Expert: Rob Painter - 2/2/2011

Question
my car started over heating it started when i got in three years ago at first just a little and now it takes 15 minutes and u have to shut it down.replaced coolant temp sensor which was the original problem,it was ok then over heated again,replaced thermonastat three times ,water pump also new.car had coolant leak every two months about half callon now every four days half gallon leak,cant tell where its comming from just see it on ground.heat in car ok,no oil leaks,no water in oil,a little white smoke after starting car.please advise.

Answer
Hello,

Your question is a little difficult to understand, but sounds like you have a blown head gasket at the very minimum with the white smoke and the leak? Have no clue. Could be a cracked head, cracked block, leaking hose.

This aluminum engine under NO circumstances can be over heated because you do not even have to peg the gauge to do catastrophic permanent damage to it. As you are learning the hard way, its like plugging the dike. Changing the thermostat 3 times, water pump, now you have white smoke and leaks.

This engine design (still used today)is OK. Good mileage and plenty of power, however there should have been a warning to never take the engine over 220 degrees, but then GM wouldn't have made billions on parts including new engines.

Actually, GM people were very smart considering that most cars in the junkyards had been over heated and junk, so the only correction to an overheated engine was replacement. What a scam! Can't sue them in a class because they are owned by the government!

You are going to have to look very hard as well as comparing to your puddle location to find a trail on the engine from the anti-freeze.

As I said though, blowing any amount of white smoke is a head gasket and you don't need to have water or anti-freeze in the oil. It just depends on where the head gasket blew. In fact, you could have one head leaking externally, one internally where the engine is burning anti-freeze causing the white smoke.

It sounds like this engine has had a lot of over heating damage done to it.

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