Overheating & recent symptoms
 

I have an '06 HHR Spring Edition. About a month ago, I began to notice a bubbling/gurgling noise behind the dashboard. Didn't think much about it and continued using my car normally. About a week later, as I was driving, my temperature light flashed and the needle was in the red (I don't remember what temperature the coolant read, but I'm guessing around 250 degrees, give or take). I stopped the car and waited for it to cool, and I noticed a sound like a fan running after I shut my car off. I took it to a shop the next day, described the problem, and they suggested a coolant flush. I know very little about cars, so I decided to trust this person. Once the flush was done, they told me that I had no leaks, everything looked good. My car ran fine for about two days after that and started overheating, especially while driving at interstate speeds. I took it back the the same shop, they looked at it again and told me that I have a leak somewhere in the front of the car, either the front main seal or the water pump. I didn't get the car serviced then, had water added to the radiator and left. Since then, a friend and I identified the source of the leak, which is coming from the coolant recovery tank. It is the ONLY visible source of a leak that we could find. Currently, my car gets hot when idle, but cools as I drive, especially at interstate speeds. I have ordered a replacement recovery tank and will replace it myself.

I apologize for such a long post. Based on these symptoms, what can I do to narrow down what the problem is? Could the recovery tank have anything to do with the engine overheating? Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the site, if the recovery tank leaks it should only leak what's in the tank!
I would suggest to replace the thermostat if it is original it's 9 years old.
The gurgle under the dash was air in the system going thru the heater core.
The fan would be your rad fan it'll run after you stop the car and turn off the key.

How does the coolant look?

If you just had it flushed, I'd imagine it should still be pristine.

Does it leak more as it heats up?

I'll take a look at the coolant as soon as I get home. The only time that I saw a leak from the coolant recovery tank was when we added water to it.running the car until it warmed up did not seem to have any effect on the leak.

No leaks that they can see. I know on my Silverado I had, if it wasn't running there was no pressure, therefor, if it is not running a leak cannot be found as easily. My Silverado had a cracked reservoir, and I didn't know it for the longest time, until one morning, it started overheating badly. All the same notifications you got.

If you have a leak and the fluid contacts something hot, the smell will be pseudo sweet, and strong.

My guess, based on what you say, is you have a leak, and can't be seen while the car is off.. Check the reservoir, fill if necessary, and turn it on. Check for leaks. No leak? Drive it a bit, find a safe place to pull into, check it. Leak? If no leak, then I am stumped.

Kevin

Kevin, I will definitely keep a close eye under the hood for the next few days. I am hopeful that the reserve tank is the problem since, thus far, it has been the only visible source of a leak. I think that when I took the car to the shop the second time, they added liquid to the reserve tank and saw it dripping underneath the car, but couldnt identify the source of the leak. If I was able to find it myself, then I don't see how this was overlooked.

Two more things that I forgot to mention...I have recently noticed light steam coming through my air vents, and it smells like it could be coolant. My coolant temperature fluctuates between 189 and 217 while driving. Not sure if that is normal or not, but it never stays leveled out at a constant temperature.

I think you just nailed it with the last posting SamualJ - Steam from the air vents probably means the heater core is leaking. You say you can smell coolant at the same time - that's the tip-off.

When I had a heater core go in my Dodge, it looked like smoke, and the smell was pretty nasty - and I was initially thinking fire/burning wiring. But it turned out to be the heater core. Replacing a heater core yourself is not for the weak of heart. And shops charge an arm and a leg for it.

And nobody thought "head gasket"?

i.e. forcing coolant out of the tank, air in system.

That's where I was going with my question on dirty coolant ;) .

I had a Lumina with this problem. I could go through a whole jug of coolant in a single trip across town.

But with a little fresh oil I drove it 80 miles straight with no problems at interstate speed.

I really hope it's not the heads or gaskets. :(

Perhaps a leak down test is in order for the cooling system, this will confirm a leak and where it is!

I would remove the coolant recovery tank and check it for leaks. Repair or replace it. Before you go through the expense of replacing the heater core, try a product made by Zecol called Mendtite. It is one of the few I've used that will seal leaks without plugging the heater core. We used it in racing cars and heavy trucks and equipment with good success. If you google search it you will find it recommended on many forums.

http://images.oreillyauto.com/parts/...zeco_10400.jpg

Shake it well. With the engine cold, remove the radiator cap and remove enough coolant from the radiator to put the entire 15 oz contents into it. Move it to the recovery tank. With the radiator cap off, start the engine, shake the bottle well again, pour about 1/2 of it in, shake the remainder, pour it in, install the cap tightly, let the engine run until it gets up to it's 195 degree temperature for several minutes with the heater set at maximum temperature.

