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The Chevrolet Cavalier is a compact automobile produced from 1982 to 2005 by General Motors.

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Losing coolant after overheating

I overheated my car, drove in the red for 10 miles but it kept working fine for a month, then, while temp at 190 i started losing fluid thru release valve so bought a new cap, still lost fluid but dont know where, mechanic said is not blown gasket and changed radiator, i am still losing about a quart every 100 miles, dont see water in oil or oil in water, nor steam thru pipe, mechanic said I have air in cooling system but did nothing about it, any ideas ?

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How did your car originally overheat? A quart every 100miles is quite substantial. Definitely check all coolant lines, lines to your inside heater and pull the spark plugs. Check the face of the plugs and evaluate how your vehicle burns fuel. Do a compression test and a leak down test on your vehicle. I am leaning toward some head damage. BTW, a quart of coolant every 100miles would mean an awful lot of air in your system. Have your vehicle reevaluate by another mechanic.

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9 Comments:

Car overheated because the belt broke and stopped turning the water pump and I stupidly enough kept driving and noticed overheating too late, car ran fine for over a month after that. Do you think taking air out would solve problem ? btw, car fixed last friday 2-17-12. Drove twice to work Sunday and Wednesday. I think i lose most water driving to work on freeway 70 miles rounf trip, maybe not so much driving short trips on street. now it runs a little rough when iddling and very rough to start this morning, I smell fumes in water reservoir but mechanic said he did chemical test and came back negative, which I dont believe now

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did you replace the water pump after? I have had bad seals in the pumps and lost most antifreeze while driving. I would definitely check the heads....Just does not sounds right and the symptoms you describe would fit that.....

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Steve, you can download the Cooling chapter from the service manual for your Cavalier from here It might give you some more ideas.

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Hi oldturkey03, thanks for response. Did not change water pump. With engine warm I opened reservoir and see this faint vapor coming out, vapor smells like exaust a little maybe increases a tiny little bit when I rev up the engine 1) will air in system come out by itself eventually ? 2) still no oil and water mixing 3) do you have any opinion as to gasket repair additives ? Thank you very much for assistance !!

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Personally I am not a friend of the additives. I always find that I end up replacing the gasket anyway:). Steve, the water and oil do not necessarily mix, it all depends on where (and if) the gasket or the even the head may be cracked. It may actually get into a combustion chamber etc. As for the air in your coolant system, by now it should already have been released. Start your engine and see if the level gets lower. Turn your inside heater on and wait until your cavalier reaches operating temperature. Then add some coolant, see what happens. Stay safe and watch the radiator cap. Pressurized water is hot and you do not when to get burned.

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