HELP car is overheating in red zone
 

hi everyone need some serious help i have a 2000 c5 stock i noticed the other day while driving that my temp. gauge was in the red zone not sure the temp but it was almost pined . so i pulled over opened the hood and noticed a little slice were the hose connects to the over flow tank and some antifreeze leaking out. i let the car cool off and seen that the tank was still full with antifreeze. by the time i drove a mile away it was hot again. my question is would my car just need that new tank or do u think there is more things wrong with the cooling system. thanks steve

When mine started overheating like that I put in a new thermostat. Problem solved.

With overheating problems, a good place to start would be to:
1. Buy a new cap
2. Buy new hoses
3. Make sure the radiator is clean and free from any obstructions like a plastic bag or a t-shirt.
4. Fresh mixture ...50/50 per cent of distilled water and anti-freeze
5. Buy a new t-stat....yours could be stuck

Do the above, that should fix it.

Clean out the radiator fins with a air hose.

Blow out the dirt, grass, bags and what ever chit was sucked up into the radiator and condenser

Thanks for the help everyone. But do I have to remove the radiature in order to clean it. Or can I just leave it in the car Also could I clean it with a hose with water

Well I would expect that to be the main reason. You have air entering into the system fix that and I dought you will be overtemping again. You can just move the radiator but need to drain it first.

I suspect the slice in the hose could be the problem. Be sure to check the surge tank as well since they have been known to break on the C5. Most debris will be collected by the AC condenser which is in front of the radiator. See if you can use a vacuum cleaner to get the grass and dirt out of it. Otherwise you will have to pull the radiator and use a hose to blow the dirt out of the condenser from the back side. Some people have come up with some ingenious methods of applying water pressure to the backside of the condenser without removing the radiator. If you search you may still find them in a thread on the forum.

Bill

First issue to address would be the sliced hose issue. The Corvette pressures the entire cooling system via the cap (radiator cap) on the coolant overflow tank. A good slice would result in no pressure on the system. In addition, as the coolant expands and contracts through the cooling and heating cycles, the fluid is expelled and recovered from the overflow tank. With the hose compromised due to the slice, the coolant will not be recovered from the tank to the radiator. The radiator most likely has an air gap now as well as possible air pockets in the various engine passages.

thanks for the help everybody i ordered a new tank and then cleaning out the radiator hopefully that will do the trick if not ill post for some more help thanks again steve

wow cant believe how much crap was inside the radiator fins. i used the air hose and had lots of crap come out thanks again guys hopefully it works about to take a ride

help please so i installed the new refill tank and cleaned out the fins to the radiator now the car is over heating again really bad and sounds like bubbling in the refill tank . what else should i do anybody please help

If I am going to start throwing parts into a car I like to start with the easiest and cheapest first. Why not remove the thermostat ( 2 bolts and a hose clamp as I remember) and put it in a pot of boiling water to see if it opens. The housing and thermostat are one piece, remove O ring before boiling. Once You have determined if that is the problem or not you can move on to other things like air in the system or a bad water pump. By the way, did it just suddenly overheat or did you notice the running temperature slowly getting hotter over the last couple of weeks? The reason I ask is that while it is a good idea to keep the radiator fins clean, a few more blades of grass aren't going to make the temperature peak out overnight. Maybe if you sucked up a beach towel or plastic bag.....

the car was starting to over heat slowly it first started when the air conditioner was on then when i turned it off it went back to normal temp. now it just does it whenever the car is on. i also looked inbetween the radiator and all around it for bags and nothing. i did notice today that antifreeze is coming out of the cap on the refill tank im going to get a new one and see what happens and also just replace the thermostat. thanks for the help if anyone else has some ideas for me please post thanks again steve

thanks 8vett7 i will burp the system and see also buy a new cap would anyone no a good place to order the cap from

ok guys so i changed my cap, flushed all antifreeze and replaced with new, and also replaced mybthermostat. and the over heating problem is gone. i want to thank all of u guys for the help and if your ever around nj or ny and see a silver corvette pull me over and ill buy u a beer . thanks again steve