The heater core being the problem sounds right, except my vents can still blow hot, so no heat loss in the vents.

I found the leak...rather, a spot where antifreeze is running down from. I'll post a picture in a minute, I'm not sure what the part is. The coolant that is leaking is pristine. I've even been able to see the leak with a cold engine minutes after topping off the coolant.

Here is the leak in action:


Can someone identify the spot that the leak is coming from?

I blew a head gasket on my BMW and I would get white smoke out of the tailpipe. I also had a bad heater core in my FORD and I would get steam & smell on the inside of the truck. I hope it is just the heater core, it will cost you less.

WOW ..... I just watched the video(several times).

I have an early 2006 HHR. At that location- I have 4 hoses(2 for AC-on the top) and (2 for heater core-on the bottom).

It looks like you have some type of a drain hole there. My car does NOT have that. I may NOT be seeing it right.

My bad ....... yes my car has the same drain hole. It is more on the passenger side of the car. The work shop manual confirms that is the evaporator drain hose. I don't think that is the cause of your problem.

I can't watch the vid on my phone. If pristine means clear water not anti freeze that means your A/C has been running, it runs in defrost mode too.

Is the carpet wet on the passenger side? Do you have more oil today than last week? Can you smell coolant coming out the exhaust pipe while idling? Does a large puddle of water form under the exhaust pipe while idling?

Those question should have been asked by a decent mechanic.

I may be off the mark here? but check your radiator cap. Make sure the two rubber rings are not worn down flat. I say always start with the most simplest and work from there. Just because you smell the coolant doesn't meant it is coming from your heater core. wouldn't it be nice if all it was is a $15 fix?
Tim

When I put in coolant after letting the engine cool a few days ago, coolant leaked out under the car. To reiterate, minutes after I add coolant to the engine while cold, the spot in the video starts leaking out the coolant that I just put in.

No leaks anywhere else. No coolant in the passenger floorboard. But a very strong smell coming from the vents.

If the evaporator drain hose isn't the problem, how is coolant leaking out from there?

It should NOT be coolant coming out of the drain hole-it should be clear water. Catch the liquid in something and look at it and determine what it is.

I don't think a bad heater core would leak out of that drain hole. When i had a bad heater core it leaked onto the inside floor.

1. Is the air conditioner on? 2.What happens when you turn the heater on?

this indicates the heater core or hoses/tubes to it are leaking, the coolant will leak into the HVAC evap drain pan and out the drain tube.
Please have a read prior to changing the heater core...

| Repair Guides | Heater Core | Removal & Installation | AutoZone.com

Both the air conditioner and heat work the way that the are supposed to. No changes that I have noticed, anyway.

That hose drains a condensate pan under the condenser coil and the heater core, so it is possible that "something is broken". It is going to cost you a bundle to find out what since they will have to take the dashboard apart to look at it.

It looks like most people think that it is your heater core. Changing it might be a task-but if you have a repair manual it will help(they have step by step instruction). You will have to remove the center console to get to it & also unbolt 2 bolts against the firewall.

I would REALLY MAKE SURE this is the problem before I start taking it apart. Please keep us informed as you progress?

Heater core.

Definitely! I'm not expert, for sure, so I'll need to get my hands on a repair manual somehow if I decide to change the heater core myself. Is there a way that I could confirm that it is indeed the heater core?

Just read the link I posted in #22 there is a verbatim how to change the heater core, so no manual required, oh and you're welcome, thanks for noticing!

Sorry about that. I'll definitely take a look at it.

I suppose it could have been overlooked!! I just wanted to ensure you had an idea of what you're up against!

Oh, and don't drive the car anymore if it's losing that much coolant. You might have already done terminal damage letting it get to 250F once.

I have a replacement heater core, and I would like to try to replace it myself. Based on the repair guide on Auto Zone's website, it doesn't seem to be too difficult, but quite time consuming. The guide only has a few pictures and I am not familiar with the names of the parts listed. I have plenty of free time on my days off to work on the car, but I would like to familiarize myself with the parts of the car

One good way is to go to any GM online parts site and search for the parts. Usually there are pretty good exploded views.

Alright, I may have just admitted defeat...I'm not car literate enough to do this on my own. I'm throwing in the towel and a wad of cash to get a good shop to fix this. Ugh...

I would make a wild guess at 4 hours labor.

I just called one shop. They quoted me 10 hours of labor, $1200-1300

I just checked Mitchell; without me getting deeper than one click; R&R heater core is 7.6 hours (system recharge not included), I don't know if they would have to evac the A/C lines.

Well I'm pretty screwed, either way. This shop told me they would have to evac the ac lines. I have no idea how all this works, I just want this stupid heater core fixed.

Then 10 hours sound reasonable. Start shopping hourly rates.