[brandylynn]

Well I was online looking for a good auto repair shop for my poor booboo ( yes thats her name) she wants to run like she is brand new and in tip top shape some days, but on others (more freaquent) she acts like she doesn't wana shift or losses power. never both of those at the same time. Today it was like negative 2 degrees and she didn't want to start on my 1st attempt, so i turned the key and she started to make an awful noise then started, as i was clearing ice and snow from her she warmed up, i even came back inside for a cup of tea and a thermos! So a good 20 minutes to warm up seems good for any car, but when i got in, the windows were still iced and she was blowing cold air, the thermostat was right about to overheat. i turned the heater off completly and the temp came to normal i drove to work freezing and wiping my window to see. i came home after work to eat and study. I wanted to warm her up a little before i had to go to school at 7 so i figured i will start her at 6:30 to make it in time for school and still be able to get a ride if need be. she started fine, warmed up fine, nothin seemed wrong, so i left after 10 minutes, passed the bank now its 19 degrees, so i get like 2 miles from school and my dash light starts alarming i'm overheating just as that happens i lose all go go juice i was putting and slowing down, so turnin off the heat worked the first time and sure as sh*t it worked the second time! i turned it off and boom all power back , temp dropped to a normal setting and all the lights went off!! wow what a day booboo i'm almost scared to try tomorrow.. please help!

[Brendensmonte]

Im pretty bad at this kinda thing but first thing is, hows the coolant lvls and do you know if ur thermostat works? could also be a crappy heater core thats all i got, im sure someone will correct my crappy (if u could call it help) shortly. the only reason I put this up is I had a similar issue turned out to be a bad thermostat and the 2nd time not enough coolant in the system and the 3rd time one of my hoses had a hole in it so (not enough coolant)

I would also say if ur driving in weather temps like that make sure u have the correct levels of antifreeze/water in the coolant

and when ur heat is on it blows cold air you said? thats a sign of a bad thermostat (stuck open) or a heater core

This post has been edited by Brendensmonte: 08 February 2010 - 12:39 AM

[3800power]

Sounds to me like you have a blown head gasket.

[Brendensmonte]

3800power, on 08 February 2010 - 01:54 AM, said:

Sounds to me like you have a blown head gasket.

Really? my ls had a blown headgasket and never acted like that.

[KevinGTP]

Each of these sounds like the problems could range from power steering, to crank sensor, to head gasket. What year/trim/engine is the car?
Check the oil cap and dipstick for anything that looks like chocolate milk, also look at the coolant for signs of oil.
Could even be some kind of electrical problem.
My guess is it's not just one thing.

[cak387]

I would be checking coolant lines, heater hoses, thermostat, and coolant levels like mentioned above. You can put the cooling system under pressure to see if you have any leaks.

[jaybaum96]

sounds completely like a headgasket to me...

[NiftyMonte]

if it was a head gasket/tstat why would turning the heat off drop the temp, isn't it usually turning the heat on full blast that will do that?

[cak387]

Well lets help out and say that if you are able to, pressure test each cylinder. I haven't heard of a headgasket causing that problem before, but who knows what's going on. We don't even have vehicle specs yet!!!

[3800power]

NiftyMonte, on 08 February 2010 - 10:05 AM, said:

if it was a head gasket/tstat why would turning the heat off drop the temp, isn't it usually turning the heat on full blast that will do that?

A head gasket leaks coolant. This is most likely the beginning stages of the car losing coolant, and the heat will go in and out, since there will be air pockets in the system. Hence why the CTS reads REALLY hot at times, that is probably the ridiculously hot coolant splashing up on it every once and a while. I would not drive the car until it is pressure tested, but that is just me.

[Nobi1024]

My sister's 95 did the same thing. She had a blown head gasket.

[3800power]

Nobi1024, on 10 February 2010 - 05:55 PM, said:

My sister's 95 did the same thing. She had a blown head gasket.

Win.

[Robb235]

I agree. Blown head gasket or LIM.

[madbrad]

What are you taking in college?

[3800power]

madbrad, on 14 February 2010 - 01:40 PM, said:

What are you taking in college?

Basket weaving.

[madbrad]

OK I'll come clean, I was asking because I wanted to see how you can be in college and still not know how to spell TRAVELLER and DYING.

This post has been edited by madbrad: 17 February 2010 - 08:25 AM