I tried some of the "BlueStuff" it made for nice about 30,000 miles.

One note to add: Make sure that your "Pressure Cap" has "RADIATOR" printed on it for anything newer than a 2006, which should have "SURGE TANK" on it. There is a huge difference in the cap even though they look identical!!!!! The "SURGE TANK" cap does not suck the coolant back from the overflow tank, thus you lose coolant.

 

Thank you for the update. I hope your HHR remains leak free. I hope you have a great weekend too.

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service

 

@donbrew I think this may be the issue that I am having with my car. I notice that the darn overflow never moves. Even when hot and somehow I am losing coolant.

 

That was 3 years ago and now that car is dead.
You need to check for gunk stuck in the bottom of the tank, it can clog up the tube. When DexCool gets hot it tends to form rocks.
You also need to check the level under the pressure cap. Sometimes a blown head gasket pushes coolant out, sometimes it burns it in the cylinders, sometimes it sucks it into the oil.

 

been to the dealership and they said that it doesnt lose pressure. even when hot. but somehow I am losing coolant. so I was thinking that somehow the cap/hose could be the issue. whats the diamater of the hose if you recall? I am going to go to the parts house and change that hose as well as all the hoses. and also clean out the heater core at the same time since all hoses will be off.

things I am going to change;
back to oem t-stat
coolant sensor
all new goodyear hoses

noticed there is a lot of what looks like hose fragments when I burped the engine with the spill free funnel, thus I am wondering if those fragments have built up in the heater core causing an issue as well. but we will see, since the only reason the cooling fan wasnt coming on was a lose ground. :/

 

Oh, you fixed that! Good!

All of those rocky looking things are probably the aforementioned DexCool sand. It does that when it gets too hot and/or old. Real good cooling system flush is called for after ANY 230+ event.

I would not be worrying about the hoses, unless they are showing sign. But that's me.

The recovery tank hose is easy to look at, I think it's 1/4 or 3/16 inch. Somebody recently suggested using clear hose so you can tell the tank level easily. The tank comes out by the one bolt at the top and a bayonet on the bottom.

 

not to hijack the post, but I noticed what you mean by sand. But no its black hose filliment from the hoses deteriorating. After taking a close look that is. Because its black and felt the hoses and they are decaying after some years of use. So new hoses and complete system clean/flush is in desperate order since the darn thing is back to square one.

And yes its now minus the cooling fan issue. And found out the reason it wouldnt turn off was because I have to get going 10mph+ for it to turn off.

 

I'll bet that somebody in the past thought DexCool was a bad thing.

While you are flushing and replenishing, you might consider adding some of that "safe with anti freeze" head gasket cure. I can't vouch for it, but could $20 hurt?

I just remembered my latest source of missing coolant. The bypass plug on the t-stat housing had a pin hole in it, no visible leak on the ground because it was so small only steam was going out. New one from eBay and a hose clamp fixed it for less than $5.

What about the water pump? The weep hole is at the top in a hole (genius!). Not to mention the gaskets and O-rings involved. My guess is: if the hoses are deteriorating so are they.

 

water pump is new.

good to know about that bypass plug, Ill be sure to try and find it and replace that as well. Though as you probably already know money is tight. I have an app in to the local tow company for becoming a tow driver. Hopefully money issues turn around.

But where there is no pressure loss I dont think I will worry about it for now. :)