low coolant light in 1998 chevy malibu ls
saggette
the water pump fixed about 6 months ago. But about last week and this week
the low coolant light came on twice in one week when I started it up that
morning. It went out after maybe half a minute or more. So I was wondering
was it just me starting out in the car too fast or what. I have heard of
people saying that they have had a leaking gasket and it is very
expensive. The light came on the other day but like I said it goes back
out and I dont see it any more that day. Does anyone know if this could be
the leak I had mention or what and is there another solution to stop it.
Help me please.
j123
engine is cold. It should be full up to cold mark. Take a look at all of
the hoses going to and from your radiator, do you see any leaks or cracks?
If you don’t, take a clean piece of cardboard and put under the radiator
“front of the car” over night and check for any leaking on the cardboard.
If you do find some, look at all of your hoses and rad again and try to
figure out where it is coming from and go from there.
Good Luck
Al Bundy
Chances are that you do have a leak of some kind. I guess the sending
unit could be bad instead though. You can't expect to get by with
using those lights on the dash for diagnosis. They have been called
"idiot lights" since the time they replaced analog gauges. They were
cheaper of course, but the thought was that perhaps people would pay
attention more to a red or orange light starring them in the face.
They were wrong. Lots of people such as you don't act on them.
With a low coolant light you better check the coolant level
immediately. Low coolant will destroy your engine very quickly. Check
your manual to be sure you understand how to check the level. Don't do
it when the engine is hot or you will be squirted with hot coolant.
Abe
wrote:
-----------------------------------
In addition to other recommendations, also check the underside of your
oil filler cap. If it has a whitish/brownish gunk build up, you have
the dreaded intake manifold gasket leak. If that's the case, take it
to be repaired asap.
jjoyner
Yes otherwise the combination of AF and Oil makes almost a sandpaper
type of goop that will make your pistons shiny and new
I would suspect that the guys who did your water pump work didn’t top
it off properly and that you had a ton of air in your coolant that has
finally been expelled. You need to top it off and try it out for a
few days.
If it is running rough or you see green liquid dripping from your
exhaust, you have a problem.
Also, being that this is the summertime, if you do the cardboard
trick, make sure that you don’t mistake AC Compressor condensation as
a coolant leak. You may get all worked up for nothing.
I had a car that had this problem and it ended up being that the
coolant temperature sending unit was not sealed with silicon tape and
it would leak coolant slowly.
--
http://www.AutoForumz.com/ This article was posted by author's request
Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards
Topic URL: http://www.AutoForumz.com/Chevy-Malibu-low-coolant-light-1998-ls-ftopict68854.html
Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse: http://www.AutoForumz.com/eform.php?p=309557
32065
alternators etc.. do not have the same life as the original GM parts.
Additionally if GM has found defects in these parts they are usually fixed
and upgrade for future cars And now they are offering lifetime repair or
replacement so maybe your water pump is bad again. Just a thougt.