hose was warm/hot to the touch and I had the heater blowing hot air)

Temp gauge looked good...no spikes. Drove it around and no issues. This morning, start up the car and let it warm up for about 15 minutes before I head to work. Get into a car blowing warm air (which is fine) and head to work. Get a couple of blocks from home (before I enter the interstate) and the temp gauge all of a sudden begins to creep up and up and up until it hits about between 3/4 and HOT. (cold air was blowing too)

Pull to a side street real quick and put the car in neutral...rev'd it up and all of a sudden it was like a valve was open'd....warm air again, and the temp guage drops down to cold where it remains the rest of the time until I get to work. (half hour/45 minute drive) It seems to be doing this just about every time I drive it...just an initial spike (sometimes only to half or so) and then it drops and is fine.

Could I have gotten a bad thermostat? I am perplexed here guys....throw out any idea you might have. It's still being driven daily, it's just that little issue at startup that has me bothered.

[Scott K]

Sounds like a bad stat.

[Shack]

Sounds like a bad stat.

That or maybe a warped head now

Maybe still some air.

[Jeremy airjer W]

If the t-stat was stuck closed there would still be heat out of the heater core. If there is no heat out the heater core than there is air in the heater core. The air could be left over from the work you did or it could be the early signs of a head gasket starting to fail. If its pushing combustion gas into the coolant it will end up in the heater core! Just a possibility but lets hope for the best!

[Dragonsm]

More pieces to the puzzle......

Tossed a code last night P0302 (I believe that is the one) misfire on Cyl #2. Started it up from sitting at work all day and it idle REALLY rough and the service engine light was blinking on and off.....finally it stayed on and then after a few minutes the engine ran and idled fine. At O'reilly parts, after scanning I cleared the code. Upon firing it up again, it began the same ritual, rough idle, blinking service engine soon and then solid code with a smooth idle followed shortly after.

I am no where near a mechanic, but I did read on the web about possible head gasket failure pushing exhaust into the coolant to cause the lock. Between that and #2 cyl...(could it be that their is air getting to #2 and then when the engine warms up the seal closes off?)

Any tests someone can do at home to check cyl. pressure or is that something someone can only do in a shop? Also, I thought I read someplace about strips that one could buy to place in your coolant to tell you if there is exhaust in there?

The end of an era may be near for me.....

[Shack]

That is always the concern with fixing a coolant leak on an older model vehicle. When you fix a leak, the system is running at full pressure and any other weak spots will burst or leak. I also think the over heating will take its toll on the head and warp it, causing same style leak as a failed head gasket.

Their is a hydrocarbon test that can be done to find out if there is exhaust gases in the coolant from a head gasket leak. But, it would be most cost effective to have a shop do this test, verses buying a hydrocarbon testing kit. Short of that, you can put pressure on the cooling system with a coolant system pressure tester and see if you get coolant in any of the cylinders or the gauge drops and no leaks outside this engine are found. This is pretty risky though, this can cause a leak also.

I would give it a couple more rounds of bleeding the air out first.