But the cruze gasket can only go on one way, one side has a wide lip for the front cover, and it has alignment holes to make sure it’s put the right side upSometimes a gasket put in backwards can do this a gasket that is almost symetrical blocking off coolant flow in the wrong area
Yes I did, a couple times now too, I will get a better thermostat.I would get an AC Delco thermostat and make sure you bleed the cooling system properly. Did you use the screw on the top passenger side of the radiator to get the air out?
Alright sounds good I’ll try that first and a bleed.I doubt the rad cap will make that much difference.the thermostat is likely the best cheapest bet I would go there first . Do you have any bavkground on the initial failure ie why was the head replaced?
We used to have a lot of problems woth sunfires and cavaliers after doing a head gadket they would always overheat if not bled properly. On the gmt 800 trucks there was a special bleeding procedure that was often required toxgetxthe air out many an engine was miss diagnosed as having a head gadket out when the updated bleeding procedure was used.It may be worth checking into thst justcto be sure
Yes the block and front cover stayed on, I tried to make it as easy as possible for myself, as this is the first time I have opened an engine that wasn’t on a motorcycle or boat. I vacuumed everything and everything was clean, I tried to be a perfectionist about it.could be air locked or a blockage somewhere. I assume you didn't remove the engine when you sanded the block, did you plug the ports up prior to cleaning/decking?
what temperature is your ect and rct(radiator coolant temp) reporting? does it only boil over when you drive or does it boil at idle when warmed up?
the hoses don't necessarily indicate a problem, if both hoses were hot, your radiator isn't doing it's job at cooling.
I would test the coolant for exhaust gases, it's quick and cheap.
turn the heat on full blast, if your coolant temp drops, that would indicate your water pump is pushing water.
if those check out, then I would replace the thermostat with an OEM
I will definitely look into that.We used to have a lot of problems woth sunfires and cavaliers after doing a head gadket they would always overheat if not bled properly. On the gmt 800 trucks there was a special bleeding procedure that was often required toxgetxthe air out many an engine was miss diagnosed as having a head gadket out when the updated bleeding procedure was used.It may be worth checking into thst justcto be sure
I can see the fans spinning and it looks like they’re doing their job, they’re not super loud either, they will also kick right on when you turn on the AC.Yes I have one it works very well and prevents this but does take a bit to to run we would only use it for the aforementioned problem children. After that initial overheat and big belch of air most settled right down. If it doesnt overheat or boil till you work the engine perhaps its the cooling fans not coming on. They useually come on at about 225-230 but by then youre already boiling over acording to youre gauge which by the way isnt very accurate. If the cap is working okthe coolant should not boil at 225 the pressure cap raises the boiling point of the coolant. This may be silly but have you blown some compressd air through the radiator. air/air and condensor or whatever is in front of the rad? That gives you some more things to check
how did you refill and bleed the system? how much coolant did it take? remove the vent screw on the radiator and barely reinstall it(just enough it holds itself in place). add 50/50 to the surge tank until coolant starts to come out of the radiator vent screw. tighten the vent screw and fill the tank up to the top. with the cap off... start the engine and add coolant if the level drops from my picture. reinstall the cap and run it at 2500 rpms for a minute or so...idle briefly and shut down / remove the cap and check the level. adjust to the cold fill line if necessary.I can see the fans spinning and it looks like they’re doing their job, they’re not super loud either, they will also kick right on when you turn on the AC.
the reservoir cap; once it gets into that low 210-220 area it starts hissing and gushing air and coolant out of the little vent channel at the top. I can’t tell if it is releasing the excess pressure (more than 20psi), or if it’s not even holding the 20psi that I need to raise the boiling point.
the radiator is clean, and nothing is blocking airflow or anything like that. maybe a contributing factor is that I don’t have the heat shield on the turbo right now, doubt it gets that hot though.
Unfortunately not yet, I took it to my truck mechanic and he did everything I did with the same outcome. I will take it to a cruze / 1.4l specialist hopefully in less than a month, this thing is eating my wallet and it still doesn’t work rightDid you figure out what the problem was OP?