Hey , guys happy EASTER 🐣 , so I've been having a overheating issue for about a couple months , I replaced waterpump , thermostat, radiator, ac condenser , everything yu can imagine , I burp the system , it has constant bubbles coming out which I fear a head blown gasket or heater core but no leaking In cabin , im about to sell this car which Is the last thing I wanna do but It's my daily I seen people say 220 is normal but smoking behind the engine to me ain't. If someone can help a, give any tips or give me an idea 💡 it be gladly appreciated

 

Are your fans working? 220 is normal. 250 not so much.

Tell me more about smoking out of the back....

 

Yeah white smoke and overheating would be indicative of a head gasket or some other crack/leak resulting in coolant getting into your oil.

 

It's white smoke , and fans turn on keeping it from going over 235 but from videos and other forums im guessing head gasket or heater core either one is gonna be expensive lol

 

I agree white smoke sounds like a head gasket, but I don’t agree that 220 and up is normal operating temps, unless maybe if your in the desert and in stop and go traffic. Consistently running those kind of temps could definitely crack a head gasket.

Find a good mechanic or dealership in your area and get it diagnosed and get an estimate on repairs. If it’s a head gasket and there is no further damage, then you can address the heat issue. An oil change should be done as well if it is a head gasket, to ensure any coolant is removed from the oil.

Maybe you need a lower temp thermostat and to program your fans to come on at lower temps. With only the info provided, no one is going to be able to figure out why it’s running that hot. Not knowing the ambient temps this is happening at, and highway vs. stop and go, and those type factors all need to be known to assess the heat issue.

 

So it stays at 210 or so on the highway, as soon as stop and go traffic hits its up to 220-228 which I don't think it's normal I live in California were the weather right now is at 78 so not too warm , I recently changed my oil where no coolant was present , I changed my oil personally to make sure . I burp the system today earlier and I don't know what this means but with the cap off yu turn on the engine , put yur heater on full blast to let it run thru the heater core , after 10-15 mins bubbles came out but it started pushing out the coolant like a waterfall turned off the car came back to fill it up once cooled down , drove it and 210 - 220 temps idk if I did it right or if it indicates something else or if thts what is supposed to do but last time I had something like that happen was a bad head gasket .

 

Moved to C5 Tech.

 

This is just a guess, but I wonder if your first stage fan is not running, only your second fan at high temps. I say this because when you start moving the temps drop, which indicates your radiator and water pump are working. I’m in FL, but we have the temps you’re having now, but I haven’t been using the air cond and when waiting at a light my car is heating up over 210 until traffic starts moving again.

But you mentioned that your temp goes up to 235, the secondary fan comes on and it starts to cool down a bit. Your primary fan should be running when your A/C is turned on. Maybe turn on the air, and lift the hood to make sure one of the fans is running continuously. If no fan is running it could the primary fan is kaput.

 

I may be wrong, but I think youve got a bad head gasket. Here's why; there should be no smoke coming out your exhaust, black, blue, or white. White sounds like steam. The heater wouldn't have anything to do with any color of smoke/steam coming out the tail pipes. If you have to keep adding coolant, and you have white smoke out the tail pipes, it's a bad head gasket. They can sometimes fail without any coolant showing up in the oil, so just because there's no coolant in the oil doesn't rule out a bad head gasket. I once had a SBC head gasket fail, but the only time it showed was when I turned on the A/C! The compressor made the engine work just enough harder to raise the coolant temp from 180°-190° to 240°!! Of course, this happened when I was 3 states from home!!!! Hope this helps........

 

Sorry to say that it is probably a blown head gasket, white smoke and usually a antifreeze smell. The fans seem to be working, there is no primary or secondary fan, both fans turn on low speed at a set temperature then they both go to high speed when the upper temperature set point is reached.

 

This is normal. As to the white smoke I dont know.

 

I think you need to tackle this one step at a time. The head gasket is the primary issue that needs to be addressed, as this can certainly lead to engine failure. Of course when that is fixed, the heat issue needs to be addressed to prevent the head gasket issue from happening again. When the head gasket it replaced, assuming that is an issue, they will refill/top off the coolant. Most shops nowadays I would imagine will have a pressurized machine for this, to ensure there is no air in the system. Also, the mechanic should monitor the fans to ensure they are both working and coming on when they should.

The next thing I am wondering, since you have a new radiator, condenser, water pump, and thermostat is, is your center air deflector underneath possibly worn out. Not knowing anything about your car like, mileage, ownership, etc, but does the center air deflector scrape a lot when entering and exiting driveways and businesses? In time these will wear enough material off to grab less and less air. All your cooling when moving over 35 mph depends on that center air deflector feeding proper air flow to the radiator and condenser. The center air deflector is a very inexpensive part, and is very easy to replace with the front of the car on jack stands, if you don't have a lift.

I just recently solved heating issues with my car, but my issues were due to modifications that were restricting proper air flow and a defective device I purchased to remotely control the fans. I had to address one issue at a time to figure out the cause, and I recommend that you do the same. If not, you are just throwing money at it until you eventually hit the cause. With what you have already done, I would certainly be looking at that center air deflector, as it sounds like an air flow issue, with the limited information known. It certainly should not be running that hot in 78 degree ambient temps, with or without the AC on.

 

Is it consuming coolant where you have to keep topping off? If your coolant level is dropping it's going somewhere-- either leaking or through a failed head gasket.

Do you see bubbles in your overflow tank while the car is running at operating temperature? If so, that's a bad sign. You can buy a test kit that will show if exhaust gasses are getting into the coolant system. If so, it's almost certainly a head gasket. If you're not seeing coolant fouling in your oil that's a good sign that the failure is just contained to the head gasket, but either way it needs to be replaced.

Head gaskets on these cars is certainly a job, but it's not insurmountable and definitely not "sell the car" kind of bad unless you're looking to get rid of the car anyway. It can be done in an afternoon by someone who knows what they are doing. You'll need a new set of head gaskets, and a new set of head bolts, but other than that it's a matter or getting the heads off, cleaning everything up, and putting the new gaskets on. DO NOT RE-USE THE HEAD BOLTS, NO MATTER HOW "GOOD" THEY MIGHT LOOK.

 

Oops I miss spoke. Should have said there are two speeds, same outcome.

Has the OP verified both speeds are working?

 

Upfront, I am sorry for my lack of mechanical knowledge, but what makes a head gasket fail? If the OP problem is in fact a head gasket, why would it fail? I have never had a head gasket fail in any of my cars over 60 years including 2 Corvettes and one 442 that were not baby'd. Just wondering. .

 

Overheating and too much boost on forced induction setups are two common causes, but sometimes it's just a "**** happens" kind of parts failure

 

This was going to be my suggestion as well, Some auto parts stores will rent the "block tester" tool but you would still have to buy the associated blue fluid. If you're near Orange County I can try to dig up my block tester fluid so you don't have to buy any, and then you would only need to rent the block tester tool.

I had an issue with an old Audi 1.8T of mine, where there was a crack which formed between a valve seat and cooling jacket. When the car was hot, combustion gases would escape through the crack and enter the cooling system, thus aerating the cooling system + over-pressurizing it.
In the case of a head gasket issue you might also see coolant being drawn into the combustion chamber, resulting in white smoke as the coolant burns.

 

It sounds a lot like a blown head gasket caused by overheating in the past. IF you have a blown head gasket, and IF you are having to top off the coolant, and IF there is no coolant in the oil, and IF there is no coolant on the ground under the car, then I'd be reluctant to test the system with any kind of pressure tester due to the possibility you'd shoot pressurized coolant into one (or more) cylinders with the engine not running and hydro-lock it. If you have bubbles in the coolant, you might could check compression and see if you have one or more low cylinders. You also "might" be able to see changes in color of spark plugs for cylinders that are burning coolant. I agree with LewisLGZ06 that you should fix the head gasket (if failed) first, then immediately figure out why the temp is out of control. Could be fans. Assuming you replaced radiator and condenser with new parts (not used), so that there is no chance of debris clogging them. And if it turns out to be a head gasket, if it were me, I'd take the heads to a shop and make sure they are still straight, not warped from heat. I'm not sure how susceptible LS heads are to overheating from blown head gasket, but I've had other vehicles warp heads with blown gasket.

 

Do please update when you have more information, particularly if you find a the definitive cause. Always helpful when an issue thread has the problem, what the best troubleshooting method turned out to be, and what the fix is.

 

One problem with a blown head gasket is it will super heat the cooling system. The only reason you're not really running super hot is the 78° ambient temps. Wait until July!!!